Regenesis: How Synthetic Biology Will Reinvent Nature and Ourselves

George Church, Edward Regis

Science

Geneticist George Church and science writer Edward Regis explain the emerging field of synthetic biology, in which living organisms are engineered by reading, editing, and rewriting their genomes. The book surveys how DNA can be used as a programmable medium, including Church's own work encoding information in DNA, and discusses applications such as creating novel organisms, producing biofuels, improving human health, and reviving extinct species. It frames these technologies within a broader narrative of life's chemical origins and humanity's growing capacity to redesign nature and itself.