Preview

genetically modified organisms

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
341 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
genetically modified organisms
title page picture

What is the purpose for Genetically Modified Organisms?
The purpose of GMOs is to make life easier for humans. GMOs are created with the well-being of humankind in focus. The many benefits that GMOs have today demonstrate this. They are used in research in medical fields, as well as in agriculture and pharmaceuticals.
GMOs are beneficial to countries that suffer from any kind of nutritional deficiency. It is well-known that vitamins, proteins and fat are an important part of everyday intake. However, many cultures around the world fall short in their intake of these needed nutrients. This issue can be addressed by introducing GMOs that are enriched in desirable nutritional properties--such as altered fat or protein content. Through the help of biotechnology, these nutrients can be introduced or concentrated in plants.
Certain species of crops--including rice, wheat, sugarcane, ground nut and mustard--are susceptible to insect infestation, but provide large yields. If the genes of these crop species are introduced into a low-yield but insect-resistant variant of crop, then the yield of the genetically modified crop can be increased without raising the risk of insect infestation.
Examples of (GMO) http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/photos/12-bizarre-examples-of-genetic-engineering/medicinal-eggs What is the process to make a Genetically Modified Organism?
Genetic modification involves the mutation, insertion, or deletion of genes. When genes are inserted, they usually come from a different species, which is a form of horizontal gene transfer. In nature this can occur when exogenous DNA penetrates the cell membrane for any reason. To do this artificially may require attaching the genes to a virus or just physically inserting the extra DNA into the nucleus of the intended host with a very small syringe, with the use of electroporation using electricity to permeate the cell membrane for transfection or with very small

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Mostly, GMOs are done with agricultural crops and animals that are consumed for food. Food, most needed by humans, whom are the consumers. But because of the non-stop increase of the population, source of food became a problem. So they came up with these, genetically engineered crops. They can noticeably increase crop yields and also, reduce the use of chemical pesticides. The costs for food and drug production are reduced, the quality and the organisms’ composition are improved and it has greater food security for the growing population.…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Miss

    • 8881 Words
    • 29 Pages

    Genetic modification has a variety of uses pure science, research, medicine, food production, agricultural innovation. Genes work by coding instructions for making proteins and proteins are the chemicals that have a strong influence on biological functions. GMO technology finds itself an enduring part of society, history and people. This is true because of the technology’s ability to integrate itself with wild populations and even contaminate conventional crops, well beyond the decision for farmers to halt the planting of GM crops. There will be a decrease in the products derived from GMOs.…

    • 8881 Words
    • 29 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Global food production faces many challenges such as climate change, exponential population growth, and the struggle to find arable lands. Societies have always produced GMOs (genetically modified organisms) to increase the occurrence of desired traits with methods such as selection, cross-pollination, and hybridization. However, the new technology, genetic engineering, the process of rearranging genes is saturating the GMO conversation. Still, the genetic engineering in medical applications, such as insulin is largely accepted. However, the debate heats up when it comes to the agricultural modifications dedicated to higher yielding crops through disease resistant, herbicide tolerant and qualities to combat…

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Genetically modified organisms are made moving the DNA from one species to another. DNA contains genes which code for proteins. For plants and bacteria; restriction enzymes are used to cut a DNA segment from a desired gene source and a bacterium plasmid. They are joined using ligase enzymes and inserted into the plant chromosome or host bacterium. For animals the recombinant DNA is injected into an embryo and transferred to a recipient mother. The organisms will now express a new protein. Proteins determine form and metabolism. Genetic engineering changes the natural DNA of living things, cutting across species boundaries.…

    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Nebraska cornhusker frets as he surveys his drought-stunted crop. A Nigerian yam farmer digs up shrunken tubers. A Costa Rican coffee baron lays off hundreds of workers because a fungus has spoiled his harvest. A poor Indian cotton farmer discovers his crop infested with insects. Such dilemmas are becoming more and more prevalent in our world plighted with drought, climate change, and other natural devastations to plants. However, the rapid population growth of humans makes overcoming these challenges increasingly urgent. Ramez Naam discusses the solution to these problems in his article Why GMOs Matter. I strongly agree with Ramez Naam that GMOs should continue to be used because they increase food production which proves a necessity in order to feed our growing population and avoid hunger, GMOs enable farmers to be better stewards of the environment by allowing them to grow more crops on less land while using fewer pesticides and less water, and contrary to popular belief, there are no proven health hazards.…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Genetically modified organisms(GMO) are plants, animals, microorganisms or other organisms whose genetic makeup has been altered using gene splicing, gene modification or transgenic technology. Most countries consider GMO’s not to be safe and have required all companies to label their products if they are GMO, and some nations have put a ban on GMOs entirely. The United States and Canada have approved GMOs, and do not require a label to be placed on genetically modified products. GMOs are being used to make crops grow easier and increase food production. Advances have been made to where plants can now grow in conditions where in other circumstances, would not be able to grow to their full potential. The positive aspects of genetic engineering…

    • 243 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Monsanto Research Paper

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Genetically modified organisms, otherwise known as GMOs, are engineered by humans to enhance plants by introducing DNA from different organisms into other plants (Latham). Scientists originally designed GMOs to help combat world hunger and make the world a healthier place. Nevertheless, the opposite has occurred. GMOs have contributed to an increase in allergies, diseases, and uncontrollable side effects, as well as making the environment unsafe for humans, animals, and the agriculture industry.…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Genetic modified foods can be very beneficial to farmers who have loss crops from pests and insects that eat them. Originally farmers used chemical pesticide annually to kill pests however; they found that consumers would not eat the food as it was a health hazard. Also it had harmed the environment as the pesticide would poison the water supply. By having genetically modifying crops food can be protected from insects and pests. Bacillus thuringiensis(BT) Corn is an example of a genetically modified crop, which contains delta endotoxins and when insects are exposed to this the toxins will paralyse the insect’s digestive system and kill it. Hence GM foods can be very beneficial as the production of agriculture will be less damaged.…

    • 852 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What exactly are GMOs? Genetically modified foods are organisms manipulated in a laboratory setting, so their genetic make-up can be modified. Many supporters choose GMOs to prevent the use of herbicides, pesticides, greenhouse emissions, and for the reduced costs of food. They argue that a variety of potatoes, cotton, and maize, carry many genes from Bacillus thuringiensis which successfully control insect population worldwide during its use, especially in the U.S where they are currently being sold commercially. Also, they stand by their point of the use of these products will greatly decrease pesticide use. Progress has been in the GMO industry with oilseed grape,…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Pro Gmo Research Paper

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages

    This topic has brought much debate between the two opposing sides to see how safe GMOs are to consume. Pro GMO activist believe that “food is viewed as a source of nutrition to meet daily requirements at a minimum in order to survive but with an ever greater focus on the desire to thrive. In the latter instance, there is an ever-growing interest in the functionality of food. Functional foods have been defined as any modified food or food ingredient that may provide a health benefit beyond the traditional nutrients it contains” (Newell-McGloughlin, 2008). The increased functionality of GMOs could lead to a world with less diseases. While on the other side, others believe that GMOs could lead to cell mutation due to the organism own genetic modification. There are three major aspects that raise debate. “1. The use of selectable markers to identify transformed cells. 2. Transfer of extraneous DNA into the plant genome (i.e. genes other than those being…

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The first main advantage is the food quality. Genetically modified organisms improve food quality, its shelf life, nutritional value, and its size (Hodge 102). A lot of people think that Genetically Modified Organisms are not safe, but what people fail to realize is that the Food and Drug Administration, also known as the FDA, has to approve anything that is sold to be consumed as food (Hodge 103). If the FDA says that they are safe then, why worry about them? Americans express their concern because GMOs can cause health effects, but six out of ten people who say that are using some form of tobacco, which is a bigger health risk than GMOs. All food has the same requirements no matter how it was grown (“Food”). Even the pesticides that get used on the fields must go through the Environmental Protection Agency, also known as the EPA, to ensure that everything they use is safe…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Genetically modified (GM) crops are designed to be protected from pest and insects without harmful chemical pesticides to the surrounding environment. Research has been done to suggest that the GM plants are harming the natural organisms in the environment. The crops have harmful effects on some insects such as death, mutated offspring, and a change in lifespan. These crops have been claimed toxic and dangerous to the environment.…

    • 569 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Due to the quite random nature of genetic engineering, there is a risk that it may disrupt the functioning of other genes in an organism. This could mean that the organisms do not survive at all, or become some sort of mutated freak, which is completely different and maybe even more dangerous. Genetic engineers also intend to profit by patenting genetically engineered seeds. This means that, when a farmer plants these genetically engineered seeds, all the seeds have an identical genetic structure. As a result, if a fungus, a virus, or a pest develops which can attack this particular crop, they might all be at…

    • 1066 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ensuring an adequate food source for this growing population will be a major challenge in years to come. GMO's will be able to meet those needs because that is the reasoning behind genetically modified. More crops can yielded and prices can stay low. The stable and efficient way to sustain enough crops, crops will have a longer shelf life and remain fresh during transportation and even storage.…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Genetic engineering in agricultural crops serves as an exciting route in future possibilities of food production. Several benefits result from this technology, where genetically modifying crops has the capacity to improve genes that provide better resistance to stress—whether it be resistance to pests, severe weather such as frost or drought, disease, or from chemical compounds. For example, plants can be genetically engineered to produce their own Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a bacterium that occurs naturally in the soil in which disrupts the digestive systems of insects upon consumption.i An additional benefit is the possibility for farmer’s to use fewer pesticides in treating GM crops. Non-GMO crops are significantly more affected by pests, as traditional crop breeding is limited by the time taken to move resistance traits into crop genetic backgrounds and has limited gene pools in which to search for novel resistance.ii Furthermore, resistance based on single genes does not protect against the full spectrum of pests, weeds, and diseases, and is more likely to break down as pests evolve counter-resistance. GM-based crop protection could substantially reduce the need for farmers to apply pesticides to their crops, for resistance genes can be introduced into the crops to provide multiple resistances and make it more difficult for pests to evolve counter-resistance.iii Because GM techniques greatly facilitate gene transfer, it can provide a possible solution to overcome these constraints within traditional crops that make it more susceptible to pests. GMOs also have the capacity for use in bioremediation, where GMO organisms can restore properties of the soil affected by nutrient depletion, heavy metals or groundwater pollution. Genetic manipulations to organisms such as bacteria could modify enzyme specificity and design a…

    • 1084 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays