Genetic Engineering
Advancement,
History and Impacts
To Modern Human
Society.

Imagine You Are a Geneticist
You specialize in genetic
engineering in agriculture.
You have agreed to provide
expert advice to people with a
terrible problem.

The Problem
Black bugs have infested the rice of
Philippines severely reducing the major
source of food.
Malnutrition is a real concern.
Employment and the related economy are
suffering, as well.

The Wvbgone Company has a
promising strain of weevil-resistant corn
in development in the United States.
The corn has been genetically
engineered.

Questions:
• Who would have thought that a tomato could possess characteristics of
a fish? What about a plant possessing characteristics of a firefly; or a
pig with human traits?
• These things may sound like science experiments gone wrong, but in
truth, these are products of experiments that went well. The fish-like
tomato and others are results of genetic modification or genetic
manipulation, which are more commonly known as genetic engineering.

The Issues
Should Wvbgone Corn be planted in Philippines?
Should this research be pursued?
 To understand, you must be able to answer the following:
 What traits have been genetically engineered into corn and
why?
 What are some of the benefits and risks to genetic
engineering? (health, environmental, ecological, and social)
 Should genetic engineering be permitted in our society?
 Do the benefits of genetically engineered foods outweigh the
risks?

History of genetic eng.
Before genetic engineering:
• Prehistoric times to 1900
Gatherers find food from plants they find in nature, and farmers plant
seeds saved from domesticated crops. Foods are manipulated through
the use of yeast and fermentation. Some naturalists and farmers begin
to recognize "hybrids," plants produced through natural breeding
between related varieties of plants .
1900
European plant scientists begin using Gregor Mendel's genetic theory
to manipulate and improve plant species. This is called "classic
selection." A plant of one variety is crossed with a related plant to
produce desired characteristics.

What it is all about?
Genetic engineering is the process of taking genes and segments of DNA
from one species and putting them into another species, thus breaking
the species barrier and artificially modifying the DNA of various species.
These changes in DNA result in an alteration of reproductive and
hereditary processes of the organisms since the process is irreversible
and the organism's offspring will also possess this unique DNA
(Levine).

Modern genetic engineering
1953
James Watson and Francis Crick publish their discovery of the three-
dimensional double helix structure of DNA. This discovery will
eventually lead to the ability of scientists to identify and "splice" genes
from one kind of organism into the DNA of another.
1973
Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen combine their research to create the
first successful recombinant DNA organism.
1980
The U.S. Supreme Court in Diamond v. Chakrabarty rules that
genetically altered life forms can be patented. The decision allows the
Exxon Oil Company to patent an oil-eating microorganism.

1953
James Watson and Francis Crick publish their discovery of the three-
dimensional double helix structure of DNA. This discovery will
eventually lead to the ability of scientists to identify and "splice" genes
from one kind of organism into the DNA of another.
1973
Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen combine their research to create the
first successful recombinant DNA organism.
1980
The U.S. Supreme Court in Diamond v. Chakrabarty rules that
genetically altered life forms can be patented. The decision allows the
Exxon Oil Company to patent an oil-eating microorganism.

1982
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the first genetically
engineered drug, Genentech's Humulin, a form of human insulin
produced by bacteria. This is the first consumer product developed
through modern bioengineering.
1986
The first field tests of genetically engineered plants (tobacco) are
conducted in Belgium.
1987
The first field tests of genetically engineered crops (tobacco and
tomato) are conducted in the United States.

1992
Calgene's Favr Savr tomato, engineered to remain firm for a longer
period of time, is approved for commercial production by the US
Department of Agriculture.
1992
The FDA declares that genetically engineered foods are "not inherently
dangerous" and do not require special regulation.
1994
The European Union's first genetically engineered crop, tobacco, is
approved in France.
2000
International Biosafety Protocol is approved by 130 countries at the
Convention on Biological Diversity in Montréal, Canada. The protocol
agrees upon labeling of genetically engineered crops, but still needs to
be ratified by 50 nations before it goes into effect.

