GENETIC MODIFICATION

AN INTRODUCTION

Created b y Aashika Sulab elle AN OVERVIEW

GENETIC M ODIFICATION is a relatively n ew co n cep t wh ich was first in tro d u ced i n th e 1 9 9 0 s . E s s e n ti a l l y , i t i s th e p rocess o f alterin g the gen es o r gen etic co d e in o rganism s, su ch as p lan ts, fu n gi , an d b acteria, to im p rove the o rigin al o rganism . Typ ically, gen eticists m igh t d o so b y fin d in g b en eficial gen es f ro m a n o th e r l i v i n g o rg a n i s m a n d crossin g it with the o rgan ism they want to im p ro ve. Fo r exam p le, m an y crop s are gen etic ally m o d ified so they can grow m o re eff icien tly an d in greater q u an tity for the m asses. THE BENEFITS

Crop s that are gen etically en gin eered a re m o re re s i s ta n t to c e rta i n p es ticid es, wh ich m akes weed an d p e s t c o n tro l e a s i e r. T h i s a l s o d ecrease s n eed fo r tillage and lim its so il erosi on . Growin g crop s with su ch m o d ificatio n m ean s h igh er fo o d yield s, wh ich also m ean s b ein g ab le to b etter feed the world 's growin g p o p u latio n an d ad ap t to c l i m a te c h a n g e ' s i m p a c t o n a griculture Gen etic m o d ificatio n h elp s scien tists c re a te c o n s i s te n t v a c c i n e s a n d m ed icin es wh ich tre at or p reven t d is eases THE CONTROVERSY

Wh e n u si n g p esti cid es, so m eti m es th e h el p f u l i n sects are ki lled alo n g with the harmful p ests After co n tin u o u sly u sin g h erbicid es, so m e weed s can d evelop resistan ce an d b eco m e h arder to con tro l S o m e f e a r th e e x te n t to w h i c h o rganism s m ay b e o verly m od ified in o u r l i f e ti m e , te s ti n g e th i c a l b o un d aries Altho ugh there is a lack o f evid en ce to su p p o rt this, m an y still b elieve that gen etically m o d ified fo o d s can cau se in ternal b od ily d am age an d i n crease allergies in ch ild ren Is gen etic m od ificatio n b etter fo r p eo p le and the environ m en t? Is it so m ethin g we n eed to learn m o re ab o u t? WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON GENETIC MODIFICATION?

Reference: Purdue Agriculture TERMS clim ate chan ge: the sudd en change in regional clim ate patterns due largely to the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. gen es: unit of heredity that is tra nsferred from a p arent to offsprin g and determines certa in characteristics of the offspring gen etic code: the script of DNA m olecu les that carry information to cells gen eticist: one who stud ies genes, h eredity, and in herited tra its resistan ce: in this con text, resistan ce d eals with the tendency of certa in ins ects and weeds to su rvive and breed equally stro ng offsp ring which m ay b e non su sceptib le to pesticides and herbicides in du e tim e. soil erosion: the wearing away of the top soil, or the layer of ferti le soil m ost useful for growing plants tillage: the preparation of land s for growing crops THINK ABOUT IT: QUESTIONS

1.. What are the pros and cons of gene ti c m odification?

2.. Are gen etically m odified crop s good for th e environm ent? Why or why not?

3.. Should p eople who eat gen etically m odified foods b e concerned abou t such foods?Explain .

4.. Does genetic m odification have the poten ti al to solve social world problem s?If so, how?

5.. What are som e other facets of life th a t genetic engineering could be ap plied to ?