The use of recombinant DNA technology can only benefit human

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James Fung                                     20thMarch,2002

Biology coursework --- The use of recombinant

DNA technology can only benefit human

Introduction

The use of recombinant of DNA technology, which involves taking a gene from one species and splicing it into another, is becoming widely use than ever. It is beneficial to people. It improves the life of people as well as the quality of living. On the other hand, it brings lots of moral and ethical concerns to the world. So in my own opinion, we shouldn’t say that the use of recombinant DNA technology only benefits human.

Discussion

Nowadays, genetic engineering has been adopted in many fields especially for medical and agricultural purposes.

Curing genetic diseases 

Patients with a genetic disease can now be cured entailing gene therapy. e.g. the lungs with cystic fibrosis produce thick mucus that provides a growth medium for bacteria and viruses. By gene therapy, which is to insert the normal genes into the tissues most affected by the diseases, both the quality and quantity of their life can be enhanced. To cure a genetic illness completely, defective gene should be replaced throughout the body including the reproductive tissues in the early embryo. A Princeton molecular biologist Lee Silver said this technique only works 50% in animals and even when successful, about 5% of the time, the new gene gets placed in the middle of an existing gene, creating a new mutation. But this technique can be overcome with further research. When gene arrangements have been fully developed and recorded, malfunction genes can be extracted and many more incurable diseases can be cured. Human could live longer and stronger.

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Genetic modified plants and foods

In the poorer parts of Asia, rice, which lacks of vitamin A, is almost the only food for the people. The deficiency of vitamin A in people often leads to early blindness. Genetic engineers have transferred the genes for vitamin A into rice. Besides, rice is not rich in iron causing anaemia. This is a more difficult problem because rice contains an enzyme called phytase preventing the body from absorbing iron. Therefore it does little good to increase iron content because rice plant cannot reproduce without adequate phytase in ...

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