Genetic engineering . It is defined as the study and manipulation of genes of living organisms to improve the life of the man .
Summary
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- 1 Summary
- 2 Definition of Genetic Engineering
- 3 Application areas
- 4 Risks
- 5 Problems in the genetic engineering society
- 6 Economic movement in genetic engineering
- 7 The business or the catastrophe of the millennium
- 8 Source
- 9 External Links
- 10 Internal Links
Summary
Genetic engineering is the method that modifies the hereditary characteristics of an organism in a predetermined sense by altering its genetic material. It is usually used to achieve that certain microorganisms such as bacteria or viruses, increase the synthesis of compounds, form new compounds, or adapt to different media. Other applications of this technique, also called the technique, also called the recombinant DNA technique, include gene therapy, the provision of a functioning gene to a person suffering from a genetic abnormality or suffering from diseases such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ( AIDS ) or cancer .
Definition of Genetic Engineering
Genetic engineering involves manipulation of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. So-called restriction enzymes produced by various bacterial species are very important in this process. Restriction enzymes are able to recognize a certain sequence in the chain of chemical units that make up the DNA molecule, and break it at that location. The DNA fragments thus obtained can be linked using other enzymes called ligases. Therefore, restriction enzymes and ligases allow DNA fragments to be broken up and reunited. Also important in DNA manipulation are so-called vectors, parts of DNA that can self-replicate independently of the DNA of the host cell where they grow. These vectors allow obtaining multiple copies of a specific DNA fragment, making them a useful resource for producing sufficient quantities of genetic material to work with. The process of transforming a DNA fragment into a vector is called cloning, since multiple copies of a specific DNA fragment are produced. Another way to obtain many identical copies of a certain part of DNA is the recently discovered polymerase chain reaction. This method is fast and avoids cloning DNA into a vector. Another way to obtain many identical copies of a certain part of DNA is the recently discovered polymerase chain reaction. This method is fast and avoids cloning DNA into a vector. Another way to obtain many identical copies of a certain part of DNA is the recently discovered polymerase chain reaction. This method is fast and avoids cloning DNA into a vector.
Application areas
Medicine
- Obtaining Proteins: A series of hormones such as insulin, growth hormone, clotting factors, among others, have a very great medical and commercial interest. Previously, these proteins were obtained through their direct extraction, from tissues or body fluids. Today, thanks to recombinant DNA technology, the genes of certain human proteins are cloned into microorganisms suitable for commercial manufacture. A typical example is insulin production.
- Obtaining Recombinant Vaccines
Many vaccines, such as the hepatitis B vaccine, are currently obtained through genetic engineering. Since most of the antigenic factors (pathogens) are proteins, what is done is to clone the gene of the corresponding protein, in order to obtain the vaccine against the disease.
- Diagnosis of diseases of gene origin
Knowing the nucleotide sequence of a gene responsible for a certain abnormality, it can be diagnosed if this abnormal gene is present in a certain individual.
- Obtaining antibodies
This process opens doors to fight diseases such as cancer and diagnose it even before the first symptoms appear.
Risks
While the potential benefits of genetic engineering are considerable, so are its risks. For example, introducing cancer-causing genes into a common infectious organism, such as the influenza virus, can be very dangerous. Therefore, in most nations, experiments with recombinant DNA are under tight control, and those involving the use of infectious agents are only allowed under very restricted conditions. Another problem is that, despite rigorous controls, some unforeseen defect may occur as a result of genetic manipulation.
Problems in the genetic engineering society
The standard of living would be clearly differentiated in several sectors, of which two would stand out excessively. One of these sectors would be governed by powerful people with a high standard of living, who would be the only ones who could fully access genetic engineering, whether we are talking about medical advances or if we are talking about the descent of perfect beings. The other sector would be composed of the weak and low-living people, who could not fully access the advances in genetic engineering. Therefore we realize that genetic engineering would be a weapon of social discrimination.
I also believe that a world dominated by genetic engineering would be a world dominated by automatism and by the control of the identity of all people.
After several years and even centuries of changes in the world population, the day would come when all people would be perfect, racism would not exist. But we also have to think that these people would want to improve, and again society would be divided again. It is also logical that we think that if people are more perfect, they would live longer, therefore there would be an excess of population and new planets would have to be conquered, although this could also happen if there was a biological world war and the world were invaded by viruses and diseases, so that the poorest people would stay on earth, and the richest would go to another planet, so that the earth would be a poor world and full of diseases, that is, it would be the end of Land.
Economic movement in genetic engineering
As we have already seen throughout history, the consequences of a war always affect the poorest countries in the world for the most part.
A biological warfare would be even more disastrous, since rich countries could end the population of poorer countries with less expenditure of money on weapons and soldiers, since they would be almost perfect soldiers and would require fewer soldiers than any other. another type of war. In addition, biological wars would be designed above all to end the agricultural and livestock sector of underdeveloped countries, leaving the country in the largest bankruptcy in its history.
The business or the catastrophe of the millennium
It would be the business of the millennium for the upper classes of society and for the governments of the countries and the catastrophe of the millennium for the lower and middle classes of society.
The upper classes of society will be able to obtain the best jobs, thanks to their faculties totally or partially changed by genetic engineering, these classes of society would also be better nourished, since they would have within their pockets the best genetically modified products. Governments would enrich themselves by creating diseases and their respective vaccines, so that people would spend their lives paying for vaccines, especially the lower social classes of the population. The lower classes of society would become more and more degraded, living among illnesses created in the laboratory and in old abandoned shopping malls. These classes would also have to work in the worst existing jobs, because even if they had studies or were trained for higher quality jobs, it would not be possible for them,
