Have I got the correct answers for all these questions?

Question

1. Explain what genetic engineering is and how it can be applied to everyday life.
Ans- Genetic engineering is a technology in which the genome of a living cell is modified for medical or industrial use. It’s used in our everyday life in agriculture, medicine, and industry.

3. Name at least 3 areas where genetic engineering has been successful and give an example of each.
Ans- Genetic engineering techniques have been successful many times. For example, crop plants can be genetically engineered to have favorable characteristics, including improved yields and resistance to herbicides and destructive pests. Genetically engineered growth hormones increase milk production in dairy cows and weight gain in cattle and hogs. Cloning has also been effective. In 1997, a lamb named Dolly was successfully cloned. Transgenic animals can be cloned and used to make proteins that are useful in medicine.

4. Name at least 3 areas where genetics could be used to improve life.
Ans- Genetic engineering can improve life by giving us more nutritious crops and animals, with improved characteristics. It can be used to manufacture human proteins for use as drugs and to make safer and more effective vaccines. Some human genetic disorders are also being treated with gene therapy.

5. Explain some risk factors involved in interfering with Mother Nature.
Ans- Even though genetic engineering can improve our life in many ways, it also has some risk factors. Many people, including scientists, have expressed concern that genetically modified crops might turn out to be dangerous. Some food crops such as corn and soybeans have been genetically rendered resistant to a weed killer named glyphosate that is harmless to humans. When used on a food crop, it will kill the weeds but not harm the crop, increasing food crop yields. Some scientists are concerned that the use of GM crops and the use of glyphosate will eventually lead to glyphosate-resistant weeds, which will leave farmers with few alternatives. Also, GM foods can increase the risk of allergic reactions by transferring allergens from one food to another -- and without labeling, the avoidance of potential allergens becomes a dangerous crap shoot. Lastly, Fresh-looking, brightly colored GE foods may actually be weeks old, with compromised nutritional value. Even FDA scientists warned the agency that genetic engineering could result in "undesirable alteration in the level of nutrients" of GE foods.

Thanks
-MC

Answer 1

3,4) Many medicines are now made by genetic engineering of bacteria or yeasts, splicing in a fragment of human or plant genes which is encoded to manufacture a specific protein or enzyme.

Here is just one example: http://www.littletree.com.au/dna.htm

There are MANY examples these days.

Good reporting.

Answer 2

Thanks!
-MC