Agriculture
"We're looking at a doubling of the population in the next 40 years. We're
looking at a need for food production increases of 250 percent. At the
same time, we're looking at dwindling resources for that food
production. So clearly, biotechnology with its ability to improve yield,
quality and nutritional value will help us in feeding today's and
tomorrow's population."
Terry Medley, J.D.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service US Department of
Agriculture

Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering can be done on any living organism because all
living organisms contain DNA within each cell nucleus. Genetic
engineering involves the manipulation of DNA and the transfer of gene
components in order to encourage replication of desired traits. The
same techniques used to further medical genetics (such as cloning,
gene therapy and splicing, etc.) are used to enhance crops and
livestock to more effectively feed the growing human population,
preserve the diverse variety of life on the planet, and many other
exciting possibilities

• Simple genetic engineering has been practiced since ancient times. For
thousands of years, plant and animal breeders have selected parent
stock with certain desirable traits to produce offspring with the same
characteristics.
• Fast dogs could be bred to become faster, sweet corn could be bred to
become sweeter, and so on.
• By selecting and crossbreeding, farmers changed the genetic makeup
of many of the plants and animals that exists today.
• Modern genetic engineers, however, do not wait for generations of
offspring to develop a trait; instead, they isolate the genes responsible
for a specific trait and insert them into the DNA string of another plant
or animal.

• A large part of genetic engineering in
agriculture is simply trying to achieve
the same results that farmers have
been producing for hundreds of years,
but with genetic engineering the
process is controlled and deliberate-
thus the results are obtained faster and
more accurately.

• Genetic scientists are developing vaccines and hormones for animals
as well as disease resistant and more nutritious plants. The genetic
science developments of today are just as revolutionary as the "Green
Revolution" of the 1950's when new pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics,
and hormones caused great increases in food production.
• In 1981, new advancements made genetic engineering more feasible
with the creation of the "gene machine". Gene splicing could be done
using polynucleotide assembly machines (machines that make DNA by
assembling base pair sequences) that made chains of genetic
fragments to lengths determined by programmers. These "gene
machines" add one nucleotide after another onto the deoxyribose
backbone in the order specified. This allowed scientists to find, cut and
reassemble genes, and change the order of the genetic messages.

• Later that decade, this invention enabled American researchers to
transfer a gene from a French bean seed into a sunflower cell. The
gene was spliced into a bacterium that would normally infect the
sunflower cell; instead of infecting the cell, though, the recombinant
DNA that replaced the disease genes simply created a "sun bean"
plant, a food extremely rich in protein. Using this and similar methods,
plants can be altered to bear more and healthier food.

genetic engineering
the use of various methods to manipulate the DNA (genetic material) of
cells to change hereditary traits or produce biological products. The
techniques include the use of hybridomas (hybrids of rapidly multiplying
cancer cells and of cells that make a desired antibody) to
make monoclonal antibodies; gene splicing or recombinant DNA, in
which the DNA of a desired gene is inserted into the DNA of a
bacterium, which then reproduces itself, yielding more of the desired
gene; and polymerase chain reaction, which makes perfect copies of
DNA fragments and is used in DNA fingerprinting.

• Genetically engineered products include bacteria designed to break
down oil slicks and industrial waste products, drugs (human and bovine
growth hormones, human insulin, interferon), and plants that are
resistant to diseases, insects, and herbicides, that yield fruits or
vegetables with desired qualities, or that produce toxins that act as
pesticides.
• Genetic engineering techniques have also been used in the direct
genetic alteration of livestock and laboratory animals

• Because genetic engineering involves techniques used to obtain
patents on human genes and to create patentable living organisms, it
has raised many legal and ethical issues. The safety of releasing into
the environment genetically altered organisms that might disrupt
ecosystems has also been questioned.
• The discovery in 2001 of genetically engineered DNA in native Mexican
corn varieties made concerns of genetic pollution actual, and led some
scientists to worry that the spread of transgenes through cross-
pollination could lead to a reduction in genetic diversity in important
crops. Imports of genetically modified corn, soybeans, and other crops
have been curtailed or limited in some countrie

Process:
• in order to understand how genetic manipulation is accomplished, it is
important first to understand the structure of
deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. Within its chemical structure, DNA
stores the information that determines an organism's hereditary or
genetic properties. DNA is made up of a linked series of units called
nucleotides (Blaese), Different nucleotide sequences determine
different genes genetic information. Genetic engineering is based on
this genetic information.

