Genetic engineering pioneer Kevin Esvelt’s work highlights biotechnology’s immense potential for good—but also for catastrophe.

With the help of directed evolution, scientists inch closer to developing viral vectors that can cross the human blood-brain barrier to deliver gene therapy.

In the introduction to the book, author Sean B. Carroll draws the parallels between ecological and physiological maladies.

Is the model of early life as a freak occurrence in a disordered, primordial soup of chemicals wrong?

In Chapter 7, “Green Evolution, Green Revolution,” author John Archibald describes how endosymbiosis helped color the Earth in a verdant hue.

In the final chapter of his book on the origins of vertebrate sex, author and paleontologist John Long pays homage to the humble placoderm, which got the erotic ball rolling.

In an essay entitled "Molecular Cut and Paste: The New Generation of Biological Tools," virologist William McEwan envisions a future where viruses are reprogrammed to become the workhorses of science and medicine.

BIOLOGY Annual Review of Phytopathology. R James Cook, ed. Annual Reviews: September, 460 pp, $31. A collection of original scientific papers that cover all aspects of phytopathology; includes “Historical Perspectives,” “Development of Concepts,” and “Biological and Cultural Control.” Crows of the World. Second Edition. Derek Goodwin. Univ. of Washington Press: September 25, 300 pp, $45. Discusses all aspects of crows including their appearance, biology, b

Scientists have genetically modified isolated microbes for decades. Now, using CRISPR, they intend to target entire microbiomes.