Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

April 29, 2013

Rayshell Clapper for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

After learning about human genetic engineering, many readers might want to find out about some examples of genetic engineering. Both bizarre and beneficial, the following article highlights some truly fascinating and pragmatic examples of modern genetic engineering.

The Biotechnology Forums, a website for professionals and students in biotechnology (the area that studies genetic engineering) recently explained some of these examples. The first animal example of genetic engineering is the spider goat. Yes, you read that correctly. A spider goat is able to produce the strong, stretchable silk used by spiders to create their webs. This silk web is one of the strongest natural materials known to man, stronger even than steel.

Nexia Biotechnologies Company inserted the gene from a golden orb-weaver spider into the genome of goat in such a way that the goat secretes the protein of the spider web in its milk. The milk was then used to create a what Nexia called (and trademarked) BioSteel, a material with characteristics similar to spider webs.

Beyond goats capable of secreting spider webs in their milk, there are a number of other really cool examples of genetic engineering in animals. In one redOrbit blog, this author reported about a cat that glows in the dark. The glow-in-the-dark feline has a fluorescence gene that makes it glow under an ultraviolet light. As the Biotechnology Forum outlines, here is how South Korean scientists first created the glowing cat in 2007:

They took skin cells from Turkish Angora female cat (species that were originally tamed by Tatars, but was later transferred to Turkey and is now considered the countrys national treasure), and using the virus they inserted the genetic code for the production of red fluorescent protein. Then they put genetically modified nuclei into eggs for cloning and such cloned embryos are returned to the donor cat. It thus became the surrogate mothers own clones.

And why make a cat that glows in the dark? The researchers explained that this was no frivolous experiment and that potential benefits exist in medicine for treating and testing for human diseases caused by genetic disorders. And just today, researchers in Uruguay announced that they had successfully created a genetically modified glowing sheep. Though not directly applicable to medical technology, the researchers had this to say about the purpose of their research: Our focus is generating knowledge, make it public so the scientific community can be informed and help in the long run march to generate tools so humans can live better, but were not out in the market to sell technology.

Moving on, two other good example are the less-flatulent cow and the so-called Ecopig. As Mother Nature Network explains, cows produce a lot of methane gas, which is second only to carbon dioxide in contributing to the greenhouse effect. So scientists at the University of Alberta identified the bacteria responsible for producing methane and designed a breed of cows that create 25 percent less methane than the average cow. This is one genetic engineering example that directly and practically addresses one of the major problems facing modern man.

The Ecopig (aka enviropig or Frankenswine) is yet another of the many examples of genetic engineering that positively contribute to the environment. The Ecopig has been genetically altered to better digest and process phosphorus. The reason is that pig dung is high in phytate, a form of phosphorous that farmers use it as fertilizer but which over stimulates the growth of algae which can deplete oxygen in the watersheds and thus kill marine life. The Ecopig has been genetically modified by adding E. Coli and mouse DNA to the pig embryo, which reduce the pigs phosphorous output by about 70 percent.

More:
Examples Of Genetic Engineering: Bizarre Yet Beneficial Uses Of Modern Biotech

ALM207 Genetic engineering lecture two
This is a video on the topic Genetic engineering lecture Two. This is part of the topic of technology in Plant and Animal breeding, which is offered in the Agricultural Degree at NMIT. For...

By: nmitVITandWINE

More:
ALM207 Genetic engineering lecture two - Video

Genetic Engineering on Genetically Modified Food
"A multimedia project for the 2013 Student Bio Expo by Abbey Landicho and Lucy Lu." This audio slideshow is about the topic Genetic Engineering about Genetic...

By: StudentBioExpo

Read more here:
Genetic Engineering on Genetically Modified Food - Video

Genetic engineering The world_s greatest scam_ 1)

By: Beo2X

View post:
Genetic engineering The world_s greatest scam_ 1) - Video

Genetic Engineering: Somewhat Defined
These are my comrades explaining their own impromptu definition of genetic engineering.

By: BufordIV4

Follow this link:
Genetic Engineering: Somewhat Defined - Video

Dr Rasheed Genetic Engineering 23-4

By: forsan1styear

See the original post here:
Dr Rasheed Genetic Engineering 23-4 - Video

BIOLOGY GENETIC ENGINEERING
Biology project on genetic engineering.

