Cloning & Genetic Engineering +ve/-ve

Question 1

Give all the advantages of selective breeding.

Answer 1

1) Animals, for example cows, can be selectively bred to produce offspring with a higher meat yeild (or another good quality).
2) Can increase the number of offspring. Farmers can selectively breed animals that produce a lot of offspring, and this gene is transferred to the next generation
3) It can combine two different desireable characteristics. Animals and plants can be cross bred so that the offspring may have a combination of good characteristics.

Question 2

What are the advantages of genetically modified plants?

Answer 2

• They can increase food production by making them resistant to insects.
• If crops are insect resistant farmers do not have to spray as many pesticides on the plants as wildlife that doesn’t eat the crop isn’t harmed.
• If crops can be made herbicide resistant then they can be sprayed to kill weeds without harming the actual crop; this increases the yeild.

Question 3

What are the concerns around genetically modified plants?

Answer 3

• Transplanted genes may get out into the environment. For example, a herbicide resistant gene may be picked up by a week to create a ‘super weed’
• Genetically modified crops could affect foodchains or even human health
• Changing an organism’s genes may have unforseen consequences

Question 4

What are the uses of cloned transgenic animals?

Answer 4

• Animals that can produce medicines in their milk could be cloned
• Some animals that have organs useful for organ transplantation can be developed by genetic engineering and cloned
  Cloning -
• Useful genetic characteristics are always passed on
• Farmers don’t have to wait until breeding season and infertile animals can be cloned.

Question 5

What are the disadvantages of cloned animals?

Answer 5

• Clones do not develop normally and so are not as healthy as normal animals
• Cloning is expensive, time-consuming and difficult.