The issue is one of the most profound we humans have ever faced. For the first time in the evolution of life on this planet, a species has developed the capacity to edit its own genetic makeup. That offers the potential of wondrous benefits, including the elimination of many deadly diseases and debilitating abnormalities. And it will someday offer

Therein lies one of the problem with patents: they prod people to be less generous in sharing credit.

What Mojica had stumbled upon was a battlefront in the longest-running, most massive and vicious war on this planet: that between bacteria and the viruses, known as “bacteriophages” or “phages,” that attack them. Phages are the largest category of virus in nature. Indeed, phage viruses are by far the most plentiful biological entity on earth. There

Two prominent philosophers proved to be especially influential members. The first was Michael Sandel, a Harvard professor who is the contemporary successor to John Rawls in defining the concept of justice. At the time, he was writing an essay titled “The Case Against Perfection: What’s Wrong with Designer Children, Bionic Athletes, and Genetic

For all of history, humans (and every other species) have been battling rather than accepting nature’s poisoned offerings. Mother Nature has produced massive suffering and distributed it unequally. Thus we devise ways to combat plagues, cure diseases, fix disabilities, and breed better plants, animals, and children.

The scientist does not study nature because it is useful. He studies it because he takes pleasure in it, and he takes pleasure in it because it is beautiful. —Henri Poincaré, Science and Method, 1908

there was one additional component of the CRISPR-Cas9 system that played an essential role—or, as it turned out, two roles. It was dubbed a “trans-activating CRISPR RNA,” or tracrRNA, pronounced “tracer-RNA.” Remember this tiny molecule; it will play an outsized role in our tale.

Our newfound ability to make edits to our genes raises some fascinating questions. Should we edit our species to make us less susceptible to deadly viruses? What a wonderful boon that would be! Right? Should we use gene editing to eliminate dreaded disorders, such as Huntington’s, sickle-cell anemia, and cystic fibrosis? That sounds good, too. And

“We saw there was a hundred-percent match between the CRISPR of the bacterial strain and the sequence of the virus that we knew had attacked it,” Barrangou recalls. “That was the eureka moment.”