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 A team of scientists has announced that the age of the synthetic chromosome is upon us, as a study published in Science today reveals how the group was able to construct a yeast chromosome from scratch - an experiment that allowed the team to make fully functional "designer yeast."

Species like yeast, flies, fish and mice have many genes in common with humans and are therefore considered 'model organisms' and are widely used in research to study human genes and human diseases. Mouse research has lead to major advances in our ability to treat a number of serious diseases and conditions.

Technical details aside, Crispr-Cas9 makes it easy, cheap, and fast to move genes around-any genes, in any living thing, from bacteria to people. "These are monumental moments in the history of biomedical research," Baltimore says. "They don't happen every day." Using the three-year-old technique, researchers have already reversed mutations that cause blindness, stopped cancer cells from multiplying, and made cells impervious to the virus that causes AIDS. Agronomists have rendered wheat invulnerable to killer fungi like powdery mildew, hinting at engineered staple crops that can feed a population of 9 billion on an ever-warmer planet. Bioengineers have used Crispr to alter the DNA of yeast so that it consumes plant matter and excretes ethanol, promising an end to reliance on petrochemicals. Startups devoted to Crispr have launched. International pharmaceutical and agricultural companies have spun up Crispr R&D. Two of the most powerful universities in the US are engaged in a vicious war over the basic patent.

BLOSSOMS video lessons are enriching students' learning experiences in high school classrooms from Brooklyn to Beirut to Bangalore. Our Video Library contains over 50 math and science lessons, all freely available to teachers as streaming video and Internet downloads and as DVDs and videotapes.

The behavior of a person's genes doesn't just depend on the genes' DNA sequence - it's also affected by so-called epigenetic factors. Changes in these factors can play a critical role in disease.

Hands on lab activities

Where does bread get its fluffiness? Swiss cheese its holes? And what makes vinegar so sour? These foods may taste completely different, but all of these phenomena come from microorganisms chowing down on sugar and belching up some culinary byproducts. Erez Garty shows how your kitchen functions as a sort of biotechnology lab, manned by microorganisms that culture your cuisine.

Behind every fart (and poop) is an army of gut bacteria undergoing some crazy (and crazy useful) biochemistry. Learn what they have in common with beer brewing, and why we'd want to know about this science anyway...