The researchers have been experimenting with an antifreeze gene found in a species of Arctic-dwelling flounders. The gene protects the flounder's body fluids from freezing by instructing its liver to secrete proteins that inhibit ice crystals from forming in the fish's blood. The gene from the wild fish has already been cloned and inserted into Atlantic salmon, producing a stable line of transgenic fish that can withstand frigid water temperatures much better than their farmed but unengineered relatives.

Biotechnology helps us look at forests with fresh eyes. In their traditional role, forests provide wood for planks, pulp, and firewood. Biotechnology makes it possible to develop faster-growing, disease-resistant trees, increasing the production of these renewable materials. In a second, more valuable role, forests are reservoirs of biodiversity. Their potential genetic resources could be vital to the development of such human needs as improved drugs, pesticides, foods, and materials.

To sustain a tree harvest into the future, forest managers need to replace what they cut—an obvious if late-acknowledged truth. Where forests have grown undisturbed for centuries, they are impossible to replace, but the next best thing is to substitute tree plantations, in