genetic engineering

noun

Definition of genetic engineering

: the group of applied techniques of genetics and biotechnology used to cut up and join together genetic material and especially DNA from one or more species of organism and to introduce the result into an organism in order to change one or more of its characteristics

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Other Words from genetic engineering

genetically engineered adjective
genetic engineer noun

Examples of genetic engineering in a Sentence

The crops were made resistant to disease by genetic engineering.

Recent Examples on the Web

Impossible Foods produces soy leghemoglobin through genetic engineering and fermentation. Savannah Eadens, The Courier-Journal, "Looking for the Impossible Burger in Louisville? We made it possible," 17 May 2017 Biotech company Perfect Day debuted a lab-grown dairy ice cream that uses genetic engineering to recreate the proteins usually found in cow's milk. Maddie Burakoff And Saeed Ahmed, CNN, "National Ice Cream Day means free cones. Here's what to know about everyone's favorite frozen treat," 21 July 2019 Scientists these days are working on what might be the ultimate in rat control: a genetic engineering technique that would spread infertility genes through a wild rat population. Charlie Hamilton James, National Geographic, "How rats became an inescapable part of city living," 17 June 2019 By the 1970s, many scientists were dreaming that new genetic engineering technologies might someday be used to create novel proteins with exceptional abilities, such as enzymes that could speed up drug manufacturing. Quanta Magazine, "Three Biochemists Win Chemistry Nobel for Directing Evolution," 3 Oct. 2018 Philosophy is also useful to those working in AI, climate change, genetic engineering, and education policy, among other fields. Olivia Goldhill, Quartz, "A philosopher accused of sexual harassment started a company to advise on business ethics," 18 July 2019 The pharmaceutical industry has invested heavily in trying to recreate the benefits of this naturally evolved anomaly using drugs and genetic engineering. Megan Molteni, WIRED, "A Study Exposes the Health Risks of Gene-Editing Human Embryos," 3 June 2019 When crop rotation, pesticides and legacy breeding techniques failed to halt its spread, scientists used genetic engineering to give the papaya a vaccine against the virus. Hank Campbell, WSJ, "Science Saves an Old Chestnut," 19 June 2019 These tenets tap at the heart of the debate surrounding genetic engineering. Jill Kiedaisch, Popular Mechanics, "You Can Now Smell a Flower That Went Extinct a Century Ago," 16 Apr. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'genetic engineering.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of genetic engineering

1951, in the meaning defined above

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More Definitions for genetic engineering

genetic engineering

noun

English Language Learners Definition of genetic engineering

: the science of making changes to the genes of a plant or animal to produce a desired result

genetic engineering

noun
\ -ˌen-jə-ˈnir-iŋ How to pronounce genetic engineering (audio) \

Medical Definition of genetic engineering

: the group of applied techniques of genetics and biotechnology used to cut up and join together genetic material and especially DNA from one or more species of organism and to introduce the result into an organism in order to change one or more of its characteristics

Other Words from genetic engineering

genetically engineered adjective
genetic engineer noun