CRISPR’s ability to deliver the right gene to the right spot, at a relatively low cost, has scientists excited about its potential.

The complex connections between genes, environment, and society will be the focus of the AAAS Caribbean Division’s annual conference, which convenes on 1 October on the University of Puerto Rico’s Mayagüez campus.

The 2011 conference is dedicated to Juan Carlos Martínez Cruzado, a researcher in the biology department at UPR-Mayagüez and a pioneer in mitochondrial DNA studies that link Puerto Rico’s original indigenous population to its current population. Cruzado will deliver the conference’s plenary lecture on indigenous genetic heredity in Puerto Rico.