--- title: Genetic Engineering description: Genetic engineering involves the direct manipulation of an organism's genes using biotechnology. Learners will understand recombinant DNA techniques, gene splicing, and how to modify organisms for medical, agricultural, and industrial applications. category: sciences subcategory: biotechnology difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/genetic-engineering --- # Genetic Engineering Genetic engineering involves the direct manipulation of an organism's genes using biotechnology. Learners will understand recombinant DNA techniques, gene splicing, and how to modify organisms for medical, agricultural, and industrial applications. ## Available Resources 1 Videos • 2 Books • 3 Courses • 4 Websites ## Videos ### 1. Genome Editing with CRISPR-Cas9 Short animation from MIT's McGovern Institute, made with Feng Zhang's lab, showing how Cas9 is guided to a DNA target, cuts both strands, and how the repair pathways enable gene knockout or insertion. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pp17E4E-O8 **Tags:** crispr, cas9, genome-editing, animation, molecular-biology ## Courses ### 1. Introduction to Biological Engineering Design (MIT 20.020) **Author:** Natalie Kuldell, Andrew Endy Project-based introduction to engineering synthetic biological systems: prokaryotic and eukaryotic control, DNA synthesis, standard parts and abstraction, plus biosafety, security, intellectual property and ethics. Provides lecture slides, short tutorial videos and example student projects for designing biology-based solutions to real problems. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/20-020-introduction-to-biological-engineering-design-spring-2009/ **Tags:** synthetic-biology, biological-engineering, genetic-circuits, dna-synthesis, bioethics ### 2. Introduction to Biology - The Secret of Life (MITx 7.00x) **Author:** Eric Lander, Michelle Mischke, Graham Walker et al. Biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, recombinant DNA, genomics and rational medicine, taught in Eric Lander's video lectures with test-yourself questions and interactive problem sets. Free to audit; learners come away able to reason about how genes and proteins explain living systems and disease. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.edx.org/learn/biology/massachusetts-institute-of-technology-introduction-to-biology-the-secret-of-life **Tags:** molecular-biology, genetics, biochemistry, genomics, recombinant-dna ### 3. Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology A Coursera course from University of Colorado Boulder introducing genetic circuit design, covering cell biology fundamentals, standardized genetic parts, device-level circuit design, and experimental construction methods for engineering biological systems. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.coursera.org/learn/engineering-genetic-circuit-design **Tags:** courses, engineering-manufacturing, biotechnology ## Websites ### 1. nature.com Nature.com is the official site of Nature journals, delivering peer‑reviewed research articles, reviews, and news across the natural sciences, including genetics and genetic engineering. It features content from Nature and related journals, plus expert commentary, features, and research highlights. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://nature.com **Tags:** websites, engineering-manufacturing, biotechnology ### 2. genome.gov Genome.gov is the official website of the U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). It provides clear explanations of genetics and genomics, news on current research, and a broad collection of educational resources—primers, glossaries, activities, and interactive tools—for students, educators, and the general public. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://genome.gov **Tags:** websites, engineering-manufacturing, biotechnology ### 3. igem.org iGEM.org is the official site for the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition in synthetic biology. It provides project showcases, the Registry of Standard Biological Parts, tutorials and educational resources, team information, and event details like the annual Jamboree. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://igem.org **Tags:** websites, science-research, biology ### 4. addgene.org Addgene is a nonprofit plasmid repository and resource for genetic engineering. It provides access to thousands of plasmids and CRISPR tools, plus detailed protocols, educational materials, and community resources for researchers. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://addgene.org **Tags:** websites, engineering-manufacturing, biotechnology ## Books ### 1. An Introduction to Genetic Engineering **Author:** Desmond S. T. Nicholl An undergraduate textbook covering the core techniques of genetic engineering, including gene cloning, vectors, PCR, DNA sequencing, and applications in medicine and agriculture. Part of the Cambridge Studies in Biology series, aimed at students new to molecular biology. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0521004713?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, engineering-manufacturing, biotechnology ### 2. Genetic Engineering: Principles and Methods **Author:** Jane K. Setlow Volume 18 of an edited academic series presenting advanced research on recombinant DNA techniques, including gene expression in engineered plants, DNA cloning methods, and exon-trapping for gene identification. Aimed at researchers already familiar with molecular biology. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0306453711?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, engineering-manufacturing, biotechnology --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/genetic-engineering