Gene technology and ethics Flashcards
Why are ethical considerations important?
Protection of human rights/environment
Lack of ethics -=-> damage public trust
Give an example of insect-resistant plants:
Soybeans –> yield reduced by pests
GM soybeans to be insect resistant
Transformed plant via gene found in bacteria –> produces Bt protein toxic to some insects
Another example of GM crops:
Tomatoes –> picked unripe then chemically forced to ripen
Silenced gene responsible fro ripening
Didn’t make it to shelves due to backlash
Pros of pest resistance
Reduces pesticide spraying
Protects environment
Helps poor farmers
Increases yield
Cons of pest resistance:
Toxins in plant may affect non-pest insects + insect-eating predators.
Insect pests may become resistant
Pros of disease resistance:
Crops become resistant to common plant disease
Reduces crop loss/increases yield
Cons of disease resistance:
Transferred genes may spread to wild populations –> super weeds
Pros of herbicide resistance:
Reduces competing weeds
Increases yield
Cons of herbicides:
Reduces biodiversity if overused
Fear of super weeds
Pros of extended shelf life:
Reduces food waste
Cons of extended shelf life:
Reduce commercial value + demand for crop.
Pros for growing conditions:
Flood/drought resistant –> grown in wide range of conditions
Pros of nutritional value:
Can be increased -addition of vitamins (golden rice)
Cons of nutritional value:
Allergic to different proteins made by GM crops
Pros of medicinal uses:
Plant sued to produce vaccines/medication
How are patents used?
Prevent people using new technology without payment.
LEDCs prevented from using patents
What are some issues with patenting?
Patents only allow to be used/sold within that year of purchase
Describe how knock out mice sued for medicinal research:
Have inactivated existing gene by replacing it with artificial piece of DNA.
Used to study:
-> Cancer
-> Obesity
-> Diabetes
-> Parkinson’s
Offer biological explanation on how drugs/therapies are developed/tested.
What does the term ‘pharming’ mean?
Genetically engineering animals to produce pharmaceuticals.
How can GM pathogens be used for research?
GM bacteria/yeast –> used to store a living record of DNA of another organism (source of DNA fragments
-> Epidemiological/medical research
Example of GM pathogen sued in healthcare:
T-Killer/Polio cells genetically engineered to kill cancer cells
What are the ethical issues around GM pathogens?
Researcher infected by pathogen –> mass outbreak
genetically altered pathogen revert back to being pathogenic –> mass outbreak
Can be used as biowarfare (malice intent)
Define gene therapy:
Helps to cure inherited disorders caused buy abnormal genes/chromosomes.
Not currently widely used –> many clinical trials going on
What do you need to consider about cause of disorder before you treat it?
If disorder dominant, you silence allele through inserting a sequence of DNA into middle of it
If disorder = recessive, add working dominant allele
How do liposomes work as vectors?
Functioning gene isolated from human cell
= inserted into plasmid
Plasmid extracted
= wrapped in lipid molecule (forms liposome)
Liposome sprayed into patient airways
Pass through plasma membrane of cell + nucleus
How do viruses work as vectors?
Grow harmless adenovirus in epithelial cells in lab.
Add recombinant plasmids with functional geen
Virus isolated from epithelial cells
= purified
Virus sprayed in nostrils of patients
Virus injects DNA in epithelial cells of patients lungs
Describe germ line cell gene therapy:
Corrected allele isnerted into fertilised egg produced via IVF
Successful = all cells of embryo contain corrected allele when cell divides by mitosis
Permanent –> ensures offspring inherits corrected gene
Currently illegal
Describe somatic cell gene therapy:
Copies of corrected allele inserted directly in somatic cells of patient
Does not prevent next generation from disease
Must be repeated many times
Short-term effects
What are the disadvantages to gene therapy?
Body could identify vector as foreign –> start immune response
Allele inserted in wrong section of DNA -> more issues (cancer)
Allele = overexpressed –> produce too much missing protein
Effects of treatment short-lived
Patient may undergo multiple treatments
May be difficult to get allele into specific body cell
Positives of gene therapy:
Prolong lives for people with life threatening disorders
Better quality of life
Carriers = conceive children without disorder
decrease allele frequency of genetic disorder in population
More disadvantages of gene therapy:
Technology used for cosmetic treatments
Expensive research + treatments.
