Biotechnology a necessary evil

We all talk of biotechnology thse days but the question that we need to ask is; what do we really
understand by this term?   Different definitions have come up with time and one of them is:”The
use of microorganisms, such as bacteria or yeasts, or biological substances, such as enzymes, to
perform specific industrial or manufacturing processes.”   It is a field of biology that involves the
use of living things in engineering, technology, medicine…nowadays it is most commonly known
as genetic engineering or as cell and tissue culture technology.   But in a simple term we can
refer biotechnology as the use of living organisms or their products by man to modify the human
health and the human environment.

Biotechnology has alsways been existed since the beginig of mankind.   When the first human
beings learned that they could grow their own plants or breed their own animal, it wasthe birth
of biotechnology.   However as time pass by and man was evolving, the concept of biotechnology
itself has changed.   Nowadays it encompasses a wider range and history of procedures for
modifying living organisms according to human purposes, going back to domestication of
animals, cultivation of plants and "improvements" to these through breeding programs that
employ artificial selection and hybridization.

We have not only been able to look at the surrounding universe and the depths below with the
advancement of tools and techniques but we also have been able to live there. The advancement
tools and techniques are now allowing us to look at the universe of atoms. Biotechnology is
utilizing the sciences of biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, computers, and information
technology to develop tools and products that hold great promise and concern. Humans have
always been"manipulating" organisms to their advantage, but now we are able to manipulate life
and materials at the atomic level.

The numerous potential benefits of this recent technology are very intriguing.
Proponents of this technology claim that biotech crops could, or do, reduce pesticide
usage, increase yields per acre, raise the nutritional value of food, and require less
water to grow. the field of medicine is being transformed by biotech. Human insulin,
cancer medications, antibiotics, and vaccines are all products of genetic engineering. A
new genetically engineered (GE) drug has the potential to save hemophiliacs from
bleeding to death. Scientists are also researching GE bananas that could one day be
used to give vaccines to children in third-world countries (Glickman). Proponents of
genetic engineering also believe that this technology will help the environment.

A reduction in the need for pesticides is another benefit of genetic engineering that is
often cited. by using biotech, plants can be genetically coded to resist or kill insects and
pests by themselves, without using chemical pesticides. The genetic technology is also
more efficient than chemicals, which take a large amount of raw materials and energy
to produce and apply. ‘BT’, a pesticide that naturally occurs in the environment, has
also been incorporated in genetically modified (GM) crops.

Crops such as corn and soybeans have been engineered to produce the Bt substance by
themselves, using a gene from the Bt gene code. This allows the plant to defend itself
from pests by manufacturing its own natural pesticide. One statistic shows that Arizona
farmers who use Bt corn have reduced their usage of chemical insecticides by 75
percent (Nash 46). GM crop advocates cite these types of statistics as proof that
genetic engineering in agriculture will benefit the environment. Probably the most-used
argument for genetically engineered food is that it will help solve world hunger. In 'How
Genetic Engineering Will Save Our Planet,' Shapiro states that 800 million people in the
world are so malnourished that they can't even work or live normal lives.

As the population continues to grow by the billions, the demand for food will, too. By
some estimates, the world will need two to three times as much food to feed its people
than it requires now. For this reason, food production will need to greatly increase to
meet these needs, and Shapiro believes that biotech is a large part of the answer
(Shapiro 28-29). In the article 'Grains of Hope' by J. Madeleine Nash, the argument of
world hunger and GM foods are discussed in great detail.

In Africa, sweet potato fields produce yields which are less than half of the rest of the
world. The potatoes are affected by a disease called 'feathery mottle virus,' which is
very hard to control- the plants can't be bred for resistance, and the disease cannot be
controlled in the field. However, scientists are currently developing GE potatoes that are
genetically coded to resist the virus (Nash 46). In another example from 'Grains of
Hope,' half of African produce is lost because it rots on the way to market. If transgenic
produce could be developed that ripened slower, there would be a much greater
amount of available fruits and vegetables to Africans. In the same article, Florence
Wambugu, a Kenyan plant scientist, is quoted as saying, 'Weeding enslaves Africans; it
keeps children from school.' She believes that herbicide-resistant crops would allow
Asian farmers to use pesticides on their crops, which would free people from constantly
weeding the fields (Nash 46).

Genetic technology has also helped papaya farmers in Hawaii. In 1994, a ringspot virus
had infected half of the papaya fields and forced many farmers out of business. The
virus was very hard to control and almost got out of hand. Genetic scientists worked to
develop two transgenic papaya strains which were able to resist the virus, and had
good results in the test fields. In 1998, most papaya growers switched to the transgenic
virus-resistant lines, which grew healthy, and have had excellent luck since then (Nash
46).

