4.6.2.4 Genetic engineering Flashcards
1
Q
What is genetic engineering?
A
- A process which involves modifying the genome of an organism by introducing a gene from another organism to give a desired characteristic
2
Q
What have plant crops been genetically engineered to be?
A
- To be resistant to diseases or produce bigger better fruits
3
Q
What have bacteria cells been genetically engineered to do?
A
- To produce useful substances such as human insulin to treat diabetes
4
Q
Explain the potential pros of genetic engineering crops?
A
- We can easily make crops have desirable characteristics like more edible fruit all being resistant to disease which means we can make more food or less money and this is particularly important when it comes to developing countries as people still die from starvation
- Make sure that plants produce special nutrients for example Golden Rice contains beta carotene which can protect people from going blind
5
Q
Explain the potential cons of genetic engineering crops?
A
- We don’t know for certain how genetically modified plants might affect our health
- Plants could make their way into the wild where they might outcompete local plants and change the whole ecosystem (pretty unlikely as the plants have been specifically modified to survive in a farmers field not to survive in the wild)
6
Q
What happens in genetic engineering?
A
- Genes from the chromosomes of humans and other organisms can be cut out and transferred to cells of other organisms
7
Q
What is modern medical research exploring?
A
- The possibility of genetic modification to overcome some inherited disorders
8
Q
Describe the main steps in the process of genetic engineering.
A
- Enzymes are used to isolate the required gene this gene is inserted into a vector usually a bacterial plasmid or a virus
- The vector is used to insert the gene into the required cells
- Genes are transferred to the cells of animals plants or microorganisms at an early stage in their developments so that they develop with desired characteristics
