1973: The first genetically engineered organism created In 1972 Stanford University’s Stanley Cohen (1935–) and University of California, San Francisco’s Herb Boyer (1936–) sat in a Hawaiian deli after a conference discussing a possible collaboration. A year later the two biochemists ushered in the biotechnology era with their construction of the first genetically modified organism. Combining Cohen’s plasmid research with Boyer’s restriction enzyme experiments, the two researchers removed DNA from E. coli bacteria, modified it for antibiotic resistance, and inserted the altered genes back into the organism’s DNA. The successful experiment spawned subsequent generations of E. coli bacteria with antibiotic resistance. Shortly after this discovery, Cohen and Boyer added frog DNA to E. coli, proving that an organism’s DNA could be successfully spliced with that from other species. The genetic engineering of living organisms now comprises countless biotech innovations in pharmacology, industry, and agriculture.