There are concerns about the potential risks posed by certain aspects of
biotechnology. These risks fall into two basic categories: the effects on human and
animal health and the environmental consequences. Caution must be exercised in
order to reduce the risks of transferring toxins from one life form to another, of
creating new toxins or of transferring allergenic compounds from one species to
another, which could result in unexpected allergic reactions. Risks to the
environment include the possibility of outcrossing, which could lead, for example, to
the development of more aggressive weeds or wild relatives with increased
resistance to diseases or environmental stresses, upsetting the ecosystem balance.
Biodiversity may also be lost, as a result of the displacement of traditional cultivars
by a small number of genetically modified cultivars, for example.

So what is the purpose of Biotechnology? It’s to solve nationwide as well as worldwide

agriculture problems to make farming more efficient and profitable. Farmers each year lose
millions to crop damage from droughts, pest, and poor soil conditions. Biotechnology is not just
to make farmers money, but to also put an end to hunger and slow down the growth of disease
spread 

In my opinion, Biotechnology will be very useful in the future. Already, previous problems that
have encountered with agriculture have dramatically dropped and will continue to do so as more
and more developments are created. Hunger is now on the decline as crops are grown almost
anywhere. Profit loss for farmers is also declining as well. So in conclusion, Biotechnology can
and will change the farming industry. Our planet is becoming more and more populated
everyday. It’s up to those work in the Biotechnology field to ensure that there will be enough
food to go around and that no one will ever starve of hunger.

Use of Transgenic plants

Genetically engineered organisms, also called transgenic or genetically modified (GMO), are
those that have had their genetic code, or genome, altered through genetic engineering. Genetic
engineering is a biotechnology that allows the introduction of foreign genes into a genome. This
technique is used to create gene combinations that would be impossible through natural
processes like sexual reproduction - for example, introducing flounder genes into tomatoes,
bacterial genes into corn, or even human genes into rice. 
Genetic engineering depends on the assumption (now realized to be too simplistic) that one gene
equals one trait. Therefore, favorable traits, such as increased nutritional content or pest
resistance, can be introduced into food crops in the hope of improving agriculture. Both
proponents and opponents of this new technology often refer to it generically as
"biotechnology". 

 lists the following potential benefits of crop biotech for agricultural productivity:

 Better resistance to stress,

 More nutritious staple foods,
 More productive farm animals for the environment,
 More food from less land,
 GMOs might reduce the environmental impact of food production and industrial processes,
 Rehabilitation of damaged or less-fertile land,
 Bioremediation,
 Longer shelf lives,
 Biofuels.
Potential benefits for human health
 Investigation of diseases with genetic fingerprinting,
 Vaccines and medicines,
 Identification of allergenic genes.
It also cites the arguments for potential negative effects on the environment that have been raised:
 Genes can end up in unexpected places,
 Genes can mutate with harmful effect,
 "Sleeper"genes could be accidentally switched on and active genes could become "silent",
 Interaction with wild and native populations,
 Impact on birds, insects and soil biota
Potential negative effects on human health
 Transfer of allergenic genes,
 Mixing of GM products in the food chain,
 Transfer of antibiotic resistance
Potential socio-economic effects
 Loss of farmers' access to plant material,
 Intellectual property rights could slow research,
 Impact of "terminator"technologies

Transgenic animals

Transgenic animals are genetically modified organisms (GMOs) which are animals. They have

in some way had their genetic material changed, for any number of reasons. In some
casestransgenic animals may be designed simply to be visually interesting, to study, to yield
more meat, or to perform a specific task better. Transgenic animals have had their DNA altered
specifically by having the DNA of another animal inserted into their own code, in contrast to
cisgenic animals, which have their DNA altered by other means.

The simplest type of transgenic animals are those which have genetic material inserted
into their own code for research purposes. One notable example of this is the injection
of material from a certain species of jellyfish into other creatures. This material is
responsible for a fluorescent protein, GFP, which then allows researchers to track
proteins tagged with GFP in the animal it has been inserted into.

There are valuable uses of transgenic animals in medicine, as well, with

many animals altered in order to make them produce something needed by human
beings. One of the first uses of transgenesis, for example, was to make the E.
Coli bacteria produce human insulin, which could then be gathered cheaply, rather than
having to be harvested from more expensive animals like pigs. A more contemporary
example can be seen in the use oftransgenic goats to product an anticoagulant in their
milk. The milk can then be harvested from the transgenic animals, and the
anticoagulant, ATryn, can be extracted and used in situations such as surgeries where
the blood cannot be allowed to clot.
 In research, transgenic animals may also allow for specific research possibilities.
Modified mice, for example, are often used in laboratory testing. They can be modified
so that researchers can observe specific responses their tissue has to diseases. This
can lead to the development of drugs and treatments for humans suffering from those
same diseases.

For the most part, transgenic animals have not become widely commercially available.