• Genetic manipulation is carried out through a process known as
recombinant-DNA formation, or gene splicing. This procedure behind
genetic engineering is one whereby segments of genetic material from
one organism are transferred to another. The basis of the technique lies
in the use of restriction enzymes that split DNA strands wherever
certain desired sequences of nucleotides, or specific genes, occur. This
desired segment of DNA is referred to as donor DNA. The process of
gene splicing results in a series of fragments of DNA, each of which
express the same desired gene that can then combine with plasmids
(Rubenstein).

• Plasmids are small, circular molecules of DNA that are found in many
bacteria. The bacteria act as vectors in the process of genetic
engineering. The desired gene cannot be directly inserted into the
recipient organism, or host, therefore there must be an organism that
can carry the donor DNA into the host. Plasmid DNA is isolated from
bacteria and its circular structure is broken by restriction enzymes
(Dworkin). The desired donor DNA is then inserted in the plasmid, and
the circle is resealed by ligases, which are enzymes that repair breaks
in DNA strands.

• This reconstructed plasmid, which contains an extra gene, can be
replaced in the bacteria, where it is cloned, or duplicated, in large
numbers. The combined vector and donor DNA fragment constitute the
recombinant-DNA molecule. Once inside a host cell, this molecule is
replicated along with the host's DNA during cell division. These
divisions produce a clone of identical cells, each having a copy of the
recombinant-DNA molecule and thus permanently changing the genetic
makeup of the host organism (Steinbrecher). Genetic engineering has
been accomplished.

Types of Genetic Engineering
• Negative
• Positive

Negative Genetic Engineering
• Correct a genetic defect

Positive Genetic Engineering
• Make a life-form
better.

Eugenics
• Eugenics- make
improvements upon
organism.

Types of Genetic Therapy
• Somatic Therapy
• Germ line Therapy

Somatic Therapy
• Somatic therapy is a type of genetic
therapy that only affects the individual.
• Changes are not passed on to any
subsequent generations or off spring.

Germ line Therapy
• Germ line therapy is a type of genetic
therapy that not only affects the individual
but also the off spring.
• Changes are passed on to subsequent
generations.

Splicing
• Splicing is a method where genes from one
organism are “spliced” into the DNA of another
organism. This is the most common method of
genetic engineering.

Philosophical Views
•Conservative
– Michael Ruse
“Can we do better than God?”
•Liberal
– Jonathan Glover
“Decisions: the Genetic Supermarket”

Michael Ruse
• Argues that we cannot get it better than
God. His main point is that if we make
everyone with superhuman powers and
abilities the world will become a
dramatically different and radically worse
place.
• The awe of human creation and
achievement will be lost, with everyone
excelling at everything.

Jonathan Glover
• Argues that both positive and negative genetic
engineering is morally permissible.
• He employs the philosophical argument of
Robert Nowzick, a libertarian.
• Most libertarians are against any government
interference in the private affairs of citizens, but
Nowzick recognizes the inherent dangers in
genetic engineering and suggest a system of
government regulation at the "genetic
supermarket".

Government Regulation.
• Most libertarians are against any
government interference in the private
affairs of citizens, but Nowzick recognizes
the inherent dangers in genetic
engineering and suggest a system of
government regulation at the "genetic
supermarket".

Genetic Supermarket
• In the genetic supermarket parents would
have a limited voice in opting for genetic
engineering of both positive and negative
features.
• The government would simply ensure that
no dangerous modifications were made.

