Biotechnologies Flashcards
Selective Breeding
How does it work?
Selects organisms with desired traits and breeds them together over generations.
What is it used for?
Improving crops, livestock, and pets for specific traits.
Positives:
- Enhances desirable characteristics
- Increases food production and variety
Negatives/Ethical Issues:
- May reduce genetic diversity
- Can lead to unintended health issues
Artificial Insemination
How does it work?
Introduces sperm into a female’s reproductive tract artificially.
What is it used for?
Treating infertility, animal breeding, allowing use of donor sperm.
Positives:
Overcomes fertility issues
Improves animal genetics efficiently
Negatives/Ethical Issues:
Requires precise timing
Ethical concerns about donor sperm use
Embryo Transfer
How does it work?
Removes embryos from one female and implants them in another.
What is it used for?
Livestock breeding, preserving rare animal genetics, human fertility treatments.
Positives:
Accelerates genetic improvement in animals
Helps preserve endangered species
Negatives/Ethical Issues:
Expensive and technically challenging
Ethical concerns about animal welfare
In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
How does it work?
Fertilizes eggs with sperm outside the body, then implants embryos.
What is it used for?
Treating human infertility, animal breeding.
Positives:
Helps infertile couples conceive
Allows genetic screening of embryos
Negatives/Ethical Issues:
Expensive and emotionally taxing
Ethical debates about embryo selection and disposal
Gene Cloning
How does it work?
Copies specific genes or DNA sequences.
What is it used for?
Research, producing proteins, creating transgenic organisms.
Positives:
Advances scientific understanding
Produces valuable proteins (e.g., insulin)
Negatives/Ethical Issues:
Potential misuse of genetic information
Concerns about creating “designer” organisms
Therapeutic Cloning
How does it work?
Creates embryonic stem cells genetically identical to the patient.
What is it used for?
Potential treatments for diseases, regenerative medicine.
Positives:
Could provide personalized treatments
Advances stem cell research
Negatives/Ethical Issues:
Involves creating and destroying human embryos
Ethical debates about embryo status
Reproductive Cloning
How does it work?
Creates a genetically identical copy of an entire organism.
What is it used for?
Animal cloning, potential human cloning (widely banned).
Positives:
Could preserve rare animal genetics
Potential to bring back extinct species
Negatives/Ethical Issues:
Low success rates and health issues in clones
Ethical concerns about human cloning
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) / Transgenic Organisms
How does it work?
Introduces genes from one species into another.
What is it used for?
Creating crops with enhanced traits, producing medical treatments.
Positives:
Can increase crop yields and nutrition
Allows production of valuable proteins in organisms
Negatives/Ethical Issues:
Concerns about environmental impact
Debates about food safety and labeling
CRISPR (Gene Editing)
How does it work?
Precisely edits DNA sequences in living organisms.
What is it used for?
Research, potential disease treatments, crop improvement.
Positives:
Highly precise and versatile
Potential to cure genetic diseases
Negatives/Ethical Issues:
Off-target effects possible
Ethical concerns about human germline editing
