Category Archives: Transhuman News

Genetic engineering is the process of altering the genetic composition of plants, animals, and humans. The most practical application of genetic engineering is to create a more sustainable food system for the people of Earth, but there are other ways we can use it to our advantage as well.

Unfortunately, there are both pros and cons of genetic engineering. For every benefit, there is a list of concerns and potential problems we need to consider. There is a substantive argument on both sides of genetic engineering, and well explore both ahead.

Most people tend to focus on the negatives of genetic engineering, but there are some substantial positive we need to consider as well. Genetic engineering is a debate, and there are some good points on each side. You have to look at both the pros and cons of genetic engineering if you want to make an informed decision on the matter.

Evolution takes thousands of years to adapt to our surroundings, but genetic engineering offers a quicker path forward. With the assistance of genetic engineering, we could force our bodies to adapt to the changing climate of our planet.

Additionally, we could tack-on some extra years to our lives by altering our cells, so our bodies dont deteriorate as quickly as they currently do. The fountain of youth might be within our reach, and many look forward to advancements in the area of genetic engineering.

If we choose to go down this path, well feel better as we age and be able to outlast some of the diseases that currently take us down. We still wont be able to live forever, but genetic engineering shows promise in extending the prime of our lives.

Food shortage is a massive problem in the world, especially with the growing population. Were destroying natural habitats to make way for farmland, and overgrazing is causing current pastures to become dry and uninhabited.

The answer to this problem could come in the form of genetic engineering. If we can alter the composition of vegetables and animals, we can create new foods that might have more nutritional value than nature creates on its own.

We might even be able to advance to a point where foods give us medicines we need to combat widespread viruses and illnesses. Food is one of the most promising spaces when considering the prospect of genetic engineering.

A lot of diseases depend on genetic predisposition. Some people are more likely to get cancer, Alzheimers and other diseases than their neighbor. With genetic engineering, we can get rid of these genetic predispositions once and for all.

There will likely still be some environmental concerns that will cause diseases, but if we start altering the genes of humans, we may become resistant to genetic abnormalities. Family history wont mean anything when it comes to things like cancer, and we can start eliminating diseases that are completely based on genetics.

There are already a handful of diseases and illnesses we can detect while a baby is still in the womb. We even can genetically engineer some diseases and illnesses out of a babys system before theyre born.

Finding out your baby has a disease can be devastating, and some parents make the difficult choice to spare their child possible pain. If you know that your baby might suffer and die a few months after theyre born, you have to decide whether or not you want to roll the dice.

In the future, we might be able to eliminate the chances of unhealthy babies. Diseases like Huntingtons offer a substantial chance that the carrier will pass it onto their child. If the child isnt positive for the disease, theyll still be a carrier and have to deal with the same dilemma when it comes time to have kids of their own.

Genetic engineering has the potential to stop these threats in their tracks. Parents wont have to worry about birthing a healthy son or daughter. Science will guarantee that every baby is happy and healthy when they come into this world.

Of course, genetic engineering isnt entirely positive. There is an upside to the ability to genetically alter humans and animals, but only in ideal situations.

Our world isnt perfect, and scientists make mistakes all the time. We cant assume that genetic engineering will be available to the entirety of the human population, which is a flaw in itself.

The negatives of genetic engineering seem to outweigh the positives, especially since there is so much room for error. We dont know what were tampering with, which opens the door to a host of potential problems.

There are a couple of ethical problems with genetic engineering that we need to consider as a society. Those who subscribe to religion will see genetic engineering as blasphemy, for instance. Wed be playing God, in a sense. Anyone who believes in creation will be expressly against genetic engineering especially in human children.

Those who are on the opposite side of the spectrum from religious people probably wont love genetic engineering either. Genetically engineered food might work, but changing the genes of people will add to the overpopulation problem were currently experiencing.

Diseases are one of the most effective forms of population control. We dont have the heart to eliminate other humans in the name of population control, so disease does it for us. If we eliminate diseases, humans will have virtually no threat left on this planet.

Living longer lives might be ideal, but it isnt practical. If we extend the prime of our lives, were opening the door to having more children. Since all children would be in perfect health, well see a population increase that could have devastating consequences.

