genetic engineering

This term describes a precise technical process of altering DNA, carrying a clinical and scientific register. It is often used in debates regarding bioethics, agriculture, and medicine, where it can carry either a positive connotation of innovation or a negative connotation of "playing God" or creating unnatural organisms.

As a mass noun representing a field of study or a specific scientific methodology, it is uncountable. It does not have a plural form and cannot be used with the indefinite article "a" unless followed by a countable noun such as "technique" or "application."