Limit Thinking

A selected encyclopedia of major gene-editing systems, together with illustrated diagrams.

Bioart emerges where biological science, technology, and aesthetics collide. For one terminally ill artist, it offered a chance at immortality.

Toxic amino acids, peptides, and proteins — which first evolved as molecular weapons deployed by species in conflict — can also serve as blueprints for pharmaceutical innovation.

Prominent scientists continue to claim life is “just” slime on a spinning rock. However, in an age when the rarity and fragility of biological life are increasingly evident, it’s time to retire the metaphor.

By studying the millennia-old arms race between soil-dwelling microbes, scientists can pre-empt antibiotic resistance before it emerges in people.

We have the technology to detect airborne pathogens in real time. Now we must use it.