Gene transfer is the mechanism by which DNA is transferred from a donor to a recipient cell. There are several artificial methods for transferring DNA, including physical methods like microinjection, chemical methods like calcium phosphate and polyethylene glycol transfection, and electrical methods like electroporation. These gene transfer technologies allow for genetic manipulation of higher eukaryotic cells and were used to achieve the first transgenic mammals in the 1980s. Common methods like microinjection, gene guns, calcium phosphate transfection, and liposome or electroporation-mediated gene transfer introduce exogenous DNA into cells for genetic modification.