Here’s a thought experiment: what if living things were actually machines? What if they were the sort of machines that you could take apart, reprogram, and hack to do something entirely new? Plants that glowed like light bulbs? Yeast that produced vanilla? Bacteria that took photographs? The biotechnology industry has spent years trying to think that way and it’s the impetus to a rapidly exploding industry called synthetic biology.

The recent announcement of the creation of the first synthetic yeast chromosome has sent shockwaves through the scientific community. While many external commentators saw the computer design and synthesis of an artificial chromosome as one small step on a long journey...

Exactly twenty years ago the first genetically modified (GM) food entered commercial use, sparking massive controversy, trade fights and resistance from farmers, consumers and workers worldwide. Now the biotech industry is poised for a second assault on the food...