module 6 - 21.5 gene technology and ethics

Question 1

What ethical considerations of the technology?

Answer 1

Protection of human rights
Human heath and safety
Animal welfare
Protection of the environment

Question 2

What can ethical issues in scientific research cause?

Answer 2

• Damage to public’s trust in scientists and research
• Can have implications on the advancement of knowledge and understanding

Question 3

Why are GM microorganisms a widely used tool in research but not GM pathogens?

Answer 3

• Health and safety of researchers and wider public
  Risk of use in biological werefare (e.g. Making genomes of pathogens more virulent or to be resistant to all known treatments)
• raises serious ethical issues

Question 4

What is me issue with GM plants to do with ethics?

Answer 4

Some people think genetic modification of plants will help feed the ever-growing human population and overcome environmental issues incl. Excess carbon dioxide and pollution, ones have major concerns about the process

Question 5

Explain insect resistance in soya beans?

Answer 5

• Scientists have inserted a gun into soya bears so my produce the Bt protein which is five to many insects attacking the plant and is widely used in pesticides
• one increasingly widely use strain of soya beans has been engineered to be resistant to a common weedkiller to farmers can spray no get id of weeds, making all the resources available to the beans
• ensures higher yield and less labour & expense

Question 6

What are the benefits of GM crops in pest resistance?

Answer 6

• Reduce amount of pesticide spraying
• protect environment
• help poor farmers
• Increases yield

Question 7

What are the risks of GM crops in pest resistance?

Answer 7

• Non-pest insects and insect-eating predators may be damaged by toxins in GM plants
  -Insect pests may become resistant to pesticides in GM crops

Question 8

What are the benefits of GM crops in disease resistance?

Answer 8

Crop varieties resistant to common plant diseases can be produced, reducing crop loss/ increasing yield

Question 9

What are the risks of GM crops in disease resistance?

Answer 9

Transferred genes might spread to wild populations and cause problems eg. Superweeds

Question 10

What are the benefits of GM crops in herbicide resistance?

Answer 10

Herbicides con be used to reduce competing needs and increase yield

Question 11

What are the risks of GM crops in herbicide resistance?

Answer 11

• Biodiversity could be reduced if herbicides are overused to destroy weeds
• fear of superweeds

Question 12

What are the benefits/risks of extended shelf life of GM crops?

Answer 12

✓ reduces food waste
X reduces commercial value and demand for the crop

Question 13

What are the benefits/risks of growing conditions of GM crops?

Answer 13

✓ crops able to grow in wide range of conditions e.g. Flood resistant
(No risks)

Question 14

What are the benefits/risks of the nutritional valve of GM crops?

Answer 14

✓ nutritional valve of crops can be increased e.g. Higher vitamin levers
X people merry be allergic to different proteins made in GM crops

Question 15

What are the benefits/risks of medical uses of GM crops?

Answer 15

✓ plants could be used to produce human medicines and vaccines
(No risks)

Question 16

what does patent mean?

Answer 16

no one else can use it without payment

Question 17

how are GM animals made?

Answer 17

• harder to produce than GM plants
• uses microinjections (tiny particles of gold covered DNA) and modified viruses to carry new genes into animal DNA

Question 18

what are 2 examples of GM animals?

Answer 18

• swine fever-resistant pigs: scientists successfully inserted gene from a wild African pigs into early embryos of European pig strain, giving then immunity
• faster-growing salmon: received genes that cause them to produce growth hormones all year round

Question 19

what is pharming?

Answer 19

using genetic engineering in animals to produce human medicines

Question 20

what are the 2 aspects of pharming in gene technology?

Answer 20

• creating animal models
• creating human proteins

Question 21

what is ‘creating animal models’ within gene technology?

Answer 21

addition or removal of genes so animals develop certain diseases, acting as models for development of new therapies

Question 22

what is ‘creating human proteins’ within gene technology?

Answer 22

• introduction of a human gene coding for medically required protein
• animals are sometimes used because bacteria cannot produce all complex proteins in eukaryotic cells
• human gene can be introduced into the genetic material of fertilised cow, sheep or goat egg along with promoter sequence so gene is expressed only in mammalian glands

Question 23

what is somatic cell gene therapy?

Answer 23

• involved replacing mutant allele with healthy allele in affected body cells
• potentially helps people with wide range of diseases
• is a temporary solution for treated individual
• healthy allele will be passed on every time a cell divides by mitosis but somatic cells have limited life and are replaced by stem cells, which will have the faulty allele

Question 24

what is germ line cell gene therapy?

Answer 24

• inserting healthy allele into germ cells (usually eggs) or into embryo immediately after fertilisation
• individual will be born healthy with normal allele in place and passed onto offspring
• raises ethical and medical conditions (eg used in cosmetics)