Of course, the devil is in the details, and the actual process of making recombinant human insulin is slightly different, and more complex than this by a long shot. We’ll have to save a detailed discussion of this technology for another issue. But I think you get the idea. If you can get your hands on the gene for a particular protein, you can clone that gene into some sort of molecular workhorse like E Coli and grow it up by the vat. Or you can splice it into the marrow of a kid with sickle cell disease so his red cells don’t come out warped. Or you can make tomatoes that spring out of the ground twice as red and juicy as your Aunt Edna’s. Or you can cook up your own super-enhanced breed of anthrax. Welcome to the world of recombinant DNA technology. Welcome to genetic engineering.