The Council for Responsible
Genetics (CRG)
• Opposes the use of germ-line therapy in
humans. Further any changes made to an
organism at an embryonic stage have the
potential to be passed on to future generations,
like Germline therapy.
• The goal of cleansing the gene pool of recessive
genes and to improve the human organism
would take thousands of years. Further such
benefits would only be realized by families, and
not by the population as a whole.

Cloning

Evolution and Science
• Many feel that evolution is wrong or false.
• Science, such a genetics, helps to confirm
evolution of life on our planet on a daily
basis.

Evolution
• Darwin’s Theory of
Natural Selection,
Evolution of Species.
• Charles Darwin
Published the Origin of
Species in 1859

Chimpanzee and human
ancestors may have
interbred.
• Genetic analysis suggests a messy
split between the two lineages.
• The evolutionary split between humans
and our nearest evolutionary cousins,
chimpanzees, may have occurred more
recently than we thought, according to a
new comparison of the respective genetic
sequences.

A Bizarre Love Triangle
• Our two sets of ancestors may have
interbred many thousands of years after
first parting company.

Our earliest ancestor?
• Previous estimates put the split at as
much as 7 million years ago — meaning
that Toumaï, a fossil dating from at least
6.5 million years ago in Chad and
assigned to the species Sahelanthropus
tchadensis, was hailed as the earliest-
known member of the line that gave rise to
modern humans.

Harvard Med says…
• Researchers led by David Reich of
Harvard Medical School in Boston,
Massachusetts, now calculate that the
split may have occurred no more than 6.3
million years ago, and possibly as recently
as 5.4 million. That would make Toumaï
older than the time of the split.

How do they know?
• The researchers make their claim after
comparing the genetic codes of humans,
chimpanzees, gorillas and other primates
in unprecedented detail — more than 20
million DNA 'letters' in all. By checking the
differences between different species'
DNA sequences, they were able to
estimate the time since they first diverged.

We share an X.
• Reich and his team explain in their study, published
online in Nature. Different sections of the genome differ
by different amounts, suggesting that they parted ways
at different times. The divorce period between the two
species, the data suggest, could have lasted a million
years.
The region bearing the most similarity is the X
chromosome. This is exactly what one might expect if
the two lineages had continued to interbreed after first
starting to separate.

Hybrids
• If a hybrid population did exist, the
question remains as to whether it died out,
or whether modern humans or
chimpanzees (or both) are its
descendants.

Who’s related to whom?
• It's very difficult to say, admits Reich.
• "The fossil data suggest, very tenuously,
that it may have been humans who are
descended from the hybrid population."
• “Human-like fossils far outnumber
chimpanzee-like ones in the fossil record,
making it difficult to see exactly who was
sleeping with whom at the time.” (Nature)

Evolution
• Evolutionary theory is as true as any other
scientific theory.
• Natural selection or survival of the fittest
has been confirmed by evidence from the
world.
• It is a way of organizing our experiences
of the world, not unlike any other scientific
law.

Poster boy atheism
• Who needs
God?
• Evolution
• Explains the
world without
positing a
higher power
or deity.

Darwin is a Theist!
• “But with regard to the material world, we
ca at least go so far as this- we can
perceive that events are brought about not
by insulated interposition of Divine power,
exerted in each particular case, but by the
establishment of general laws”-
• Whewell: Bridgewater Treatise Prologue,
Darwin’s Origin of Species

Evolution
• H1- Random
• H2- Designer
• H3- Evolution
• H4- Evolution + Designer
• Evolution does not rule out the possibility
of intelligent design for the universe.

Dolly the Sheep
• In 1997 Scientist in
Scotland cloned the
first mammal- Dolly
the sheep. Not
everyone was
pleased.
• In 2003 Dolly passed
away from
complications related
to her cloning.

$50,000 to clone your cat!
• In 2002
scientist
cloned the
worlds first
cat.
• In 2004 a
woman paid
$ 50,000
to have her
dead cat
cloned.

Choose the sex of your Baby!

PGD
• In vitro Fertilization has been used for
years to help couples have babies.
• PGD- Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis
can be used to sort embryos before they
are implanted.

