Pros and Cons of Genetic Engineering Essay Example for Free

Pros and Cons of Genetic Engineering Essay With the discovery of DNA and unravelling the genetic code it contains, molecular biologists have finally come close to understanding what determines the form and function of organisms and can use this to design organisms at will. This is illustrated by the experiments on the transgenic fruit fly which has eyes on its antennae (Walter Gehring, Basel Biocentre, Switzerland. see the year 1994 in http://www.ifgene.org/history.htm ). This new technology will have more benefits for human existence than all the past technologies put together. |Scientists are no closer to understanding what determines the form and function of a living organism than they were a century ago before the term gene was coined. As Craig Venter, a leader in the Human Genome Project put it: We know shit about biology. Scientists have tended to concentrate on physical causality genes determine form and function but they are looking in the wrong place. Genes and their proper expression as structural, regulatory or enzymic proteins are merely one of the necessary conditions for the idea underlying an organism to manifest. The essence of the organism is its entelechy or telos. Other necessary conditions for an organism to manifest include nutrient, water, warmth, light and many other factors to do with the earth as a planet in a cosmos. The optimistic predictions of the molecular biologists and genetic engineers is reminiscent of those offered by the early proponents of nuclear power. In the 1950s, electricity was forecast to become too cheap to make it worth metering, but the reality is that society is left with a legacy of nuclear waste the cost of dealing with which will place an immeasurable burden on future generations.| Ever since agriculture and the domestication of animals and plants began, man has been modifying their genetic make-up by selective breeding (e.g. broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage came from a single species of mustard). |Traditional breeding involves gene exchange in the proper context within which they function with all the checks and balances of the biological processes of the organism itself and of the organisms normal interaction with its environment. GE is out of context. GMOs often behave very differently when taken from the laboratory, greenhouse or field trial situation into the real-life context where they will be used, e.g. a gene for red flowers was inserted into a white petunia. The petunia turned red but also produced more leaves and shoots, had lower fertility and was more resistant to fungi. None of these additional effects was predicted. Over 90% of transgenic plants are discarded during the development process, most even before the plants leave the laboratory. The reason for so many rejects is because they do not express the desired gene or they are made unhealthy by the genetic engineering. | Ever since man began to ferment fruit and milk products thousands of years ago, he has been using biotechnology.|Traditional biotechnology uses natural organisms in contexts to which they are adapted whereas GE creates completely new genetic make-ups that could never have come about by natural processes.| All attempts to define what species barriers are have so far had various shortcomings. The genomes of many organisms can be shown to contain gene sequences from totally unrelated organisms which might commonly be assumed to be on the other side of a species barrier (e.g. the marine r sequence in the fruit fly Drosophila, is also in humans). Mules (horse x donkey) have long since existed, but nobody is complaining and the technique of grafting different plants/trees onto each other is ancient.|GE crosses species barriers. Crosses are made which would never occur in nature.| All technology is unnatural (unless we hold that man and all his creations are part of the totality of nature). (see Shakespeare, A Winters Tale, IV:III:82-103)|GE is unnatural. | We have consciously interfered with evolution through breeding, habitat management and even selection of our own spouses for millennia without any noticeable dire consequences.|Scrambling genomes will lead to total chaos in evolution.| And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26)Human beings are themselves part of nature, creatures within creation. Human discovery and invention can be thought of as resulting from the exercise of God-given powers of mind and reason. (Church of England Board)|Biotechnologists are playing God.| GE is a very precise way of introducing desirable traits into economically useful organisms. The techniques are improving all the time and it is increasingly possible to insert genes at a precise locus in the host organisms genome. This is calle d gene targeting.|GE disrupts the integrity of the recipient genome with unpredictable side effects including gene silencing both of the inserted gene and other unrelated genes in the organism. GE cannot readily control the number of copies of the gene that are inserted into the host, nor where in the genome they will end up. Inserted genes can disrupt the function of existing genes in ways, which may not show up until later generations.| GE often, but not always, needs to use bacteria, viruses or plasmids as vectors to shuttle the genes of interest into the target organisms. Having the parts of their genomes removed that would make them infective cripples these vectors. As the technology improves it becomes less necessary to use infective agents as vectors.|GE makes use of pathogenic organisms such as viruses and bacteria as vectors of the gene that is being transferred. In other words, the target organism has to be made ill just to get the gene in, sometimes with tragic consequences. The pathogens can kill the target organism or could spread into the environment with unpredictable and dangerous consequences. Even crippled vectors can recombine DNA and therefore genes with their normal counterparts in their surroundings and thus suddenly and unpredictably become infective. | Molecular biologists acknowledge that they are only modifying one aspect of an organisms totality. However, they examine the organisms produced in detail, sometimes taking them through breeding programs for years to be sure that they are behaving in the way that other normal members of the same species behave which have not had the genetic modification. |The reductionist thinking of genetic determinism, which believes that the genetic make-up is what makes the organism what it is, dominates GE. An organism is as much an expression of its environment as it is of its genes. Concentrating on the genes, therefore, is one-sided. Furthermore, the organisation within a cell and its interaction with o ther cells is also inherited along with the genes. An organism is as dependent for its survival as much on these epigenetic factors as on its genome. | The fact that horizontal gene transfer occurs all the time in nature, (e.g. the constant exchange of genetic information between bacteria, viruses etc, or the rarer jumps of genes such as may have contributed to the ubiquity of the mariner sequence listed above) and has caused no problems, can be taken as evidence that it poses no serious danger.|GE exposes people to the increased dangers of horizontal gene transfer, a process whereby genes are passed not vertically down the generations in the usual way but horizontally from organism to organism and from species to species. | Enzymes can be produced from GM microorganisms for use in industrial processes including food manufacture.|Industrial enzymes used in anything from washing powders to food processing are already a major source of allergies.| GE does involve some risk taking but all procedures are subject to strict risk analysis and monitoring. The risk is therefore minimal. No popular technology is without risk, e.g. the motorcar that kills tens of thousands each year.|GE is potentially dangerous and therefore involves taking risks. The consequences could be devastating and irreversible. Furthermore, the adverse consequences could take years to show and the company liable for any damages may have long since ceased trading.|

