AUGUST2016‘PandaBabies:MissionCritical’August28at8/7contheNatGeoWILDchannelWithnewgene-editingtechniques,wecantransformlife—butshouldwe?jeep.comOFFICIALJOURNALOFTHENATIONALGEOGRAPHICSOCIETYOceanicwhitetipsslicethroughthewaterneartheBahamas’CatIsland,believedtobeoneofthelasthavensforlargenumbersofthesharks.OFFICIALJOURNALOFTHENATIONALGEOGRAPHICSOCIETY126Proof|NetWorthAnartistmakesscientiicportraitsofbirds.ByChristyUllrichBarcusPhotographsbyToddForsgrenOntheCoverDNAisineverylivingthing,andscientistshavelearnedtoeditit.“Wenowhaveapoweroverspeciesofallkindsthatweneverthoughtpossible,”sayslawprofessorHankGreely.ArtbyBoseCollinsCorrectionsandClarificationsGotongm.com/corrections.august2016•vol.230•no.230DNARevolutionScientistsnowhaveanewtooltoaltertheDNAoflivingorganisms.Shouldtheyuseit?ByMichaelSpecterPhotographsbyGregGirard56Sciencevs.MosquitoesMosquitoesspreadsomeoftheworld’smostdangerousdiseases—andwestilldon’tknowhowtostopthem.ByCynthiaGorney60PandasGoneWildTheChineseknowhowtobreedgiantpandas.Toreleasetheminthewildrequiresprotectinghabi-tataswellasthebears.ByJenniferS.HollandPhotographsbyAmiVitale86TotheLastDropTheOgallalaaquiferfeedsamultibillion-dollarfarmindustry.Whathappenswhenthewaterisgone?ByLauraParkerPhotographsbyRandyOlsonTheShipwreckSharkOncetheterroroftheseas,oceanicwhitetipshaveallbutvanished.ByGlennHodgesPhotographsbyBrianSkerry112FROMTHEEDITORPHOTO:FRANKMACK,FORTHEU.S.ARMY;COURTESYNATIONALLIBRARYOFMEDICINESusanGoldberg,EditorinChiefAlteringGenesANewWaronMosquitoesNoneofhumankind’sbattleshasprovedmoreenduring—orlesssuccessful—thanthewaronmosquitoes.Aroundtheworldeachyear,millionsofpeopledieofdiseasesspreadbytheinsect.It’safamiliarlistofstubbornplagues—malaria,WestNile,dengue,yellowfever,formsofencephalitis—withsomechillingrecentadditions.Themosquito-bornechikungunyavirushasspreadtopartsofAfrica,Europe,Asia,andasof2013,theAmericas.Itsefects,whilepainful,paleincomparisonwiththoseoftheZikavirus,whichiscareeringthroughtheWesternHemisphere...