Choose your Trait
• Eyes
• Skin Color
• Hair
• Weight
• Height
• Sex

Splicing
• Splicing is a method where genes from one
organism are “spliced” into the DNA of another
organism. This is the most common method of
genetic engineering.

Is it…
1 2
? or
What’s scarier is not knowing the facts!

What is DNA?
3
• DNA is molecule of life.
• It contains all of
instructions (genes)
required to make an
organism.

What are genetically
modified foods?
• Also called genetically modified organisms
(GMO).
• Involves the insertion of DNA from one organism
into another OR modification of an organism’s
DNA in order to achieve a desired trait.
4 5
A strawberry
+ = resistant to
Arctic fish strawberry frost
DNA

Examples of GMO’s
• Golden rice – rice that contains beta-
carotene (Vitamin A), which is not found in
regular rice.
• Bt corn – corn that contains a chemical
normally found in a bacterium (Bacillus
thuringiensis) that is toxic to insects but not
to humans.
• Herbicide resistant plants.

Modifying Genes
• Also called recombinant DNA technology,
molecular cloning, and genetic engineering.
1. Restriction enzymes are used to “cut” DNA
segments from one genome.
2. DNA ligases are used to “paste” them into
another genome.
Foreig
n DNA

How are animals targeted?
• The microinjection
method uses a fine
needle to inject a
solution of DNA into 6
a developing
embryo.

How are plants targeted?
• Agrobacterium that normally normally
infects plants with disease is used to
infect plant with gene of interests or…
• A particle gun is used to
7
shoot small bits of metal
coated with the gene into
the plant.

How common are GM
foods?
48 foods Products Derived
have been Corn Products
approved for Canola Corn syrup
use by the Potatoes Tofu
Canadian Tomatoes Canned foods
Food Squash Soya sauce
Inspection Soybeans Animals that
Agency. Flax feed on
Cottonseed GMOs…
oil
Details can be found at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/food-aliment/mh-dm/ofb-bba/nfi-
ani/e_novel_foods_and_ingredient.html ….
Sugarbeets AND MORE

How common are GMO
foods?
8
Labeling of GM foods is not mandatory unless if
there is a health or safety concern (Health
Canada/Canadian Food Inspection Agency)

Potential Benefits
Humanitarian:
Pest
resistance Cheape Reducin
Improve r food g world
Herbicide
d
resistance
farming More hunger
Cold tolerance
Drought
food and
tolerance improvin
Increased g world
nutrition
Edible vaccines health
Environmental: reduced use of herbicides
and chemicals in farming.

Potential Environmental Hazards
11
Reduced
effectiveness of
pesticides as
insects become Harm to other organisms
Pollen from Bt corn was shown to
resistant to cause high mortality rates in
engineered toxins. monarch butterfly larvae(9). BUT
follow-up studies have shown
that the exposure levels in the
Loss of fields are negligible(10).
biodiversity

Potential Environmental Hazards
Gene Transfer to non-target species
– Herbicide resistant plants and weeds could
cross breed and create “superweeds”
– To address this one could:
• Create sterile male plants that don’t produce pollen
• Engineer the plants so that pollen doesn’t contain
the foreign genes
• Create buffer zones of non-GM crops around GM
crops. The buffer crops would not be harvested.

Potential Human Health Risks
Allergens
– Genetic engineering could potential introduce or
create allergens
– For example, inserting genes from a nut into another
plant could be dangerous for people who are allergic
to nuts
Unknown health risks
– Biological processes involve a lot of INTERACTIONS
– It is often difficult to identify every possible interaction.

Economic Hazards
• Elimination of competition
– GM seeds are patented
• Suicide seeds
– Plants with sterile seeds that are infertile are
created
– Farmers are forced to buy seeds every year
• However, some companies have reduced
costs or donated GM seeds to
impoverished nations.

Creating a balance
• So are GM foods a
good or bad thing?
• It depend on each
individual case.
• Consumers, the
government and Improved Nutrition
Environmental risks
scientists should Resistance to
Health risks
disease
be responsible for Economic risks
Reduced use of
weighing the chemicals
benefits against
the costs.

