For four billion years, what lived and died on Earth depended on two principles: natural selection and random mutation. Then humans came along and changed everything — hybridizing plants, breeding animals, altering the environment and even purposefully evolving ourselves. Juan Enriquez provides five guidelines for a future where this ability to program life rapidly accelerates. "This is the single most exciting adventure human beings have been on," Enriquez says. "This is the single greatest superpower humans have ever had."

We can reprogram life. How to do it wisely

For most of Earth's history, life evolved through natural selection and random mutation, but humans have begun to accelerate and direct this process. From turning mustard into broccoli and kale, to creating babies with DNA from three parents, we now deliberately edit the 'lifecode' of plants, animals, and ourselves. Everyday realities like birth control and in vitro fertilization show how thoroughly we've separated natural processes from their origins. This power comes with profound responsibility, ethical dilemmas, and a need to balance innovation with respect for nature’s diversity.