First Generation Sequencing ( Ngs ) Technologies

GMO’s increase the yield of crops grown by farmers greatly, and provide the world with

Genetically modified crops, GM crops, are plants with modified DNA by using genetically engineered methods. GM crops have been commonplace across the globe since 1996. “Over a billion acres of genetically modified corn and cotton have mostly been planted in the United States” (Akpan 2013). The ideal genes are then placed from plant to another. There are two main techniques used to transfer genes from one plant to another. The first method is using a device called a “gene gun”. First, the DNA is covered in tiny particles of gold then it is shot into the other plant cells with the gene gun (James, 2014). Once the DNA is placed into the plant cells, it combines with the other DNA of the receiving plant’s DNA (Whitehouse 2003).

A Brief Description of GMOs and the Science Behind Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) – Michele Jacobs

Farming is one of the oldest professions known to mankind. Since time immemorial, man has harvested crops and built civilizations around farms. Agriculture has been a building block for many of the world’s greatest civilizations and continues to be the backbone of many countries across the globe today. In earlier days, farms and agricultural practices were limited to a small size due to the lack of greater need however as the world’s population has continued to grow exponentially, farms have dramatically increased in size and agricultural production has increased owing to the use of newer scientific techniques and more refined catalysts for growth such as re-engineered fertilizers and richer soil. However, despite all this crops are still vulnerable to diseases that pose a great threat and jeopardize the output of a farm; along with this there exists a natural limit that can be achieved in terms of productivity due to constraints such as depletion of minerals in the soil and natural make-up of the plants. To overcome these obstacles, a new practice by the name of genetic modification is rapidly becoming popular and taking the world by storm. Genetically modified organisms are those whose natural genetic makeup has been

Agribusiness and large scale farming have seen their fair share of both critics and supporters, especially today, as the internet has become an unlimited source of information and biased articles. Throughout the last few decades, technologies in the farming industry have advanced immensely as the need for more food faster has increased, but some still question the safety and trustworthiness of genetically modified organisms, also known as GMOs, while others find these technological advances necessary to feed our endlessly increasing population.

With a current population of seven billion people, the demand for food is incredibly high and is only going to increase. Due to this demand, we are pressed to find ways to create more food with the same amount of land. Historically we have always just kept our best seeds allowing plants to adapt and improve naturally, but this technique has not been able to keep up with the growing demand. To keep up with this incredible demand, new gene splicing techniques were used to create genetically modified organisms (GMO). These allow for much quicker, better, and cheaper yields. Despite the common misconception that GMOs are harmful to your health, GMOs are being used to improve the world in many different ways.

The concept of intentionally altering a naturally occurring organism’s DNA in order to produce genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has been critically analyzed by both science and the mainstream media in the last decade. However, the genetic modification of organisms is not a recent innovation as humans have been modifying organisms for over 30 000 years (Rangel, 2015). Back then, breeding through artificial selection was the most prominent method of genetic engineering. Organisms with the most desirable traits would be bred together in order to create a new generation of superior organisms. Throughout the centuries, the developments in science and technology have resulted in new methods of genetic engineering. Now, genomes can be spliced in order to insert or remove genes. It has essentially come down to a copy and paste process with genes from animals being inserted into plants as the common practice. GM foods are developed by scientists because there is some perceived advantage either to the producer or consumer. For a GM food to be of theoretical benefit to the consumer and society as a whole, it should: increase crop yields due to the introduced resistance to pests and disease, enhance the nutritional profile of an organism or increase the shelf life (Phillips, 2008).

  You may know about the emerging field of biotechnology - the medicine, the ethics, the DNA, the Human Genome, etc.  But few realize the emergence of its agricultural branch, and the international conflict that has arisen from it.  It may apply to you more than you thought, for half of the soybean products and a quarter of the corn you ate in 1999 may have been genetically modified (Kaufman A6).  Genetically modified crops (commonly referred to as GMOs) are crops whose characteristics have been altered to produce a favorable trait, whether it be prolonged freshness, a more attractive appearance, or pesticide resistance (Activist 1).  Genetic alteration is the act of inserting a gene,

A genetically modified organism, or “GMO,” is defined as being, “an organism or microorganism whose genetic material has been altered by means of genetic engineering.” This process is often used in plants and animals to produce desirable attributes. In the past, a plant with a desired attribute would be bred, by using selective breeding, to yield more plants with that desirable attribute. Now with the advancement of genetic engineering, this technique can be performed in a laboratory by moving or adding genes that express the desired attribute to other organisms. This new technique of genetic engineering can produce unstable combinations of plant, animal and bacteria genes that do not occur naturally. However, if genetically modified

As the world around us is constantly changing and evolving, so is the food we consume on a daily basis. Over the past twenty years, the agriculture industry had been significantly altered with it’s use of genetically modified organisms or GMO’s for short. Genetically modified organisms can be defined as scientists taking DNA from other organisms and altering the current organism with new DNA to produce an organism with genes that would not occur naturally. This technique is called genetic engineering. This process is not to be confused with hybridization or cross-breeding because there are no species related genes when it comes to genetic engineering. The experts from GMO Awareness explains that, “genetic engineering forcefully breaches

Genetic engineered food and food products are being upheld as the food for the future. Experiments, research, and laboratory tests have provided results that reveal the fact that GMO is the future. GMO’s not only offer cost effective weed management and strong resistance to crop infection for farmers but they are expected to feed over 9 billion people across the globe by 2050 (Gorski, 2014).

Genetic engineering is a complex environmental health issue that presents several benefits and risks to both consumers and the environment. Genetic engineering is a technique used to produce genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which are genetically altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating or natural recombination (WHO, 2014). In other words, genetic engineering is an unnatural cell invasion technology. This technology is used to grow genetically modified (GM) plants, which are then used to produce GM crops. Genetically modified plants for food consumption include those engineered for herbicide tolerance, those engineered for insect resistance, and those engineered for viral resistance (Baite, 2003). The most common GM food crops include soybeans, corn, cotton, canola, potatoes, and tomatoes (Bonetta, 2001). Genetic engineering is used to express a gene that is not found naturally in the plant or to modify endogenous genes (Key, Ma, & Drake, 2008). For example, this technology can be used to engineer resistance to abiotic stresses, such as drought, extreme temperature, and biotic stresses, such as insects and pathogens which would normally be harmful to plant survival. In addition, this system can be used to enhance the nutritional content of the plant to combat malnutrition in developing countries. Genetic engineering was initially established to increase farmers’ crop yields, but has now shifted to be more of a benefit to consumers and those suffering

Some opponents of GM crops advocate for conventional breeding as a method to produce new crop strains with higher yields per acre. However, the timeline to naturally develop a new strain through conventional breeding can take decades (Zhang 2016). Thus, natural breeding as a way to increase crop yield per acre is too slow to address the current problem of world hunger. GM crops can solve

The 2011 International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) reports A huge proportion of the most commonly grown commodity crops are genetically engineered: 95% of the nation’s sugar beets, 94% of the soybeans, 90% of the cotton and 88% of the feed corn.

Many of our crops today are what you would call genetically engineered. This means that certain plants are taken to a lab where specific genes are genetically enhanced with desired traits such as resistance to herbicides, insecticides, drought, and even improved nutritional content. While that may sound like a win for everyone such as the farmers as well as the consumers, there are many disadvantages that not only affect our health, but our environment as well as the economy. With several facts that have been shown, the good in GE crops should not outweigh the bad and in the end, we may be solving a problem now, but creating a much bigger one for our future.