Splicing in Plants
• Glowing plants

Spliced Pigs
• Gene splicing improves
pork farm waste
• In the last few years, scientists
at Ontario's University of
Guelph have created
Enviropigs™, a line of
transgenic pigs containing
both mouse and bacterial
chromosomes; the pigs cost
less to feed and produce less
noxious manure.

USDA Organic
• The USDA
now certifies
all food that
has an
organic label
to be tested.

What it means:
• Organic food is produced without using
most conventional pesticides
• Fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients
or sewage sludge;
• Bioengineering; (genetic Engineering.)
• Ionizing radiation.
•

To get the seal…
• Before a product can be labeled "organic,"
a Government-approved certifier inspects
the farm where the food is grown to make
sure the farmer is following all the rules
necessary to meet USDA organic
standards.

Organic food contaminated
• A variety of foods marked ‘organic’ or
‘GM-free’ sold in the United Kingdom have
been found to contain genetically modified
(GM) ingredients. Researchers found that
out of 25 organic or health food products
that should have been GM-free, 10
contained GM soy.

Mix and Match Crops
• The United States and Argentina, two of
the largest soy producers in the world,
produce mostly GM soy, and GM-free
crops are often mixed with GM crops after
harvesting. Further, seeds that are
supposed to be GM-free can contain from
1 percent to 2 percent GM varieties. Over
60 percent of processed foods sole in
supermarkets contain soy ingredients.

Contamination with GM
• Researchers suggest that it will become
increasingly difficult to keep organic
products GM-free, and even say that the
problem will be 10 times worse in just one
year.

Medical Research
• GE Animals

No Government Regulation
• The United
States
Government
does not
require labels
for any
Genetically
engineered
food.

Did you know???
• Tomato and shrimp DNA
• GE Papaya in Hawaii
• Cheese 70% of all Cheese
• “Golden” rice
• “Starlink” corn and Taco Bell in 1994
• Bio Toxin (BT) rice
• BT Corn
• BT Cotton grown in Arizona since 1996

• The US government said it was investigating a
type of genetically-modified (GM) corn, approved
for use in livestock, that may have turned up in
some taco shell's at the popular fast-food chain
Taco Bell.
• Nearly 150,000 boxes of Taco Bell shells, each
containing a dozen, were produced in the same
batches as those supposedly contaminated.

Cheese
More than 70% of all
cheese sold in the
US is made with
Genetically Modified
enzymes

GE papaya
• Farmers in the orient
ganble that GE
papaya will have a
longer shelf life and
surive the trip to the
US and Europe.

Soybean
• 60% of the US
soybean crop
is genetically
modified.

Canola Oil
• 62 % of the plants
from which canola
oil is extracted are
genetically
modified.

• Milk cows are
treated with a GE
version of a
hormone in order
to increase milk
production.

Vitamins and Minerals
• Genetically Modified
bacteria and yeast have
been used since 1981 to
produce vitamins and
nutritional supplements.
• Many pharmaceutical
drugs are the result of
genetic engineering.

70% of all processed food
• 70% of all processed
food is the United
states contains
Genetically Modified
Components.

Future
• Genetic Supermarket

Benefits
• Benefits:
• Genetic engineering can cure diseases
and improve upon existing plants and
animals. Such improvements can be
natural pesticides (BT bio toxin) as well as
improved yield in crops and animals

Problems
• What does it mean to improve or make
something better?
• What happens when genetically
engineered plants or animals escape into
nature?
• Are all of the side effects known? Should
they be further studied before research
continues?

Moral Questions
• Should scientist try to make plants or
animals “better”?
• What does it mean to make something
“better”?
• Is it “better” that corn now produced it’s
own poison on its leafs?
• Should plant and animal DNA be spliced
together?

Moral Questions Continued
• Should genetically engineered food be fed
to animals that humans are going to eat?
• Should the government require labels on
all genetically engineered food?
• Do we have the right to splice animal DNA
into our own bodies? Can we become a
real chimera, animal/man?