We look at the history and controversies around the discovery of CRISPR.
We explore how CRISPR is being used to develop transformative gene therapies, and the ethical implications of genetically engineering humans.
As soon as the structure of DNA and the genetic code were discovered, scientists started looking for ways to change it.
Helen Pilcher explains how humans have shaped the evolutionary trajectories of the species living alongside us on the planet.
Bill Ritchie is the embryologist who carried out the cloning procedure that led to the creation of Dolly the Sheep.
The extraordinary life of JBS Haldane - one of the most interesting characters of 20th century genetics.
Andrew Steele, author of Ageless talks about the science of ageing and why your toothbrush might be more useful for preventing ageing than that fancy moisturiser.
RNA - ribonucleic acid - is far less famous than its deoxy relative, although it’s chemically very similar. We look at the story of the discovery of messenger RNA (mRNA) and how pioneering researchers in the 1960s proved its existence.
It’s hard to overstate the transformation that PCR brought to the world of molecular biology and biomedical research. Suddenly, researchers could amplify and study DNA in a way that had been simply impossible before, kickstarting the genetic revolution that’s still going strong today. But where did this revolutionary technology come from?
Growing cells in the lab isn’t as easy as you might think. We explore the story of how Henrietta Lacks’s immortal cells (known today as HeLa cells) became the go-to human cell line for biomedical research, and the impact they’ve had as a result.
