gene editing

noun

variants or genome editing

: the use of biotechnological techniques to make changes to specific DNA sequences in the genome of a living organism

Fundamental research into the ways by which bacteria defend themselves against viruses has recently led to the development of powerful new techniques that make it possible to perform gene editing—that is, precisely altering genetic sequences—in living cells, including those of humans, at much higher accuracy and efficiency than ever before possible.

—David Baltimore et al.

The era of straightforward genome editing raises ethical questions that will need to be addressed by scientists and society at large.

—Jennifer A. Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier

—often hyphenated when used before another noun

a gene-editing technique called CRISPR

Examples of gene editing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Via a combination of gene editing capabilities, nanobots, and the like, a new technology is invented by AGI that reverses the biological aging process. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025

In 2020, the gene editing tool CRISPR won its inventors the Nobel Prize, and researchers have made many advances with it over the course of its short lifetime. —Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 May 2025

Nobel-winning technology Scientists at United Therapeutics genetically modify a pig cell Research in xenotransplantation stalled until the development of the gene editing tool CRISPR in the early 2000s. —Nadia Kounang, CNN Money, 17 May 2025

Other projects use gene editing to reintroduce genetic variation into populations where genetic diversity has been lost. —Alex Erwin, The Conversation, 6 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1990, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gene editing

• accrediting
• discrediting
• crediting