Enrollment in Institutions of Higher Education :: Teaching Education

Enrollment in Institutions of Higher Education As the years go on, more and more students are enrolling in higher forms of education, including collages, institutes, technical schools, and universities. This rise can be from the increase of students due to the growth of population, or the realization of the importance of after high school education. The rise of students from 1992 to 1993 was from 281,000 students to 293,000 students, a 12,000 people increase. From 1993 to 1994, the rise was from 293,000 students to 295,000 students, a 2,000 people increase. Some of the businesses affected by the growth are construction companies, staffs, cafeterias, school supplies, public transportation, and areas of entertainment. The construction companies get business by the incoming students. They get jobs building extra dormitories, class rooms, cafeterias, and anything else the collages may need. Also, home owners can raise the prices of apartments and houses because of the rise in the demand for a close by campus home. The school staffs are greatly affected by the increase of incoming students. More teachers will be hired, as well as custodians to keep the campus a clean environment. Guidance counselors and secretaries will also be needed to keep the school organized. The cafeterias in or around the campus will have more customers every day, mostly from the students who live in or around the campus. Students commuting to the school are more likely to not use the cafeterias around the school. With the rise of students, the sales of text books, pencils, book bags, and other everyday school supplies are likely to increase. This is great for the schools bookstores, the publishing companies, the book authors, and large or small school and office stores in or around the campus. School supplies are a must in collage. Most students who live on campus do not have a car. Mostly because of the most of parking, students use public transportation such as trains, busses, and taxi cabs to get around. Also, maybe areas of study are in the city where having a car is not as beneficial as in suburban areas. Movie theaters, restaurants, and comedy clubs will have more customers from students who like to have fun. Also bars, strip clubs, and liquor stores will have more business from the collage student who likes to party and have fun. Many people gain from the increase of

Cheerios commercial

This commercial was different than any other cheerios commercial because it involved an interracial couple and their mixed daughter. In the video, you see the little girl and her mother sitting at the table. The girl starts off by saying â€Å"mom, dad said cheerios were good for your heart is that true? † The mother replies, â€Å"Cheerios has healthy grains and it helps with cholesterol so that's heart healthy. † The little girl smirks and walks away.The next scene you see the dad sleeping on the ouch with a whole bunch of cheerios on top of his heart. This video received a lot of backlash on Youth about this interracial couple. One stereotypical thing that was portrayed was the fact that people refer to African Americans as having a lot of heart problems because of what they eat. The little girl obviously understood that and wanted her dad to be healthier by placing the cheerios on his heart. This of course was frowned upon because not all African Americans have hear t problems. Cheerios ended up banning the commercial and they then recreated a new one with the same family.The second commercial involved the dad telling the daughter that her mother was pregnant by using cheerios and in the end she says she would like a dog if she's getting a new baby brother. I feel as though the racial issues African Americans have gone through in the past still do somewhat exist. There are constantly so many stereotypes being made about African Americans. People are ignorant and they are so quick to Judge someone's culture without actually knowing anything about it. I myself am married to an African American man and our children are also mixed but he does not have heart problems nor does anybody in his family.Most categorize people by color and culture but that does not mean that we are all the same. Though slavery was overruled in 1865 and segregation ended in 1964, there are still people out there who believe in it. When people saw this commercial of the inte rracial couple, the people who don't necessarily like or believe in interracial couples also had some things to say about the video. Some of them said they would no longer eat cheerios because of knowing an interracial couple does or was even in the commercial.

Role Of Unions During The United States - 899 Words

Role of Unions in the United States According to Dias, a union is an organization of employees that forms to negotiate or bargain with an employer (Dias, 2012). Unions are a part of our Nation’s history, allowing workers the power to negotiate wages, work hours, benefits, health and safety guidelines, training, and other work related issues, and helped to create todays labor standards. These standards include minimum wage, social security, eight-hour workday and weekends, overtime pay, the American with Disabilities Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Unions help to ensure fairness in the workplace and to give a diverse workforce an equal voice. Wages and Work Hours According to Voos, â€Å"there is now a substantial body of research evidence on the economic impact of U.S. unions† (2009). Unions are not outdated; they continue to make progress by enforcing better wages by reducing the income unfairness between men, women, different racial or ethnic groups, and different age groups. Income inequality has a major impact on today’s economy. â€Å"The growth of income inequality in the U.S. and the related decline of the middle class are critical factors in the current economic crisis: the collapse in the housing market, the crisis of inadequate capital in the nation’s banking institutions, the decline in the stock market, the free-fall in consumer spending, declining employment and other aspects of the recession that are worsening daily† (Voos, 2009). A declining orShow MoreRelatedThe Soviet Union And North Korea During The Korean War1703 Words   |  7 PagesThis analysis will evaluate the reasons why the Soviet Union chose to deny that they militarily supported North Korea during the Korean War. 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