Water is very important because it is as close as we can get to a "universal solvent." Without water, life as we know it would not have been possible. (As we know, without water life would have been impossible??) Therefore, it is important for everyone to have a basic understanding of the water molecule.
Science also plays an important role in the things we use or consume every day. The use of genetically engineered food production has an impact, not only on the environment and biodiversity, but also on human health. Genetic modification of organisms in general is a biotechnological process that forces genes to behave according to certain characteristics. Changing characteristics of organisms is based on changing their DNA. It is used for modifying genes in plants, animals or microorganisms. It is also being used especially with food in order to improve the nutritious quality, make less use of chemicals such as pesticides, which proved to be extremely harmful, and sometimes to add flavor. Genetically modified food is considered one of the modern production improvements and the largest food experiments in the world’s history. However, it is very vital to dispel misconception about the nature of food. Genetically modified food is a mixed blessing, which has a lot of benefits but at the same time may arouse problems. It has many good aspects, such as making plants ripen faster, improving the species taste and look, and providing third world countries with healthier and cheaper food. Genetically modified foods have several disadvantages. Most of the time, the sale (scale???) of genetically modified food is being permitted without posing the risks and without informing the public with the possible danger. This of course is a violation of human rights, which can be easily avoided by simply informing consumers of the characteristics of the product. When genetic engineers insert new genes into any organism, it can lead to disruption and unpredictable changes in the pattern and structure of the new genetic function. Therefore, harmful substances may appear unexpectedly and can possibly create viruses and new dangerous diseases. Therefore, it is the obligation of experts to examine genetically modified products before making them available to the public in order to avoid undesirable diseases. A common example is, when some people who are allergic to certain kinds of food such as fish eat genetically modified products such as tomatoes, which were injected with genes similar to these fish, they get easily affected by allergens. (TOO BIG..shrink it) Also, genetically modified food might contain toxins, which may negatively affect human beings. An experiment run on rats by feeding them with Genetically modified potatoes affected their digestive tracks caused changes in some of their organ weights and caused adverse effects on their immune system. Such experiments show the importance of thoroughly examining genetically modified products and making sure of their safety on humans. In addition to that, there are long-term effects with reasons not yet identified. Genetically modified food is now entering the market with an increasing rate. Products include tomatoes, corn, potatoes and soybeans. A main problem is that the issue of labeling these products is not yet widely used.
Science has a profound effect on the way we live largely through the use of scientific knowledge for practical purposes such as technologies. Alongside these achievements, science has also brought technology that helps save human life through a process called “cloning”. Farmers started cloning plants thousands of years ago in simple ways, such as taking a cutting of a plant and letting it root to make another plant. Early farmers also developed breeding techniques in order to reproduce plants with such characteristics as faster growth, larger seeds, or sweeter fruits. They combined these techniques to produce many plants with desired traits. Cloning is the process of making a genetically identical organism through nonsexual means. These early forms of cloning and breeding were slow and sometimes unpredictable. By the late 20th century scientists developed genetic engineering, in which they manipulate deoxyribonucleic acid, the genetic material of living things, to more precisely modify a plant’s genes. Scientists combine genetic engineering with cloning to quickly and inexpensively produce thousands of plants with a desired characteristic. The most widely used method of gene splicing, recombinant DNA, uses biochemical "scissors" called restriction enzymes to cut the strings of DNA, selecting required genes. These are then “ferried” by a virus or a bacterium that infects the host, smuggling the gene into the plant's DNA.
Cloning techniques can also be applied to animals. Scientists generate genetically modified animals with new traits, such as the ability to resist disease, and they use cloning techniques to reproduce these genetically modified animals. Dolly was the first cloned mammal. Dolly was cloned from a dead adult sheep using frozen cells and was born on July 5th 1996. Several scientists have cloned other animals, including cows and mice. For example, some bacteria eat toxic substances, such as gasoline or industrial chemicals, which are common pollutants. These bacteria can be cloned to make legions of bacteria with the ability to clean up environmental contamination. Cloned animals can be used to make a variety of ingredients, such as proteins, that are used in many commercial products. However, cloning has been a very controversial topic since it affects moral values of human beings and other living things alike. The next step was to clone actual human beings but before experiments could have been carried out pressure started build on the scientists because people started to doubt if cloning was ethical and morally correct. Governments began to introduce bans and constraints on cloning, as they felt cloning was not correct and because they represented the people of its country, it had to act on it. Cloning has its cons but its pros seem to overcome them greatly. Cloning will certainly expand the scope of medicine greatly, thus enhance the possibilities of conquering diseases such as the Parkinson's disease, cancer and other diseases that were earlier considered incurable. Cloning could be used to increase the population of endangered species of animals and thus save them from total extinction. This would help maintain a natural balance on the earth and have a continuous natural life cycle. Cloning could certainly benefit couples that are infertile and want to have a child of their own, thus they could use cloning to produce a baby with their similar characteristics. In fact they may be able to even choose the characteristics of their child. Equally important women who are single could have child, using cloning instead of artificial insemination. Cloning could also provide a copy of a child for a couple whose child had died. Some people would suggest that cloning is unnatural and not ethically correct. However, cloning could be used in various ways to benefit the lives of humans.
In conclusion, I would like to say that science has a profound effect on the way we live, largely through technology and the use of scientific knowledge for practical purposes in our daily lives. Water’s unique physical and chemical properties allow it to act as the universal solvent. Cloning techniques have opened the door to curing incurable diseases, which also raises complex ethical questions. Genetically engineered food production methods are available to plants to ripen faster, improving the species taste and look, and providing third world countries with (???) healthier and cheaper. Science through different branches has allowed us to investigate almost everything that can be observed or detected, and science as a whole shapes the way we understand the universe, our planet, ourselves, and other living things. It is essential for humans to have a general understanding of science!!!!!
Bibliography
Books
Book: Gene Cloning and DNA Analysis: An Introduction
Author: T. A. Gene Cloning Brown
Publisher: Blackwell Science Inc; 4th edition
Date Published: October 15, 2001
ISBN: 063205901X
Book: The Ethics of Human Cloning
Author: Leon R. Kass, James Q. Wilson
Publisher: EI Press; 1st edition
Date Published: June 1, 1998
ISBN: 0844740500
Book: Genetically Modified Foods
Author: Michael Ruse
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Date Published: November 2002
ISBN: 1573929964
Book: Dinner at the New Gene Cafe: How Genetic Engineering Is Changing What We Eat, How We Live, and the Global Politics of Food
Author: Bill Lambrecht
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Date Published: September 2001
ISBN: 0312265751
Book: H2O: A Biography of Water
Author: Philip Ball
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
Date Published: October 5, 2000
ISBN: 0753810921
