Genetic Engineering, Friend or Foe?
Genetic Engineering, Friend or Foe? Biotechnology began more than 10,000 years ago and is simply using biological processes to make products for humans. Genetic engineering is a type of biotechnology that began about 35 years ago and is process of altering genetic material to perform new functions or make new substances. In all aspects of biotechnology it is necessary to view all the evidence, it is never simply good or bad. There are always dangers in meddling with nature, but often the rewards have been enormous... and sometimes they have changed the world forever. Often it is the use to which biotechnological techniques are put that determines whether the outcomes are good or bad. Often outcomes depend on motives, curiosity, greed, humanitarian need etc. In our time the power to engineer nature has become almost complete as recent human cloning revelations show that even humans can be created by biotechnology. It is not surprising that many organisations have different opinions on the safety of genetic engineering. Some feel it is vital to life while others believe it is an intrusion to our ethical being. The following table sharpens up the arguments for and against the most fundamental biotechnology... GENETIC ENGINEERING. In the midst of the controversy what are the real issues? The Objections Should we be modifying genes at all? * It's "playing God" or
Genetic Modification
Genetic Modification The development of genetically modified food is the most controversial development in farming and the food industry for centuries. Throughout history man has developed new methods of farming and new types of food but GM food represents a revolutionary change compared to the evolutionary process that has ruled up to now. Scientists have developed methods of manipulating DNA, by transferring it from one organism to another. Characteristics such as the height to which wheat grows are encoded into molecules of DNA of all living things. DNA consists of chromosomes that have series of genes; these genes are inherited through the generations. A gene that encodes a desirable trait can be copied and transferred into another organism and this is called genetic modification. There two main types of GM crops being grown at the moment. The first can tolerate herbicides that wipe out other plants and the second type is modified to produce toxin that kills pest that feed on it. At present around 25% of the world's crops are lost to pesticides and diseases through insect attack which is enough to feed over one billion people. However with Genetic Modification you can stop this as for example with the Bt maize, the maize plant modified with poisoning producing genes taken from the bacterium thuringiensis is able to resist the corn borer insect which can destroy up to
Genetics Research
Mitosis-The process of cell division producing daughter cells with exactly the same number of chromosomes as the mother cell. Self-bleeding, Human skin cells do this, they are Autosomes Interphase-period before Mitosis, where the cell gets ready for cell division. Interphase G1-Normal cell functions continue, the cell grows and protein synthesis occurs. Can last as little as 8-12 hours or as long as a few months. Skin cells take 8-12 hours. Interphase-Synthesis phase-Lasts 6-8 hours, the cell duplicates its chromosomes. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, so after S phase there's 46 pairs of chromosomes. G2 Phase-lasts 2-5 hours, and protein synthesis occurs. Prophase- Longest phase. Chromosomes (made up of 2 sister chromatides that are connected by the centromere) coil up and become visible. The nucleus and the Nuclear membrane begin to disappear. Centrioles begin moving to the poles of the cell. Microtubules and Spindle Fibers begin to extend between the centrioles, and chromatins begin attaching to the spindle fibers/microtubules. Metaphase- Shortest phase, spindle fibers connect the centromere, of each of the 46 pairs of chromosomes, to the centrioles. Chromosomes also line up in the middle of the cell. Anaphase- Each chromosome pair splits up, pulling a chromatid with it, forming two daughter chromosomes (Once the paired sister chromatids separate from one
Human Cloning.
Human Cloning The practice of cloning can be used to benefit society and therefore should be legalized. Ever since the cloning of the first adult sheep, Dolly, the idea of cloning has become a major issue and the subject of many debates. Many people are afraid of the idea of cloning because it is new and misunderstood. There is the notion that a clone would not be the same as any other person, but a clone is just a normal person, created with and having the same genes as the person being cloned. A clone will not be exactly the same as the original person. Because they will not have the same environment and experiences as the person from which they were cloned, a clone is more like a younger identical twin with a personality all of its own. There are also differences in mitochondria and uterine that makes the person different. Cloning is not that far from procedures that are being done all the time, such as in vitro fertilization, where egg fertilization takes place in a lab and is then transferred to the uterus. In vitro fertilization usually requires the retrieval of many cells and can take several times to work if it does at all. It can also result in multiple pregnancies. Cloning is only another alternative to reproduction and unlike IVF; it takes very few cells and should work the first time with a single pregnancy making it a more efficient method of reproduction.
Classification of Organisms
Classification of Organisms Organisms are often grouped into five kingdoms. Organisms are grouped because the ones that are in the same group share certain common characteristics. These groups are: Monera (bacteria), protoctista (protists), Fungi, Plants and Animals. Viruses are not living organisms and are therefore not included in this scheme. Kingdom Monera: These are the bacteria (unicellular organisms) and the blue-green algae. They consist of single cells but differ from other single-celled organisms because their chromosomes are not organized into a nucleus. They don’t have a nucleus. Kingdom Protoctista: These are single celled (unicellular) organisms which have their chromosomes (DNA) enclosed in a nuclear membrane to form a nucleus. They are also referred as Eukaryotes. Examples of protoctista are: Amoeba (not all), chlamydomonas and Euglena which also posses chloroplasts and make their food by photosynthesis. Amoeba (the rest) and paramecium take in and digest their food. Kingdom Fungi: Most fungi are saprotrophic and are made up of thread-like hyphae rather than cells, and there are many nuclei distributed throughout the cytoplasm in their hyphae. The hyphae is used to absorb food and spread out the material which the fungus is growing on. They live on dead and decayed organic matter. The hyphae then secrete enzymes into the organic matter and digest it to
Genetically modified crops - Do we know all the answers?
