Discuss all factors arising from the use of biotechnology such as what biotechnology actual is, cloning, stem cell technology etc.

Richard Aldridge 10 Gordon

Biotechnology Essay

This essay will discuss all factors arising from the use of biotechnology such as what biotechnology actual is, cloning, stem cell technology etc. Human beings have being using plants to make different products for thousands of years. Plant biotechnology is helping today to provide people with more and better food and holds a great promise for the future.

There are many differences between traditional livestock breeding and the modern biotechnology approach. Traditional breeding is considered as natural, whereas genetic modification is sometimes perceived as interfering with nature to consumers. Selective breeding has been practised for many centuries as a pose to the modern way of choosing individual, or small numbers of selected genes which are passed down on to the next generation of animals, allowing precise selection of characteristics. This method removes any possibility for errors such as undesirable genes being inherited together with desirable ones, which was a problem that occurred with traditional breeding. Another disadvantage with traditional breeding is that crosses can be made only between sexually compatible individuals of the same species whereas with genetic modification the presence of individual genes can be detected rapidly, allowing fast selection of animals. Also, with genetic modification, the introduced genes enable animals to help make other products such as medicines. In traditional breeding the process is slow, as animals have to grow sufficiently to show weather they have the desired traits, and to reach sexual maturity before being selected for further breeding.

In recent years biotechnology has come along way and made many scientific breakthroughs. The most famous being dolly the sheep that was the first cloned adult mammal.

Genetically modification plays a big part in the modern ways of biotechnology. Genetic modification and animals is a controversial issue that arises with biotechnology. Many people are less concerned about modified crops than they are about genetically modified animals. Some potential benefits of this are:

Livestock may grow faster
Animals may be more resistant to disease
They may produce less fatty meat
They may be more fertile

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In recent years biotechnology has come along way and made many scientific breakthroughs. The most famous being dolly the sheep that was the first cloned adult mammal.

Livestock may grow faster
Animals may be more resistant to disease
They may produce less fatty meat
They may be more fertile

With this though are many ethical considerations about possible distress caused to animals by such changes. Many people refuse to purchase foods that have been produced by animals that have been given food that contains GM ingredients. Others find the concept of transferring genes between animal species totally unacceptable. Some current methods used by farmers and vets to diagnose whether plants and animals have diseases often require the laboratory analysis of samples, this can be time resuming and can also often leave animals at risk whilst waiting for the actual test to be carried out. In this day and age it would be a great help to have a simple, reliable tests that could be carried out on the farm, especially if they could give immediate results. Modern biotechnology techniques such as the production antibodies can be used for this type of rapid diagnosis.

A transgenic plant or animal means it has had its genes altered. The meaning genetic modification means altering organisms DNA. A new gene can be added from one individual to another from the same species. These new methods have many benefits. For instance if this method was to be used in the production of tomato’s then they would end up bigger, have better taste, it would improve there shelf live, and they would become resistant to the climate. This technique is also used in herbicides as they kill weeds but do not affect the crops. Another example of where this modern approach of biotechnology can be witnessed is in the production of maize. The European corn borer is a major pest if corn in the U.S.A and has caused severe losses of corn crop yield over the years. In an attempt to control this pest a gene from the naturally occurring soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis was inserted into the corn. This gene produces a protein that acts as in insecticide but which is harmless to other creatures. This same organism is widely used as an insecticide by spraying directly

onto the crops themselves. Cloning is an aspect that will always be present with biotechnology. A clone is producing new plants or animals that are genetically identical to the original. The nucleus of every cell has all the genetic information necessary for it to make other plants by tissue culture (cauliflower experiment).

There are many concerns arising from the use of biotechnology, as one has to take into account the ethical considerations such as distress to animals during the actual process. Overall there are many points for and against the usage of biotechnology. There are many dangers arising with the use of biotechnology but there are also others to consider who do not have hardly enough food to make it through the day where the uses of biotechnology could help them greatly.