If genetic engineering becomes a reality, it will likely only be available to the richest members of society. Theyll be able to extend their lives, limit diseases, and make sure their children are always healthy when theyre born

When this happens, natural selection is completely obsolete. Instead, the wealthiest in society will thrive while the poor will die-out. Eventually, genetic diversity will completely disappear as genetically engineered children all express the most desirable characteristics

This problem also arises in nature if we decide to engineer plants and animals genetically. These organisms might start as food, but could introduce themselves to the wild and take over. Theyll decimate natural species, and eventually be the only thing left.

One of the biggest hurdles in genetic engineering is the possibility of errors or genetic defects, especially in humans. Scientists have a general understanding of what creates a functioning human, but they dont yet have all the pieces to the puzzle.

When it comes down to changing humans at a cellular level, scientists dont yet have the understanding of how small changes can affect the development of a growing baby. Changing genes could result in more damaging birth defects or even miscarriages.

Furthermore, tampering with diseases could end up creating a super-disease that is even harder to combat. There are too many variables in the human body for genetic engineering to work to the fullest potential. Even if it could, people will probably be too nervous to trust scientists tampering with the cells of their future children.

Science still isnt at a point where they can alter the genes of humans to prevent all diseases in unborn children, but it might be there soon. When that time comes, some might take genetic engineering to its logical extreme.

Our priority will be to create healthy children. Once we perfect this process, though, where to, we go? The next logical step is the ability to pick certain traits that our children will have. We might be able to select whether we have a boy or girl. Then, we can decide what eye color and hair color they have.

Pretty soon, were selecting every trait that our child has before they leave the womb. Nature will be virtually out of the question at this point, and people with enough money will design their babies from scratch.

Since the pros and cons of genetic engineering are compelling, its worth it to explore the possibility further. We still havent reached a place where scientists fully understand the opportunities genetic engineering presents, so they still have years of research on their hands.

In the end, though, no system of genetically altering humans, animals, or plants will be perfect. There is a massive potential for errors, and we likely wont have equal opportunities if and when scientists ever crack the case.

Although the positives of genetic engineering are convincing, the negatives can be terrifying. If we ever get to the point where we can genetically alter humans, we need to consider the moral, ethical, and practical application of technology before going any further.

The rest is here:
Pros and Cons of Genetic Engineering - Benefits and Risks

Introduction

Heard about genes? The biological things that are responsible for the characteristics of any living organism. Be it me, you, or an animal, or a microbe.

Genes define the characteristics of the organism, they are made up of DNA and most of the genes act as an instruction manual to make protein. Generally, these genes come from the parents. Each organism has two sets of genes, one from each parent.

The majority of genes are identical in all humans, but a small number of genes (less than 1% of the total) vary slightly. Alleles are variants of the same gene with minor variations in DNA base sequence. These minor variations contribute to the individuality of each person's physical features.

Genes are given special names by scientists to keep track of them. Sometimes, these names are too long, so scientists keep track of them with symbols or numbers.

Now that we know what genes are. Let me ask you a simple question. Are genes only naturally occurring and can one gain them from their parents only?

No, they can be changed or manufactured using other genes. New genes can be formed in the laboratory. The best answer to the above question lies in the concept of genetic engineering. So, let us dive into the topic and explore what genetic engineering is.

The use of recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology to insert desired characters into species is known as genetic engineering. A genetically engineered (GE) animal is one that has a new trait, thanks to the recombinant DNA (rDNA) definition.

Although traditional breeding methods have long been used to improve animal traits, genetic engineering is a much more effective method of incorporating desirable traits into animals.

Still, lets understand the significance of recombinant DNA (rDNA) in genetic engineering;

Recombinant DNA is nothing but a technology that uses enzymes to cut and paste desirable parts of DNA sequences. In this way, a new gene is formed by the use of rDNA which contains the characteristics which we desired to insert into an animal. This newly formed rDNA is then ferried to the suitable host cell where it can be copied in order to get the desired result.

Human DNA, for example, can be engineered in such a way that it can be repeated or replicated in bacteria or yeast.

Attaching suitable elements to a piece of DNA and then moving it into a bacterial or yeast cell, with those elements instructing the bacterial or yeast cell to copy this DNA alongside its DNA, is what this method entails. DNA cloning is the term for this procedure and the resulting DNA is called Recombinant DNA or rDNA.

