Genetic Engineering

Genetic Engineering Genetic engineering is the design and construction of new biological parts, devices and systems that do not exist in the natural world and also the redesign of existing biological systems to perform specific tasks.

DNA code is regarded as the software that instructs life, while the cell membrane and all the biological parts inside them are regarded as the hardware that need to be put together to make living organisms.

So At the heart of genetic engineering there is a strong belief that every part of life can be made synthetically by chemistry, engineered and assembled to produce working organisms.

Genetic engineering represents an important change in the direction of genetic technology, which has been focused on gene sequencing in order to identify and understand the role of genes found in nature.

Huge supporters insist that genetic engineering is the key to cheap biofuels, a cure for malaria and climate remediation. This biology also means cheaper and accessible tools to build bioweapons.

Millions of dollars of government and corporate funding are already flowing into these biology labs.

Genetic engineering can be used for biological, agricultural, industrial, and medical reasons.

Although many food animal species have been genetically engineered in research settings, no genetically engineered animals have been approved for uses as human food in the United States.

Environmental issues were the greatest science-based concern associated with the genetic engineering of animals.

Genetically engineered animals are those that carry and transmit one or more copies of recombinant DNA sequence.

One genetically engineered animal commercially available in the United States is a fluorescent red zebrafish called GloFish.

In short term it seems more likely that genetic engineering will be used mostly for biomedical applications.

Genetically engineered proteins have been made and secreted in milk, blood, eggs, urine, and semen of livestock, although to date most commercial production favors the mammary gland. “Transplantation-friendly” genetically engineered pigs are currently being developed to help alleviate the critical shortage of organs for human transplantation.

Modern human genetic engineering entered the scientific realm in the nineteenth century with the introduction of Eugenics.

Genetic engineering in its broadest sense has been around for thousands of years, since people first recognized that they could mate animals with special characteristics to produce offspring with desirable traits, and use agricultural seed selectively.

Genetic Engineering generally has three methods used to introduce a foreign gene into a plant or animal.

The three methods are: Plasmid Method- to alter the genome of a bacteria and implement the gene into plants or animals. Vector Method- viral vectors transmit the DNA to a host and it will replicate the trait itself with its own genetic information. Biolistic Method- slivers of metal coated in the desired trait are fired into the cell of a host. The host is cultured to replicate the gene. Most used in plant cells.

Civil society and social movements, particularly those that have campaigned against genetic engineering and the patenting of life, recognize that ‘’extreme biotech’’ is a dangerous technology that must not be developed in the absence of widespread societal debate and legally binding regulation.

For some, the quest to build new, living organisms in the laboratory crosses unacceptable ethical boundaries- a reductionist science that raises profound implications for society.

Sources: Eenennaam, Alison. "Genetic Engineering and Animal Agriculture." (2005): 3. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. Russell and Hall, Hilary and Peter. "Septin Genomics: a road less traveled." Bio. Chemistry. 392. (2011): 4. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. Cavaleri, Franco. "Genetic Engineering Whats germinating." 30. (1992): 7. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. Extreme Genetic Engineering." introduction to Synthetic Biology. (2007): 17. Web. 13 Dec. 2011.

Genetic Engineering