Genetically Modified Crops. Do we know all the answers? Genetic Modification is the method of obtaining individual genes, which are then copied and repositioned into another living organism to modify its genetic code and incorporating or removing particular characteristics into or from an organism.1 There are many viewpoints on the issue genetic modification, some scientifically based on environmental factors and potential economic growth, others concerning ethical, moral and social perspectives. Ever since the breakthrough of genetic modification, deliberation has surrounded all issues involving this controversial topic. Many organizations have published books, videos, and leaflets arguing their side of this debate. Advances in GM biotechnology, such as the incorporation of the gene which stops the Arctic Flounder from freezing, has been placed into the genetic sequence of strawberries to stop them shrivelling in the cold British weather2, these 'modifications' have led to many intrinsic and extrinsic moral issues arising from this "new" technology. Dr Robert Farley of the Monsanto Institute, USA3 believes that genetic modification of crops for human consumption is a much more efficient and effective way of creating more resilient wheat crops than traditional cross-pollination. This is because genetic modification is more specific in changing a particular gene,
Evolution, what, and any evidence is there?
Opening In this case study I will be writing about evolution and, what, if any evidence there is. I chose this topic of science because im interested in how our species came about and how it’s been changed from theory to theory, and how it’s still being challenged. This, I hope, will interest and reading group of KS4. This may or may not help them with there GCSEs and revision. After they have read my case study, I hope they will make up there own minds using the for and against evidence presented. I will also so show my own opinion at the end of the study along with a conclusion for for and against, I will also compare the sources that I present and evaluate them to see if they are backing up their claims. Arguments for. A general explanation of how scientists think it works. This is an opening and explanation of evolution from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_evolutionary_synthesis#The_modern_synthesis “The modern evolutionary synthesis (also referred to as the new synthesis, the modern synthesis, the evolutionary synthesis and the neo-Darwinian synthesis) is a union of ideas from several biological specialties which forms a logical account of evolution. This synthesis has been accepted by nearly all working biologists.[1] The synthesis was produced over about a decade (1936–1947), and the development of population genetics (1918–1932) was the
Research Project "Is Cloning Beneficial or Harmful?"
Cloning? Huriya Nazari Table of content Page no. . Introduction ...............................................................3 2. Cloning: . recombinant cloning or DNA cloning……………...3-4 . Therapeutic cloning ………………………………..5-6 2. Reproductive cloning……………………………… 7-8 3. Arguments against human cloning…………………9 4. Arguments for human cloning …………………….10 . reliability and validity of data obtained……………10 2. Conclusion…………………………………………11-13 3. Bibliography……………………………………….14-15 3. Introduction I am investigating the issues around cloning and whether it is a benefit to us or harmful. 4. Cloning Cloning is asexual reproduction this is when only one parents chromosomes are inherited. This is why they are genetically identical. Examples of organisms that reproduce asexually are . Single-celled organisms like archaea, bacteria 2. Many plants 3. Fungi reproduce asexually. There are different types of cloning, all with different cloning technologies and for different purposes; recombinant DNA technology or DNA cloning, reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning. 4.1 Recombinant DNA or DNA cloning DNA contains the
What were the origins of modern farm animals?
What were the origins of modern farm animals? Every day millions of animals live on farms. They are used for meat their skin, milk and eggs and have continued to be a huge source of food, income and other materials for humans for thousands of years. Without animals we would struggle to survive even in our technology dominated world. They are, even though we may not realise it the back bone to our lives and have been for so long. But how did they get there how, come they now have the perfect characteristics for what we want them to do? In this piece of writing I will be discovering their origins and what adaptions we have made to make them the perfect farm animals. Wild sheep were first domesticated in 9000 BC and originally came from Mesopotamia; the first sheep that were domesticated were the Mouflon sheep. Mesopotamia is a part of North Africa and lies across Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Israel. As the main religion in this area is Muslim, they were the ideal animal for eating and using their other products. Sheep are some of the earliest ever animals that were kept by humans for their resources. The reason for this is probably for all the different uses they can have to humans. Their milk, meat, skin, wool and also how they are very versatile to live in different conditions make them one of the most common mammals in the world with their numbers reaching 1 billion . The
The moral and ethical concerns with the use of genetically modified crops.
The moral and ethical concerns with the use of genetically modified crops Background Ethics = "The study of the moral value of human conduct and the rules and principles that govern it"1. Moral values of a certain topic can vary between different people, this often leads to conflict. This has happened to the Genetically Modified (GM) foods debate. The definition of Genetically modified foods from the EC novel foods regulation is "a food which is, or which is made from, a genetically modified organism...containing genetic material or protein resulting from the modification"17. Society has to decide what is deemed to be right and the power to say where it is also wrong in a particular case. "Ethical decisions involve weighing up risks against the benefits"1. The morals of an individual rely on their "feeling rather than facts"1 of a situation. Areas of discussion . The views of the general public on GM foods 2. The role of the media in the GM debate 3. Scientific findings and conclusions about GM foods and companies which are pro-GM . The views of the general public on GM foods There has always been great opposition to the idea of "Frankenstein foods"2 by the public. This is greatly due to the public not understanding what a GM crop consists of. The majority of people don't like the idea of GM crops because of many reasons. Some people think that the biotechnology
