DNA can move from one species to another without human help. The process is called "horizontal gene transfer". A recent article by biology staff writer Yasemin Saplakoglu in Quanta Magazine covered recent discoveries, such as:
- "a gene called BovB has moved from snakes to frogs independently at least 50 times in various parts of the planet"
- "Small snippets of DNA from a mother’s bacteria can hop to the baby’s bacteria through horizontal gene transfers even months after birth"
- (from Popular Mechanics) "By stealing genes, parasites known as horsehair worms gained the ability to control the minds of their insect hosts."