Biotechnology

Question 1

What is biotechnology?

Answer 1

Collection of technologies that are applied to organisms or substances derived from living organisms to meet a need or want

Question 2

What is biotechnology used in?

Answer 2

Food, healthcare, new medicine ps and vaccines

Question 3

What is selective breeding?

Answer 3

Farmers started to selectively breed for plants with the traits they wanted

Question 4

How does selective breeding work?

Answer 4

More and more plants it’s desires traits were grown until farmers had crops with only desired traits

Question 5

What is fermentation?

Answer 5

A way to preserve food where microorganisms, moulds or bacteria break down sugars in absence of oxygen

Question 6

What are the products generated from fermentation used to make?

Answer 6

Food and drink

Question 7

What are GMOs?

Answer 7

Refers to crops whose genetic makeup has been changed by humans for various purposes

Question 8

What are GMOs with genes from other organisms called?

Answer 8

Transgenic

Question 9

Why would we change the DNA of crops?

Answer 9

To create crops that are:

• resistant to herbicides
• resistant to insects
• resistant to viruses
• have delayed ripening
• increase quantity of nutrition

Question 10

Why would we want to change the DNA of animals?

Answer 10

To create crops that are:

• increased growth rate (salmon)
• develop manure that is less harmful for the environment (pigs)
• production of lactose-free milk (cows)

Question 11

What’s pasteurization?

Answer 11

Process of heating foods for a period of time in order to destroy harmful organisms

Question 12

For what 3 reasons are pasteurization done?

Answer 12

• provide healthier food
• prolong the shelf life of food
• preserve the nutritional properties of food

Question 13

How could microorganisms be destroyed?

Answer 13

By heating

Question 14

What are the benefits of GMOs? (6 reasons)

Answer 14

Scan produce desired results after one generation

• can transfer a useful gene from one species to another
• could establish a gene bank
• can improve harvests due to development of GMOs that are resistant to herbicides or insecticides
• can produce more nutritional food
• can produce less allergenic food

Question 15

What are the cons of GMOs? (6 reasons)

Answer 15

• risk that GMOs are hazardous to humans and the other species could be accidentally created since gene behaviour is not yet fully understood
• risk of creating new allergies
• risk that biodiversity will be compromised by only cultivating transgenic plants
• risk that the resistance of some GMOs to herbicides could be transferred to weeds
• risk that GMO pollen could invade other crops and thus control over GMOs would be threatened