(Must read: Nanotechnology Applications in Biology)

Genetic engineering techniques have the following types-

Here rDNA is used to create a new gene and then gene transfer is carried out by inserting the gene into plasmid liquid and then transferring it into the host cell.

Gene delivery is the technique of inserting the desired gene in the host genome to get the characteristics we wanted to insert. Some methods used in it are Electroporation, solicitation and viral vector-mediated gene transfer, and liposome-mediated gene transfer

The modern method using electric current to carry out genetic engineering. In this, pores are created in cells using the current to enable the transfer of nucleic acid in a cell. This process is also referred to as electrotransfer.

A gene-editing technique is used to edit the genome, allowing for the removal of unwanted DNA sequences or the insertion of a new gene into the host genome. Some well-known gene-editing techniques used in gene therapy experiments include CRISPR-CAS9, TALEN, and ZFN.

Now you must be curious that even though these techniques are used, what is the process of genetic engineering?

(Also read: AI applications in Chemistry)

The majority of recombinant DNA technology entails inserting foreign genes into the plasmids of typical laboratory bacteria strains. Plasmids are the tiny DNA rings that are not part of a bacterium's chromosome (chromosome is the organism's major reservoir of genetic information).

Despite this, they are capable of guiding protein synthesis and, like chromosomal DNA, they are replicated and passed on to the bacteriums progeny.

Researchers are then able to generate an essentially infinite number of copies of the inserted gene by introducing foreign DNA (for example, a mammalian gene) into a bacterium.

Furthermore, if the inserted gene is functional (that is if it drives protein synthesis), the transformed bacteria will create the protein that the foreign DNA specifies.

In the end of all the creation, scientists figure out and choose the best technique for insertion or placing of the engineered gene in the desired genome taking the process to completion.

Many theoretical and practical aspects of gene function and organization have been substantially improved thanks to genetic engineering.

In medicine, genetic engineering has been used to mass-produce human insulin, human growth hormones, alpha-interferon, a hepatitis B vaccine.

Follistim (a fertility treatment), human albumin, monoclonal antibodies, antihemophilic factors, vaccinations, and a variety of other medications have been discovered with the help of genetic engineering.

Many other therapeutically important compounds have also been developed using recombinant DNA technology.

Still, the most important of them remains the manufacturing of genetically engineered crops. For example, let us suppose, there is a crop that grows in hilly areas and isnt prone to rains. But after a few years in that area, it rains like the daily sunlight.

In that case, the farmers there will need a crop that will grow like the same crop but will be resistant to water. So, some genetic engineering will be required here to insert the desired characteristic in the specific crop.

This genetic engineering technique has helped a lot in the creation of hybrid plants and has saved the souls of many farmers.

Some of the other rDNA traits used in crop development are-

Also, genetically engineered food is a prime application of it. (Source)

An example of genetic engineering as used by some researchers is in the making of a goat that produces spider silk.

As we know, the stretchable spider web is one of the strongest fibers found around us. It has high tensile strength and is even stronger than steel.

Theoretically, it might have changed use from the making of fake tendons to the ropes for parachutes. On the off chance that alone we had the option to create it in adequate amounts.

Nexia Biotechnologies Company said it has an answer: " goat milk contains proteins of cobweb! The scientists embedded the quality from arachnid DNA quality into goats' DNA so that it secretes in their milk the protein for building the net.

This milk can be utilized to create Biosteel material with attributes like cobwebs. The webs formed from this process, i.e. the process of genetic engineering are called recombinant webs resembling the rDNA used in their creation.

In the field of genetic engineering, bacteria were the very first creatures to be genetically modified in 1973, followed by mice in 1974. Since then, scientists and researchers have come a long way and they mostly owe it to technology rapidly evolving each day.

(Also read: What is Clean Energy?)

Gene is one of the most crucial components of a living organism and genetic engineering is like a blessing to natural scientists.

See original here:
What is Genetic Engineering? Types, Process & Applications

How artificial skin is made and its uses, from treating burns to skin cancer  South China Morning Post

Read the original:
How artificial skin is made and its uses, from treating burns to skin cancer - South China Morning Post