Uses of Genetic Engineering and Gene Technology and Ethics

Question 1

What are 6 advantages of genetic engineering microorganisms to produce recombinant human proteins?

Answer 1

1. More cost-effective to produce large volumes.
2. Simpler than prokaryotic cells.
3. Faster to produce many proteins.
4. Reliable supply available.
5. The proteins are engineered to be identical to human proteins or have modifications that are beneficial.
6. It can solve the issue for people who have moral or ethical or religious concerns against using cow or pork produced proteins.

Question 2

What are 6 advantages for scientists to use recombinant insulin?

Answer 2

1. It is identical to human insulin unless modified to have different properties.
2. There is a reliable supply available to meed demand.
3. Fewer ethical, moral or religious concerns.
4. Fewer rejection problems or side effects or allergic reactions.
5. Cheaper to produce in large volumes.
6. That it is useful for people who have animal insulin tolerance.

Question 3

What is the main ethical advantage and disadvantage of the use of GM microorganisms?

Answer 3

• Produce pure human medicines, antibiotics, and enzymes is very beneficial.
• The manipulation of pathogens can be seen as bad by some.

Question 4

What is the main purpose for genetically engineering plants and animals except for producing proteins used in medicine?

Answer 4

To meet the global demand for food.

Question 5

What are the 3 advantages of using genetic engineering rather than selective breeding to solve the global demand for food?

Answer 5

1. Organisms with the desired characteristics are produced more quickly.
2. All organisms will contain the desired characteristic (no chance of a recessive allele arising in the population).
3. The desired characteristic may come from a different species/kingdom.

Question 6

What are 3 reasons why crop plants have been genetically modified?

Answer 6

1. Resistant to herbicides to increase productivity/yield.
2. Resistant to pests to increase productivity/yield.
3. Enriched in vitamins to increase the nutritional value.

Question 7

What is one reason on how GM crops could reduce the impact of farming on the environment?

Answer 7

If there is being less need to spray pesticides then less beneficial insects will be harmed.

Question 8

Why were soya bean plants genetically modified?

Answer 8

As they are susceptible to a number of insect pests that cause billions of dollars damage every year.

Question 9

How are soya bean plants genetically modified?

Answer 9

They insert the gene for the Bt toxin and so produce their own insecticide so when the insect ingests it, the insect is killed.

Question 10

Why may the genes for the Bt toxin not be effective?

Answer 10

If the insect populations have developed a resistance to the gene.

Question 11

What are the benefits and risks of genetically engineering crops to be pest resistant?

Answer 11

+ reduce the amount of spraying protecting the environment and helping the poor farmers.

+ increase yield.

• non-pests insects and insect-eating predators might be damaged by the toxins.
• insect pests may become resistant to pesticides in GM crops.

Question 12

What are the benefits and risks of genetically engineering crops to be disease resistant?

Answer 12

+ crop varieties resistant to common plant diseases can be produced, reducing crop losses/increasing yield.

• transferred genes might spread to wild populations and case problems, e.g. superweeds.

Question 13

What are the benefits and risks of genetically engineering crops to be herbicide resistant?

Answer 13

+ herbicides can be used to reduce competing weeds and increase yield.

• BD could be reduced if herbicides are overused to destroy weeds.
• Fear of superweeds.

Question 14

What are the benefits and risks of genetically engineering crops to have an extended shelf-life?

Answer 14

+ the extended shelf-life of some GM crops can reduce food waste.

• extended shelf-life may reduce the commercial value and demand for the crop.

Question 15

What are the benefits of genetically engineering crops to have growing conditions?

Answer 15

+ crops can grow in a wider range of conditions/survive adverse conditions, e.g. flood resistance or drought resistance.

Question 16

What are the benefits and risks of genetically engineering crops to have nutritional value?

Answer 16

+ nutritional value of crops can be increased, e.g. enhanced levels of vitamins.

• people may be allergic to the different proteins made in GM crops.

Question 17

What are the benefits of genetically engineering crops to have medical uses?

Answer 17

Plants could be used to produce human medicines and vaccines.

Question 18

How has livestock been genetically modified?

Answer 18

Some farmed animals have been genetically modified to grow faster.

Question 19

What are 2 examples of GM animals?

Answer 19

1. Swine fever resistant pigs - inserted a gene from wild African pigs into early embryos of European pig strain so they are resistant to this fever.
2. Faster-growing salmon - a growth hormone being produced in the salmon throughout the year so has an increased yield.

Question 20

What is pharming?

Answer 20

Genetically modifying animals to produce pharmaceutical drugs.

Question 21

What are the 2 aspects of pharming?

Answer 21

1. Creating animal models.
2. Creating human proteins.

Question 22

How is creating animal models used in pharming?

Answer 22

The addition or removal of genes so that animals develop certain diseases, acting as models for the development of new therapies, for example, knockout mice have genes deleted so they are more likely to develop cancer.

Question 23

How is creating human proteins used in pharming?

Answer 23

The introduction of a human gene coding for a medically required protein. The human gene is introduced into the genetic material of a fertilised animal as well as a promoter gene so the gene is expressed only in the mammary glands. The fertilised transgenic female embryo is then returned to the mother and a transgenic animal is born and when it matures and gives birth it produces milk with the desired human protein and can be harvested.

Question 24

What is an issue with patenting and technology transfer in GM crops?

Answer 24

Poor farmers who need the new technique like rough resistance or added nutritional value cannot afford it as it has a patent on it. Also, some companies only allow crops to be sold for food or processing only in the year that they are bought, so cannot use the seed next year.

Question 25

How have animal and plant pathogens been studies using genetic engineering? (2)?

Answer 25

1. Pathogens can be modified to shed light on their metabolism, drug resistance as well as how it causes damage to its host.
2. The development of vaccines can also be aided by this research.

Question 26

How can adenoviruses be genetically altered to acts as vectors in gene therapy?

Answer 26

They are ideal vectors as they re not cell-specific or species-specific; they can infect the cells of many mammals. Specific genes are removed from the virus so that it cannot replicate once inside the host cells, creating space for the insertion of other desired genes.

Question 27

How is TMV involved in genetic engineering?

Answer 27

Modified TMV is sprayed onto the surface of the crop where it invades the plant cells and the host plant cells transcribe the gene to produce the hormone TMOF. The leaves of the GM crops that have been exposed to the GM virus ca be used to create a repellent spray against mosquitoes.

Question 28

What are 5 ethical questions that could be raised in the health of animals from genetic engineering?

Answer 28

1. Should animals be genetically engineered to acts as models of human disease?
2. Is it right to put human genes into animals?
3. Is it acceptable to put genes from another species into an animals without being certain it will not cause harm?
4. Does genetically modifying animals reduce them to commodoties?
5. Is welfare compromised during the production of genetically engineered animals?