The document discusses the development of recombinant DNA technology in the 1970s at Stanford University, which allowed genetic traits to be transferred between organisms by recombining their DNA. This process is similar to editing text by cutting and pasting. An example given is transferring the human gene for insulin production into E. coli bacteria, which then rapidly produce human insulin that can be harvested. Key techniques in recombinant DNA include restriction enzymes, plasmids, gene cloning, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and DNA fingerprinting.