This is in part because the public is still wary about eating them, and there is some
concern over what would happen if certain super-species were to escape into the wild
and overrun native populations. Many fish farms, for example, have
developed transgenic versions of popular food fish, which can grow many times the size
of their un-modified counterparts. Eventually this may allow for a much cheaper rearing
of food fish, driving down the price on these fish for consumers.

One of the most iconic transgenic animals is the brand GloFish®. These are zebrafish that have
been modified to include genes that make them glow fluorescent colors. The fish were created
in 1999 with the goal of helping to detect pollutants, but it quickly became apparent that they
had huge potential as a novelty item. They come in three colors, with green GloFish® derived
from the GFP protein from jellyfish, a red GloFish® derived from a type of sea coral, and a
yellow GloFish® derived from a variant of the jellyfish protein.

What Are the Benefits of Transgenic Plants & Animals?

Transgenic plants and animals have been genetically altered in a laboratory to have

traits and characteristics they don't normally have on their own. Trangenesis can be
useful in agriculture, medicine and industry.

1.
Methodology
2. One of the methods scientists use to create live animal transgenic offspring is to
microinject the DNA of one animal into the nucleus of a reproductive cell of another
animal of the same or a different species. The manipulated cell is cultured in vitro in a
lab to the embryonic stage then transferred to a recipient female where it is nurtured
and born live. Scientists also use retroviruses (a virus that is unable to replicate on its
own) to move genetic material into a host cell. Once the host cell has developed to
twenty times its normal size, it is then transferred into the animal that now carries the
new genetic material in its DNA. In a third method, totipotent stem cells (very early stem
cells that can develop into any kind of specialized cell) are isolated from a particular
embryo, microinjected with a desired gene from a separate animal or species and then
re-inserted into the host embryo. This embryo then becomes a genetically altered adult.
This last method, unlike the other two that require live offspring for genetic testing,
 allows testing for the altered genes at the cellular level. 

Botanists have genetically modified crops for years through cross-pollination. By

isolating and cloning a specific gene characteristic, botanists can introduce the DNA of
one plant into the nucleus of other plants. These transgenic plants will then replicate the
cloned DNA through normal pollination. Scientists are also currently using a species of
soil-dwelling bacteria to carry the cloned DNA into the host plant. This bacterium, called
agrobacterium tumefaciens, if left on its own will normally infect plant cells with its own
DNA, causing crown gall disease. When scientifically altered, A. tumefaciens will
transfer the cloned DNA into the host plant, which then becomes transgenic.
Significance
3. According to the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State
University, transgenic corn, soybeans, cotton, canola, potatoes, squash and papaya are
currently being farmed worldwide, with the majority of the crops (74.8 million acres)
planted in the U.S. The products of hybrid crops are currently in the marketplace in this
country. Transgenic crops have been altered to be more resistant to broad-spectrum
herbicides and specific insects and pests. 

Scientists are presently using transgenic animals to understand the role of specific
genes in illness and to develop more effective treatments for genetic diseases. They are
also being used to test the safety of new medicines and vaccines.
Benefits
4. By growing herbicide-resistant crops, a farmer can use a single herbicide at all
growth stages, allowing the chemicals to break down quickly in soil and reducing the
environmental impact of said chemicals. Insect-resistant hybrid crops also decreasing
the amount of insecticides used in the field and improve environmental quality. Farmers
who reduce the amount of chemicals used in their fields also reap financial benefits.

In their paper "The Role of Transgenic Animals in Biomedical Research" (2001-2009),

Glaxo-Smith-Kline Pharmaceuticals, Inc. states that their scientists have chemically
engineered mice with a higher glucose clearance rate that are currently being used in
obesity studies. 

Scientists have also genetically improved the size of the livestock, producing cows that
produce more milk, sheep that grow more wool, and pigs and cattle with more meat on
them.
Potential
5. Transgenic animals are being developed to provide new organs for
transplantation into humans. Transgenic pigs with genes compatible with humans have
been bred in hopes that the human recipient will not reject their livers, kidneys and
hearts. Scientists are presently working to remove a pig protein that causes donor
 rejection and makes this operation impossible at this time. Research is underway to
breed transgenic sheep that produce a protein in their milk that treats a rare, genetic
pancreatic disorder. Scientists are using milk from transgenic cows in research for the
treatment of cystic fibrosis and hereditary emphysema, and in the production of insulin,
growth hormone and anti-clotting factors in blood.
Considerations
6. By using transgenic mice in biomedical research, scientists can reduce and
ultimately eliminate the use of dogs and primates, including chimpanzees and monkeys,
for experimentation. According to researchers at the American Institute of Biological
Sciences, other ethical considerations include whether there should be universal
standards for transgenesis, whether the welfare of all life forms (not only human) should
be considered, and whether scientists should use laboratory transgenic methods for
research only and not use live transgenic animals.

Read more: What Are the Benefits of Transgenic Plants & Animals? |

eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5559360_benefits-transgenic-plants-
animals.html#ixzz19iFA9HLJ