INFORM October 2025

EDITOR’S LETTER

inform October 2025, Vol. 36 (9) • 5

An array of biotechnology applications

Innovation in biotechnology often starts with reimagining the familiar. This issue highlights three examples of how scientists are reshaping what we know about health, food, and sustain ability—by starting at the molecular level. In our cover story, researchers explore how a single dose of fat-1 gene therapy in mice transformed omega-6 fats into omega-3s leading to eased osteoarthritis symptoms and slowed signs of premature cellular aging. Another feature looks at soybeans—long a cornerstone of plant-based protein—and the effort to breed “flavor-null” varieties that eliminate the painty, beany notes that turn consumers away, opening the door to more appealing plant-based foods. Finally, we exam ine how engineered cover crops like camelina and pennycress are being redesigned to produce novel plant oils with industrial

potential, from lubricants to biofuels, offering a sustainable new platform for renewable materials. Together, these stories reveal how precise genetic and metabolic innovations are unlocking fresh possibilities across medicine, nutrition, and industry. They also remind us that the solutions to some of today’s most pressing challenges may lie in rethinking the building blocks of biology itself.

Yours in science,