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Essay on The Pros and Cons of Genetic Engineering

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Genetic engineering is a process in which scientists transfer genes from one species to another totally unrelated species. Usually this is done in order to get one organism to produce proteins, which it would not naturally produce. The genes taken from one species, which code for a particular protein, are put into cells of another species, using a vector. This can result in the cells producing the desired protein. It is used for producing proteins which can be used by humans, such as insulin for diabetics and is also used to make organisms better at surviving, for example genetically modifying a plant so that it can survive in acidic soil.
There is debate about whether genetic …show more content…

Genetically engineered bacteria have also been known to kill. 37 people died, 1500 were partially paralysed and 5000 temporarily disabled from a syndrome that was finally linked to a substance made by genetically engineered bacteria. Genetic engineers use antibiotic-resistance genes to mark genetically engineered cells. This means that genetically engineered crops sometimes contain genes, which confer resistance to antibiotics. Bacteria that may infect us could pick up these genes and would be much harder to treat with their immunity to some antibiotics. Genetic engineering can produce unknown and unforeseen allergens in foods that obviously affect some people negatively, can cause unexpected mutations in an organism, which can create new and higher levels of toxins and transgenic foods may mislead consumers with false freshness. A luscious-looking, bright red genetically engineered tomato could be of little nutritional worth and already several weeks old.
Farmers also have started to use more and more herbicides, now knowing that many of their genetically-altered crops now have resistances to some herbicides. The extra use of herbicides causes it’s own problems, in the environment, on people

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