By: ErinSingSong

Continued here:
BIOLOGY GENETIC ENGINEERING - Video

WHY GENETIC ENGINEERING IS AWESOME
Don #39;t like your dog? Turn him into a cat! Well...a cat-like dog. It #39;ll probably still like french fries as much as before, though. You #39;re dog #39;s pretty weird ...

By: DanCakez

View post:
WHY GENETIC ENGINEERING IS AWESOME - Video

April 18, 2013

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Officials and scientists across the United States are debating the role of genetic engineering in agriculture. While some see genetically modified foods as a sign of technological progress and a way to maximize profits, others see it as a potential hazard with unknown effects for the public health.

In Oregon, state legislators recently heard testimony on several bills that would affect genetic engineering in the agricultural industry. These bills would require labels on all agriculture GMOs, as well as ban the importation genetically altered fish.

We have a right to know whats in our food, Scott Bates, of the advocacy group GMO Free Oregon, told the states Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. He added the technology has not proven to be free of risk for consumers.

Currently, Oregon does not have state restrictions on growing GMOs, generally leaving the US Department of Agriculture in charge of deciding whether genetic engineering in an agricultural product is safe for the farmers field and the store shelf.

Other states are taking notice of the genetic engineering farms are now embracing as a new way to improve crop yields. In Hawaii, some lawmakers and scientists are at odds over how to proceed with respect to agricultural genetic engineering, with some scientists campaigning against the techniques.

I compare GMOs in a way to steroids because steroids are the easy way to go. It makes it easier for people in sports to enjoy but theres side effects, University of Hawaii agriculture professor Hector Valenzuela told local news station KHNL.

In pushing for mandatory labels for GMOs, Valenzuela cited potential secondary impacts, including the contamination of non-GMO farms with modified seeds and increased pesticide spraying that many GMOs require.

So in terms of what adverse effects, you have to ask questions also of the potential side effects of consuming all of those pesticides, Valenzuela said. For a major importer like Hawaii, the debate over genetic engineering in agriculture poses a unique conundrum, since the islands limited space places a premium on maximizing yield.

Continued here:
Minor Skirmishes In The Great Debate Over Genetic Engineering In Agriculture

April 16, 2013

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

While there are many advantages to the ability to modify genes, there are also a number of genetic engineering disadvantages. However, unlike the pros such as super-sized strawberries, drought-proof corn or fungus-resistant soybeans the cons of genetically engineered foods are sometimes a little harder to spot.

For starters, according to Washington Post columnist Dr. Peter Lind, genetically modified organisms (GMO) have proven inferior to their naturally occurring counterparts in terms of overall quality.

In every case of genetic engineered organisms, the product has been less naturally healthy overall than the original host organisms, he wrote in a March editorial. There may be a single trait that is superior, but the overall health of the organism is less than found in nature. From animals like the sheep Dolly, to the Flavr Savr tomato, to the products you are eating today and dont even know it, there are inherent problems consuming altered DNA.

Another of the principle genetic engineering disadvantages that Lind points out derives from the fact that DNA does not always fully break down during human digestion. This means that there is a chance that the bacteria in our intestines could incorporate parts of the genetically modified plants DNA such as the gene for super-resistance into their own, leading to new strains of super-bacteria.

Columnist Mark Bittman from the New York Times breaks down another unintended effect of genetic engineering in his recent column criticizing President Barack Obamas recent signing of the Monsanto Protection Act.

Monsanto has long been cited as being one of the biggest problems with genetic engineering. The agricultural company not only created a highly effective weed killer in RoundUp it also inadvertently engineered plants that are resistant to it. While RoundUp and the plants resistance to it have been a big financial hit for the company, they have also resulted in the emergence of several super weeds that are resistant to the herbicide.

Bittman argues that genetic engineering is a disadvantage in this case because after all the effort that went into developing the products and the extensive use of RoundUp which could have potentially leaked the stuff into the groundwater Monsanto and farmers have ended up right back where they started: fighting weeds.

According to the Times columnist, unnecessary waste is one of the biggest problems with genetic engineering, and the Monsanto Protection Act, which prevents the Department of Agriculture from stopping the production of GMOs once they are in the ground, only exacerbates the problem.

More here:
Food For Thought – A Few Disadvantages of Genetic Engineering