Genetic Breeding

Question 1

What is genetic engineering?

Answer 1

Altering of an organism’s genome to produce an organism with desired characteristics. It is a very accurate process, as single genes can be targeted.

Question 2

What are the benefits of using genetic engineering?

Answer 2

• cotton - to increase crop yield from same area of land
• corn - to produce toxins that kill insects, making the plants resistant to pests so smaller amount of pesticide is needed
• bacteria - to produce medical drugs such as insulin to greater diseases

Question 3

How do scientists produce genetically engineered organisms?

Answer 3

• scientists take genes from an organism which code for these characteristics - these become foreign genes
• foreign genes are put into plant or animal cells at an early stage of the organism’s development
• the organism as it develops will display ten characteristics from the foreign gene

Question 4

What are the risks of genetic engineering?

Answer 4

• no one knows for sure the long term effects
• eating genetically eng. organisms may lead to health problems as it could introduce new allergens that may cause people to become allergic to the organism
• genetically eng. crops may cross pollinate with wild plants, introducing the gene into the wilderness which may disturb the balance of an ecosystem
• some feel that this is unethical as it is altering and interfering with genome