by Tan E-Reng, Secondary 1-8, Index Number 29
Overview
Genetic engineering is the human act of directly manipulating and altering an organism's genetic make-up in a way that does not occur naturally. The first genetically engineered organisms were bacteria in 1973 and mice in 1974. The most common form of genetic engineering is the insertion of new genetic material into the organism's host genome. Other methods involve knocking out and disabling certain genes in a cell, thus changing the cell's overall functionality, and cloning. Genetic engineering has been applied in many fields of research including biotechnology and medicine. Some instances of genetic engineering include subtly applying changes to an organisms's genetic make-up and DNA, causing minute changes, while others change the characteristics of an organism very drastically. It also sometimes changes the properties of the milk given by mammals. New methods of genetic engineering are still being developed every day, and are being extensively researched.Pros of Genetic Engineering
1. Crops like potato and rice are being genetically engineered to give them more nutritional value.
2. Genetic engineering can make some foods taste better.
3. Genetic engineering can slow down the process of food spoilage.
4. Genetic engineering can open up possibilities for home-grown vaccines for diseases.
Cons of Genetic Engineering
1. Genetic engineering involves the contamination of genes in crops. Crops genetically modified to resist weeds might prove too strong and affect the eco-system.
2. Genetic engineering can give rise to new defects in an organism while removing currently present ones.
3. Genetic modification can be detrimental to the individuality of an organism, removing its uniqueness.
Reflection
Researching this topic was rather easy as many articles had already been written about genetic engineering. I just needed a few websites to find what I needed for the completion of this project, such as Wikipedia. I only had to explain the information I had found in my own words. For the image of the DNA helix, I only had to do a quick Google image search to find it. There was no need for me to sift through pages of images to find a good image. Regarding the topic, I conclude that genetic engineering, despite being a great new technology, is still in an early stage of development. Many problems can worm in between the advantages it gives. We need to further research this new technology and master it before we make it an integral part of our society, as failing to do so might result in horrific results, like people dying from the modifications done to them, or cancerous mutations happening in both humans and animals. The scientists have to speed up their research as more and more people are turning to buying genetically engineered meat, vegetables and fruits. Any mistake made in the genetic engineering and production of the food products can cause a multitude of adverse effects on anyone who consumes them, like those I mentioned above. This is still a new form of science. More extensive work and research has to be done on genetic engineering before we can deem it completely safe for us and other organisms.
Sources
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