recombinant DNA

noun

: genetically engineered DNA usually incorporating DNA from more than one species of organism

Examples of recombinant DNA in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In the 1990s, researchers at the National University of Singapore invented and patented the first process for creating a synthetic, endotoxin-detecting compound using horseshoe crab DNA and recombinant DNA technology. Kristoffer Whitney, Fortune Well, 13 Oct. 2023 In the 1990s, researchers at the National University of Singapore invented and patented the first process for creating a synthetic endotoxin-detecting compound using horseshoe crab DNA and recombinant DNA technology. Kristoffer Whitney and Jolie Crunelle, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Oct. 2023 Newspaper coverage highlighted the activities of Jeremy Rifkin, who has been a persistent critic of biotechnology since the recombinant DNA controversy in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1976. Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 22 May 2014 Communicate the unknown risks of new technology The 1975 conference was born out of a concern about recombinant DNA technology, which uses enzymes and lab techniques to create new genes. Michelle Cheng, Quartz, 3 May 2023 The genetic technique that Dr. Riggs and Itakura developed, using recombinant DNA, is also technological foundation of monoclonal antibodies, a therapy widely used in treating cancer, autoimmune disorders, macular degeneration, covid-19 and other disorders. Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2022 Enter the genomic therapies, which Theodore Friedmann of the University of California, San Diego, first proposed for genetic disease in 1972, and which took a step toward reality the same year with the production of recombinant DNA by Paul Berg at Stanford University. Carolyn Barber, Scientific American, 17 July 2021 With techniques such as recombinant DNA, finding the right genome sequence in one organism to trigger expression of particular proteins or traits in another requires as much luck as skill. Breanna Draxler, Discover Magazine, 11 Dec. 2013 In the early 2000s, David Ayares, then COO of a Scottish company called PPL Therapeutics, used recombinant DNA technology and cloning to create pigs as a source of solid organs. Megan Molteni, STAT, 24 Jan. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'recombinant DNA.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1961, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of recombinant DNA was in 1961

Dictionary Entries Near recombinant DNA

Cite this Entry

“Recombinant DNA.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recombinant%20DNA. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

recombinant DNA

noun
: genetically engineered DNA usually incorporating DNA from more than one species of organism

More from Merriam-Webster on recombinant DNA

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!