Gene technology

Question 1

Why are ethical considerations important?

Answer 1

• human rights
• human health and safety
• animal welfare
• protection of the environment
• may affect trust in science
  
  • limit advancement of knowledge and understanding

Question 2

What are DNA libraries?

Answer 2

• store a living record of DNA of another organisms in a GM microorganims
• stored then the microorganism is propagated
  
  • usually bacteria or yeast

Question 3

What elese are GM microorganisms used for?

Answer 3

• research
• developing medical treatment
• industrial proccesses
• developing understanding of gene technology

Question 4

Why is GM pathogen rarely done? WHy is it sometimes done?

Answer 4

• concern to be used as biological warfare
  
  • e.g. resistant to all treatments or harmful
  • limited to specialised military research facilities
• GE pathogen impose a health and safety threat
• done for medical research

Question 5

Why are human genes inserted into microorganism? What are the concenrns?

Answer 5

• medical treatment,
  
  • e.g. production of human insulin
  • enzymws, medicines, antibiotics
• initially people were uncomfortable
• little debate now except in biological warfare

Question 6

How have soya beans been (XD) modified?

Answer 6

• gene for Bt protein
• toxic to pest insects that attack the plant
• and a gene for resistance to weed killer
• higher yield, less labour, less expensive

Question 7

What are the pros and cons of pest resistance?

Answer 7

• pros
  
  • reduce the amount of pesticide spraying, protecting the environment,
  • helps poor farmers,
  • increases yield
• cons
  
  • non-pest insects and insect-eating predators might be damaged by toxins in GM plants
  • insect pests may become resistant to pesticies

Question 8

What are the pros and cons of disease resistance?

Answer 8

• pros
  
  • crop variesties resistance to common plant diseases can be produces
  • reduces crop losses/ increases yield
• cons
  
  • transferred genes might spread to wild population and cause problems
  • may cause superweeds

Question 9

What are the pros and conc of herbicide resistance?

Answer 9

• pros
  
  • used to reduce competing weeds
  • increase yield
• cons
  
  • biodiversity reduced if herbicies are overused
  • superweeds

Question 10

What are the pros and cons of extended shelf-life

Answer 10

• pros
  
  • reduces waste
• cons
  
  • may reduce commercial value and demand for crop

Question 11

What are the pros and conc of altering growing conditions?

Answer 11

• pros
  
  • survice averse condition
    
    • e.g. flood or drought resistance
  • wider range of conditions
• cons
  
  • none

Question 12

What are the pros and cons of changing nutritional value?

Answer 12

• pros
  
  • improve health
  • e.g enhanced vitamins
• cons
  
  • people may be allergic to the different proteins made in GM crops

Question 13

What are the pros and cons of modyfying plants for medical uses>?

Answer 13

• pros
  
  • plants used for vaccines and medicines
• cons
  
  • none

Question 14

How are people in less economically developed countries unable to utilise GM crops?

Answer 14

• due to patens and issues of technology transfer
• patent
  
  • no one can use product without paying fee to inventor
• people who need the benefits (e.g. flood/drought resistant) unable to afford it
• rely on harvesting seed from year to years
  
  • which pateneting makes impossible
    *

Question 15

What is the problem with GM soya beans?

Answer 15

seeds can only be used w/in first year of buying them according to company that made herbicide resitant and pesticide producing soya beans

Question 16

What is the international RIce REsearch Insittue working to do?

Answer 16

• GE rice for farmers in LEDC
  
  • share technological development
  • w/o patent contraints