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Genetic Engineering
Questions about the manipulation of an organisms genes in order to alter the morphological or chemical traits of the organism.
1,707 Questions
What are some safety concerns about genetic engineering in agriculture?
There are concerns that it will decrease the biodiversity within a species. people are also worried that because the genome of a species undergoes such rapid alteration, the outcomes, including health issues, ability to transfer between species/organisms and mutation rate, are undiscovered-unknown territory. There are fears that transgenic bacteria may be able to acquire antibiotic resistance, or that tolerance that is transferred to one species could be passed on to others. This is a great concern for the health and safety of humans and the environment. Despite these concerns, it is mainly all just theoretical risks, nothing is proven, and until Genetic engineering is tried and tested- it will be impossible to tell if these concerns will eventuate.
Should the government pay for genetic testing?
The federal government should pay for medical genetic testing if it will help advance society towards controlling or eliminating deadly diseases or disorders. A criteria should be set up to determine what test should be approved for financing.
Coiled strands in the cell nuclei that contain genetic information?
Deoxyribonucleic acid...also know as DNA.
What are the different types of polymerase chain reaction techniques?
types of pcr: AFLP -PCR.
Allele-specific PCR.
Alu-PCR.
Assembly -PCR.
Assemetric -PCR.
Colony -PCR.
Helicase dependent amplification.
Hot start pCR.
Inverse -PCR.
Insitu -pCR.
ISSR-PCR.
RT-PCR(REVERSE TARNSCRIPTASE).
REAL TIME -PCR
What is the difference between Restriction endonucleases and exonucleases?
Exonuclease enzymes cleave nucleotides from the ends of DNA molecules.
Endonuclease enzymes cleave a phosphodiester bond somewhere within the DNA molecule (not at the ends).
How did the double helix structure match Chargaff's observations?
Chargaff observed that the number of Guanine units in a section/piece of DNA was the same as the number of Cysteine units and that the number of Thymine units equaled the number of Adenine units.
This matched the double helix structure because Cysteine pairs with Guanine, and Thymine pairs with Adenine - meaning that Chargaff was right in that there must be an equal number of Cysteines and Guanines as well as equal Thymines and Adenines.
Alfred Sturtevant, a 21 year old undergrad student of Thomas Hunt Morgan, invented the centimorgan as a way to quantify the relationship between the rate of recombination and the distance between genes.
Can two red heads have a blonde child?
depends on the MAle and Female gender who has the certain traits
there is 100% chance that the child would be brunette unless the Mother had One Dom. Brunette Trait and a recessive Lighthair trait (Xx) there Would be a Fifty Percent chance for a RedHead Child if the mother was a Carrier.
(Xx)
(x)XX,XX
(y)Xy,xy <--- the (xy) there would be a Fifty percent chance if the mother was a carrier and the father was a redhead. All other Scenarios would lead to there being a Brunette hair colored child
....
It's been a while since I did biology but I'll try to be useful too (hehe). If I remember right, red hair is a mutation. It's also recessive. Dark hair is dominant, but someone with dark hair can have any number of genotypes in them. Whereas someone with, lets just say blond hair for example, is seen, You can see that the phenotype is blond but because it's recessive, the only way it could have came to that is by both their parents having blonde hair, or mostly blond genes in both parents.
So if that's right, brunette is a strong gene and red is a mutation, the dark hair factor can even change the hair pigmentation in the offspring to blond. But that only usually happens when the brunette is the "chick". well anyway I hope yall found this useful. :)
What does prophase do in the cell cycle?
During prophase, the chromatin fibers in the nucleus coil tightly and condense into observable chromosomes. The mitotic spindle then begins to form and the centrosomes move away from each other.
What is copied before mitosis begins?
DNA, the genetic material, of course. Also mitochondria and chloroplasts need to divide.
This is the process of mitosis where two daughter cells are produced and both will need the complete complement of genetic material; DNA.
Why is meiosis and sexual reproduction important for genetic diversity?
Sex cells are produce from meiosis, these cells only have 23 chromosomes instead of the full 46. Since sex cells are only used in reproduction, and sexual reproduction requires two organisms, an organism must start with two sex cells. These two cells come from two organisms with different DNA. The DNA from these two cells is "molded" together. The new organism has DNA from both of the parents therefore it's not exactly identical to either parent.
Are genes arranged in coiled strands called centromeres?
No, the centromere only serves to hold two sister chromatids together.
What effect does evolution have on a population's genetic material?
It changes genes and so passes them on
Using current genetic engineering techniques can provide potential benefits for parents including?
conceiving a child who is a bone marrow match to a living child.
How have genetic changes to cattle benefited man?
Basically, scientists have combined genes from other species, such as bacteria, and corn genes. I believe the purpose was to make the corn more resistant to insects, but it could have been to make the corn more receptive to the use of Round-up. Scientists have also done similar genetic engineering to other crops.
What are the strain improvement procedures for industrially important microbes?
Refer to Stanbury and Whittaker 1 chapter dedicated to Strain isolation and improvement
How does genetic engineering affect our lives?
it is quite simple really we can look for things that have genes to protect you from diseases we then copy the genes and put them in in a vaccine and we will be able to prevent humans from getting the disease
Genetic engineering has been a factor in the increasing costs of insulin.?
We must define what is ethical or not ethical and my personal thoughts around this goes like:
From time before time, humans have made tools in order to survive. Humans have adapted to situations, and because of the ingenuity of our ability to solve problems, we can and will continue to adapt.
In order to adapt, we also adopt knowledge. Because of our disability in not having a perfect memory, we use computers to help us analyse and remember facts. We use computers in order to help us analyse vast amounts of data. Some facts and others only "statistical facts".
Is it unethical for the owner of a factory to employ people to help him in the production? Is it unethical for us to teach people what they need to know in order to perform the job at hand? I think not.
The ethics lie more in how we use the knowledge we gain, rather than the actual knowledge itself.
Genetic engineering can be thought of as the actual process of hard-wiring some knowledge into an organism that from start does not have a free will.
It is like altering a "machine" so that it can produce something we need or can use.
When we alter organisms this way, we must go to any lengths in order to prevent this new organism to enter the natural ecosystem of our planet.
As long as this can be done, then there are no problems from doing this genetic altering.
I differ between organisms of no free choice, and organisms with a free choice.
Although they are all living, only the organisms with a free choice will feel, and might be suffering from, the changes that are forced into their genetic makeup.
There are no factual answers to such a question because humans are all different. we all think differently. I totally avoid religion in this because it is a belief, not scientifically proven with any facts what so ever.
I believe the main importance is to differ between no free choice, and free choice, in the organisms we use for candidates for genetic engineering.
If the product of genetic engineering is used for good, and the organism altered does not have a free will, then there should not be any ethical problems.
What is the role of cloning in genetic engineering?
Genetic enginering is the transfer of DNA from one organism to another. By doing this organisms can be produced that have useful traits. For example, the human gene for insulin was put into bacteria, resulting in the production of a bacteria that produced insulin as a waste product. This break through allowed us to produce large quantities of human insulin for dibetics.
Is there a replacement for blotting paper?
A blotting paper is used to absorb excess oil from your skin.
Why crossing over takes place?
Occurs during prophase I of meiosis (pachytene) in a process called synapsis. Crossover usually occurs when matching regions on matchingchromosomes break and then reconnect to the other chromosome.
The value of crossing over is that each parent has a different daughter cell.
