Alexis Evans

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Mrs. Harris

English

29 April 2017

Genetic engineering

Have you ever seen the movie Animal Farm? If you haven't a brief overview, it includes

genetically engineered glow in the dark cows, rabbits, and several other animals. Other movies

like The Amazing Spider man and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes also relate to the topic with

having the super spiders and lethally injected chimps. Over the past few years the controversy

over genetically engineered animals has surfaced. When one hears that someone other than

Steven Spielberg can make this happen, it seems too good to be true. The growth of the life

scientist have challenged the development of genetically modified organisms. Controversies over

Genetically engineered animals have revolved around their effects on human health, animal

species, and millions of dollars in research.

Genetic engineering became possible only when scientists had discovered exactly what is

a gene. Articles with information relating to the topic had background information about the

discovery of genetic engineering. Prior to the 1950s, the term gene was used to stand for a unit

by which some genetic characteristic was transmitted from one generation to the next. Biologists

talked about a "gene" for hair color, although they really had no idea as to what that gene was or
what it looked like. That situation changed dramatically in 1953. The English chemist Francis

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Crick and the American biologist James Watson determined a chemical explanation for a gene.

Crick and Watson discovered the chemical structure for large, complex molecules that occur in

the nuclei of all living cells, known as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) (Genetic). When the

biologists learned they could have different forms they introduced gene splicing, Human gene

therapy, and The commercialization of genetic engineering.

Genetic engineering on Human Health surfaced when Human gene therapy was

introduced. One of the most exciting potential applications of genetic engineering involves the

treatment of human genetic disorders. Medical scientists know of about 3,000 disorders that arise

because of errors in an individual's DNA. Conditions such as sickle-cell anemia, Tay-Sachs

disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Huntington's chorea, cystic fibrosis, and Lesch-Nyhan

syndrome result from the loss, mistaken insertion, or change of a single nitrogen base in a DNA

molecule. Genetic engineering enables scientists to provide individuals lacking a particular gene

with correct copies of that gene. If and when the correct gene begins functioning, the genetic

disorder may be cured. This procedure is known as human gene therapy (HGT) (Genetic).

The first approved trials of HGT with humans began in the 1980s. One of the sets of experiments

involved a condition known as severe immunodeficiency. Individuals with immunodeficiency

have no immune systems. Exposure to microorganisms that would be harmless to majority of

people will result in diseases that can cause death. Untreated infants born with it are not kept in

a sterile bubble become ill within months and die before their first birthday. Despite recent
successes, they have been largely disappointing. And in 1999, research was dealt when an

eighteen-year-old from Tucson, Arizona, died in an experiment at the University of

Pennsylvania. The young man, who suffered from a metabolic disorder, had volunteered for an

experiment to test gene therapy for babies with a fatal form of that disease. Citing the spirit of

this young man, researchers remain optimistic, vowing to continue work into the possible

lifesaving opportunities offered by HGT (Genetic). Gene therapy is currently only being

tested for the treatment of diseases that have no other cures.

Genetic engineering is the manipulation of an organisms genes. Genetic engineering is

different from traditional breeding, where the organisms genes are manipulated indirectly.

Scientists can precisely transfer beneficial genes from one animal species to another. Research

studies, animals that have been safely genetically engineered include cattle, pigs, chickens, goats,

sheep, dogs, cats, fish, rats, and mice. As scientists sequenced the genomes of domestic

animals, more is known about genes and the traits that they control. By finding genes that

control beneficial traits, we are able to precisely introduce those genes into another animals

genome, so the GE animal will possess that trait(Genetic Animals). Cloning technology is a

type of breeding technology to produce an exact genetic copy of an animal usually a high quality

animal with desirable breeding traits. Some other experiments include mice with two ears, 2

noses, and glow in the dark animals. Scientists claim they use animals to inject with a

fluorescent injection which results in the glow effect. Creations that are advancing scientific

understanding of human diseases, or a cruel and unnecessary use of animals, and waste in

millions of dollars in research.

The use of genetic engineering is useful to some of the examples. However, the uses to
which genetic engineering may be put are 'up for grabs' ethically. Human frailty is certainly

subject to ethical questions, genetic engineering is not. Controversies over Genetically

engineered animals have revolved around their effects on human health, animal species, and

millions of dollars in research.

 Works cited

http://www.scienceclarified.com/Ga-He/Genetic-Engineering.html

https://www.bio.org/articles/genetically-engineered-animals-frequently-asked-questions