GENETIC ENGINEERING
Genetic engineering has another name, it is also referred to as genetic modification. Genetic engineering is the direct manipulation of a living organism's genome using biotechnology. The new DNA will be inserted into the host genome by first isolating and copying the genetic material of interest, and then inserting this construct into the host organism. An organism that is generated using Genetic Engineering is considered to be a Genetically Modified Organism or GMO. The first GMOs were created in 1973, and they were bacteria. GM (Genetically Modified) Mice were commercialized in 1982 and GM food has been processed and sold ever sense the 1990's. Genetic engineering techniques have been utilized in many other fields such as: Research, agriculture, industrial biotechnology, and medicine.
PROCESS
The first step to choose and isolate the gene that will be inserted into the genetically modified organism. As of 2012, most commercialized GM plants have genes transferred into them that provide protection against insects or tolerance to herbicides. The gene can be isolated using restriction enzymes to cut DNA into fragments and gel electrophoresis to separate them out according to length. Polymerase chain reaction or PCR can also be used to amplify up a gene segment, which can then be isolated through gel electrophoresis. The gene to be insert into the genetically modified organism must be combined with other genetic elements in order for it to work properly. The gene can also be modified at this stage for better expression or effectiveness.
APPLICATIONS
Genetic engineering has applications in medicine, research, industry, and agriculture and can be used on a wide range of plants, animals, and micro organisms. In medicine genetic engineering has been used to mass-produce insulin human growth hormones, infertility treatment, antibiotics vaccines, and many other drugs. Vaccination generally involves injecting weak live viruses into a person to become immune to it. Gene therapy is the genetic engineering of human by replacing defective human genes with functional copies. Genetic engineering is an important tool for nature scientists. Genes and other genetic information from a wide range of organisms, which are transformed into bacteria for storage and modification, creating genetically modified bacteria in the process. Organisms are genetically engineered to discover the functions of certain genes. These types of experiments generally involve loss of function, gain of function, tracking, and expression.