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Scientist John Parrington explains the huge potential benefits to medicine and agriculture of genetic engineering and looks at the ethical dangers and dilemmas.

The science of genetic engineering has moved at an astonishing pace over the last few years and it can now be applied to virtually any plant or animal species. The genes of pests such as flies can be altered so that the whole population can be changed within a few generations of breeding. Scientists are also beginning to synthesize new organisms from scratch. These technologies can be used to improve lives, improve food production and even generate electricity. But what are the risks of introducing synthetic lifeforms into the environment, and to what extent should parents be able to genetically manipulate offspring?

Parrington is associate professor in molecular and cellular pharmacology at the University of Oxford and author of The Deeper Genome. He has written popular science articles for The Guardian, New Scientist, Chemistry World, and The Biologist.

Supported by Elsevier.