In place of a narrator, Bolt employs a first-rate crew of bioethicists, geneticists and researchers to guide the film, and provides interviews with patients who have diseases that could soon be cured. Chapter titles like “Brave New World” and “Playing God” set the tone, as does a shrewd score and some well-used animation that illustrates the basics of DNA.

Thorny questions arise throughout “Human Nature” over what we are and what, if anything, we should change about ourselves on a cellular level. Though the film usually takes a hopeful, pro-Crispr outlook, uncertainties still linger, as do fears over the future. As one biologist says, this isn’t just the start of a new era for the world — it’s the end of our beginning.

Human Nature

Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes.