Bio Ch 7 continued Flashcards
Biotech can improve
food nutrition and farming practices
Genetic Engineering
the manipulation of a species genome in ways that do not normally occur in nature
Recombinant DNA Technology
combination of DNA from 2 or more sources into a product
Golden Rice
an example of biotechnology
now can feed developing countries with nutritious crop
- white rice doesn’t have much nutrition
4 steps
1. chop gene from daffodil flower
2. copy gene using PCR
3. Insert into plasmid
4. bacteria will grow and divide
gene will then express Beta-carotene
- increased vitamin A in the rice
2 factors driving adoption of modified crops in US
plants with insecticides engineered into them
plants with herbicide resistant genes engineered into them
- almost everyone in the US uses GMO crops regularly without knowing it
Can insert a growth hormone gene
more meat/fish
Potential ecological and health risks not yet fully understood
potential risk example:featherless chicken
- cheaper for farmers/consumer
-chickens susceptible to infections and parasites
pros vs cons
is it dangerous?
will organisms become invincible?
not tested/ regulated adequately?
loss of genetic diversity among crop plant risky?
hidden costs over time- cost to genetically modify?
harmful because unnatural?
Biotech can help treat diseases and produce medicines
prevent diseases
cure infectious diseases
treat diseases
Treatment of diabetes
insulin produced using recombinant DNA
Gene Therapy
biotech can help diagnose and prevent genetic diseases
has limited success in curing them
Screening for genetic disorders generally focuses on 3 different scenarios
- is a given set of parents likely to produce a baby with a genetic disease
- Tay-Sachs disease- has to be their sex cells because they would already be dead if not
- Will a baby be born with a genetic disease?
- Is an individual likely to develop a genetic disease later in life?
Cloning
offers both pros and cons
5 Steps
1. Isolate an egg cell from 1 sheep and a mammary cell from another. Remove the nucleus from each cell
2. Implant nucleus from mammary cell into the egg cell
3. Induce cell division to stimulate normal early development, and grow the dividing cell in culture until they reach the embryo stage
4. Transplant the embryo into the uterus of a surrogate mother sheep
5. Surrogate mother gives birth to cloned sheep
Ethics of DNA usaage
who has access to database of DNA?
human error
do pros outweigh cons?
Unique Identifier: DNA Fingerprint
useful for comparing a suspect’s DNA to DNA found at the crime scene
-not totally foolproof
