Science has made a new genetic revolution possible

Thanks to great strides in fundamental research, biology is becoming ever more programmable. Two recent scientific advances show just how powerful the possibilities could be. The genetic modification of plants is allowing the mechanism of photosynthesis to be tinkered with, as research published in Science on August 18th sets out. This could lead to dramatic improvements in the productivity of plants, and eventually to a second green revolution. Tweaking the genes of people who suffer from fatal incurable diseases, meanwhile, has also had remarkable results. A series of genetic therapies has arrived, or is arriving, in clinics to treat blood cancers, spinal muscular atrophy, haemophilia and sickle-cell disease. The task now is to spread these gains far and wide.