Gene Modification

Altering genetic makeup seems like the impossible. However, several scientists globally have spent years trying to perfect just that. Choosing your child's hair colour, eye colour or even IQ seems like something from a fairytale; creating your dream child. Some say this is a simple process; selecting the gene and altering it to perfection. What many don't know is it is the complete opposite. Genes are often multi purposed, they contain multiple sets of crucial genetic information. By modifying a gene to change one thing can easily have a negative effect on another. For example, a person’s height is determined by the genes that affect growth, appetite and muscle mass”, that being said, if that gene were genetically modified to create the “perfect”

This procedure has also been performed successfully in the lab with dicots, broadleaf plants, soybeans and tomatoes for many years. Through this procedure, the desired gene and marker is inserted into the tDNA of the plasmid. Tissues of the organism are then transferred to a medium containing an antibiotic or herbicide in order to tell if the organism has successfully taken up the desired gene because only the tissues expressing the marker will survive. These tissues are then grown under controlled environmental conditions in tissue cultures containing nutrients and hormones so that whole plants are grown. When plants are grown and have produced seed, an evaluation of the progeny is done making sure that the desired traits have been passed on (Understanding GMOs).

Before I started this week’s writing I did not know much about GMOs. Whenever I would hear GMOs I would only think about process foods and animals being injected with hormones. Like in the ones you would see and hear about in documentaries about what fast food establishments do to their livestock, but now after doing some research on Genetically Modifying humans I have learned that GMOs have much more to do then just animals being injected by hormones. With Genetically Modifying humans we can find cures to so many illness and diseases.

In the past decade, our world has witnessed and produced some of the most unfathomable technological advances that seem utterly unimaginable and futuristic but is now being developed, unfolding right before our very eyes. These advances include: TV screens as thin as a DVD, high-speed internet, smartphones, and even self-driving cars. Today, we have an advancement that could potentially alter the future of our world, indefinitely. “CRISPR-Cas9”, the remarkable technological advancement that is capable of altering a human’s DNA. Scientists must take extreme caution to the ever growing technology in order for ourselves to be the beneficiary of these advancements.

Gene editing with CRISPR-Cas9 will be the next cure for cancer, many other diseases and could change many lives. Even though this ground breaking technology has not been put to use on humans yet, when it does it will be well worth the wait. Many countries have been working on the CRISPR-Cas9 for months to allow it to be used to cure the many diseases that can not be cured with modern technology.

In the contemporary world, there are three main techniques, which are used for genetic modification of animals. These methods are DNA microinjection gene transfer, embryonic stem cell-mediated gene transfer, and retrovirus-mediated gene transfer.

I am writing to you to explain the problems concerning genetic modification in humans. The field of genetics has come so far in the past decade, and there are currently efforts being made to correct autosomal recessive diseases, such as Hemophilia B.1 I agree that being able to cure diseases, like Hemophilia, is important, but it also means that scientists would be able to create “designer humans.” The concept of “designer genes” in human modification reinforces the idea that there is an ideal human which is both ableist and catered strictly to upper class individuals. In this letter, I am expressing my opinion that while advances in genetic engineering are being made, it is important to remember that science should not progress to the point that we are removing all imperfections.

The modified genes of transgenic species can be of benefit to humans especially infants. It is possible to modify the genes of a cow in order to allow them

The author then interviews a farmer who has transitioned from conventional farming to genetic modifications. Using GMOs seems promising as it seems like the answer to cost and environmental issues. However, using genetic modifications leads to an uncharted territory with many unknowns. FDA classifies it as a pesticide because Bt is injected into the Agrobacterium payload, and then the bacterium splices it into the potato’s DNA. Dave Stark, a molecular biologist and co-director of Naturemark, Monsanto’s potato subsidiary stated, ”There’s still a lot we don’t understand about gene expression,”(Pollan). They aren’t sure how the Bt will affect humans or the environment under the foreign modifications. However, Pollan does mention that genetic engineering

It should remain illegal in most cases for genetic manipulation to be used in choosing a baby’s gender.

Gene doping is a method used in which genes can be modified or expressed to provide a development that can enhance the body and mind. This method, gene doping was introduced in the late 1970s from several scientists after the development of recombinant of DNA. The process of gene doping can unlock the full human potential. People can deve their muscle growth, blood production, pain resistance, and much more using gene doping (Runkle). Allowing the method of gene doping, could draw in new viewers for genetically modified sports and it can help the elderly with life long problems.

Genetic modification, otherwise referred to as recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology or gene splicing, has proven to be more precise, predictable and a better-understood method for the manipulation of genetic material than previously attained through conventional plant breeding. Agricultural applications of the technology have involved the insertion of genes of desirable agronomic traits into a variety of crop plants, and from a variety of biological sources. Examples include soybeans modified with gene sequence from a streptomyces species encoding enzymes that confer herbicide tolerance, and corn plants modified to express the insecticidal protein of an indigenous soil microorganism, Bacillus thuringiensis. A growing body of evidence suggest that technology and may be used to make enhancements to not only the agronomic properties but the food, nutritional, industrial and medicinal attributes of genetically modified crops.

The purpose of the report is to outline the concept of genetic manipulation, which is an all-inclusive term that describes the deliberate manipulation of the genetic material by biochemical techniques. It is also referred to as genetic modification or genetic engineering. These are the terms for the process of manipulating the genes, usually outside organisms natural reproductive process. It involves, isolation, manipulation and reintroduction. In this report the type of genetic manipulations that will be discussed are selective breeding in the plants in order to produce desired characteristics. The case study that covers selective breeding in the report is on Red Fleshed Apple. On the other hand, transgenesis in animals is the other type of genetic manipulation being covered which means taking a gene from one species and inserting it into another. The case study organism explaining transgenesis in animals will be transgenic cow.

In 1989, the year Japanese company Showa Denko attempted to produce tryptophan, a food supplement, more efficiently by genetically modifying a natural bacteria. Unexpectedly, a toxic substance inside the tryptophan formed, causing five thousand people to became ill, fifteen hundred to become permanently disabled, and thirty-seven to die. This tragic event is one of many issues that sparks the continuous debate on genetic modification, which concerns the purposes, benefits, and dangers of modifying an organism’s DNA . While advocates for the increased production of disease-resistant crops and advocates for immunizations by engineered genes consider genetic engineering as advantageous, many individuals believe that such technology poses a lot more physiological harm than it does benefits. It is important for scientists to consider all the benefits risks of modifying an agricultural crop’s DNA or a human embryo’s, and that the government, health organizations, and agribusinesses regulate such processes and manage the distribution of genetically modified (i.e. GM) crops.

The essay “Genetic Interventions and the Ethics of Enhancement of Human Beings”, by Julian Savulescu is a moral problems essay about genetically modifying human beings, specifically children, and not only does it support the arguement, it also gives objections, ethical theories related to genetic enhancement, and examples of what exactly it is and does. The main focus of the essay is about genetically modifying people to choose their appearance, intellectual capabilities, or to prevent diseases they may develop.