Question: What is a genetic engineer?

Srinath Kasturirangan answered on 7 Mar 2019:

I am sure you have heard about DNA – the genetic code that decides what colour your hair or eyes are, if you are going to be short or tall or if you are going to be pre-disposed to diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease or cancer. Just like a morse code or secret code, these Genes contain the information to form many different proteins, each having different functions in the body, both useful and harmful. As a genetic engineer, my job is to manipulate genes so they can make useful proteins that can be used to fight diseases. Using a technique called “molecular biology” we are able to make tailor-made drugs by tweaking certain genes and these drugs can then re-direct our body’s immune system to fight bacteria or viruses that infect our body or go after cells that have become cancerous.