One of the most important discoveries in molecular biology, I'd say, happened in 1974 when scientists took a gene from a frog (Xenopus laevis) and transferred it into a bacterium (E. coli). The bacterial cells read, processed, and expressed the gene. If a bacterium can read a frog gene, so the logic went, then the entire living world is, in principle, "programmable." Genes can be swapped between kingdoms of life, thus enabling: - The production of human insulin in bacteria. - Manufacturing of vaccines in yeast and chicken eggs - Engineered crops carrying biopesticide genes from algae etc. Check out A Brief History of Xenopus to learn about other key experiments in which frogs played a role. 🔻