GMO Essay
WEEK 1. One of today's hot topics in biology and surrounding disciplines is GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS (GMOs). Before going any further in this course, post your definition of GMOs. Don't look anything up, just post what you know as best you can.
GMO or Genetically Modified Food is any living organism that have been modified in a lab. And I think now most food on the market consist of GMO products.
WEEK 2. After watching the video posted in this forum, find an example of a GMO in or close to your home. Upload a photo of this example and explain why this fits the definition of a GMO. What has been modified and for what purpose? Make sure you highlight the benefits of the modification(s).
Brown rice is a good source of fiber and good for you. But they are genetically modified to resist diseases and be eating my insects. And the DNA of the rice plant have been modified to reproduce more and to be resistant not just to insects but also to natural elements.
WEEK 3. Using the example you chose for last week's forum, what do you think could be considered to be drawbacks to this GMO? Do you think these drawbacks are a concern based on scientific evidence or cultural opinion? Do these drawbacks apply to all GMOs or just the example you selected?
I think that the drawback from genetically modified brown rice could be harmful to people. Eventhough scientists say that genetically modified foods are safe to eat, I still believe that we really don't know a lot about the effects of genetically modified products. We still don't know the long term effects on the environment and in humans.
I believe that some of these concerns are are based on scientific evidence, and some are cultural opinions. I have a friend who has a child with some medical issues. She had him on lots of medication and nothing was working, so her mother decided to change the little man diet to all organic food. Now a year later, she said that he is doing so good that she have taken him off about 90 percent of the medication. So I believe that there still have to be more research done on genetically modified products.
WEEK 4. Thinking about the benefits and drawbacks of GMOs, what is one organism that you think would benefit from modification? What type of modification would you suggest and why?
I think one organism that who benefit from modification will be anaerobic bacteria such as clostridium novyi. Clostridium novyi is use as gene therapy to treat cancer tumors because regular chemotherapy can't enter the tumor. I work in a cancer hospital and I see what cancer can do to people and it hurts with all the technology we have that people are still Dying of this disease.
WEEK 5. Review the video posted in this forum on using the UMO Moye Library’s research databases. Using these tools, find a primary literature article that is related to GMOs. Post the link to that article and provide a 500 word summary of the article
GMO is an abbreviation that is used to describe the Genetically modified organisms. GMOs are creatures or rather living organisms that are artificially manipulated in the laboratories. These organisms do not exist in nature but they are designed through genetic engineering. The European union has allowed for the genetically modified organisms. It insists that the organizations should label they products according to the percentage of the products used in the ingredients.
If the foods contain the GMO it should be well labelled. Despite the regulations there is a challenge. As the European union insists that company’s label the percentage of the products used in the ingredients, sometimes it is difficult to detect. This is because some GMOs do not contain DNA or maybe it has been damaged. This therefore makes it difficult for them.
According to Florian, industries have enhanced the process of making foods from the GMOs. As they extract foods from different sources, sometimes they get low levels of DNA from them. Sometimes the amount is so small and undetectable. Processed foods sometimes therefore do not contain the right amount of DNA. PCR or rather, the Polymerase chain reaction can be used to detect the level of DNA in processed foods. This can be made possible by extracting and purifying the DNA in foods. The only problem that is likely to arise is how the analytical results can be proved to be accurate.
The reliability, applicability and quantity of PCR is influenced by many factors. One of the factors is the lowering of the DNA or rather degrading it. The lowering of the DNA can be overcome. This can be made possible by designing some probes. The probes are called the specific primer probe system. The systems main aim is to detect the short marker sequences in the food.
The other facto is the real time PCR. In this there are two main measurements that are done. The first measurement is targeted to detect the genetically modified event specific while the second one is targeted at the species. The amount of GMO is then obtained by dividing the First measurement or rather the genetically modified with the second measurement which is the species. Though sometimes the amount is just not very well determined.
The third factor is that the extraction of DNA in high yields and the keeping of PCR inhibitors is at low concentration. This is also one of the conditions that are enacted. These conditions therefore make the decisions or the choice of the tools that are going to be used in extracting the DNA very important/crucial. Although there are so many methods of extracting DNA that have been developed, they are not so exact when gaining the correct amount of DNA required.
The fourth factor is gaining the size of the particles in the homogenies. The size is very crucial. These can lead to distortion of the GMO. Large particles are usually under represented as compared to the small sizes of the particles. The sizes of the particles rate the content of the GMO. The last factor is that there are some foods that give different components of GMO despite them being from the same species. This sometimes can be confusing. The determination of the DNA may be somehow challenging. And this will lead to underestimation of the products.
In conclusion the packaged food that contain ingredients from other natural foods should be well made. The level of DNA in these foods determines the nutrition level of the packaged foods and therefore the genetic engineers should be very observant.
References
Weighardt, F. (2007). GMO quantification in processed food and feed. Nature biotechnology, 25(11), 1213-1214.
WEEK 6. Search the internet for a general information website related to GMOs. Post a link to that website in this forum. Then, evaluate the website based on the following:
1. Is the website published by a reputable source?
2. Is the website easy to navigate?
3. Is information on the website engaging? Think about how it is presented.
4. Can a citizen who is not a scientist understand the content of the website?
5. What features of this website do you like and dislike?
https://www.greenamerica.org/gmo-inside
Green America is a website focused on educating consumers and businesses on the impacts of genetically modified organisms.
The website is published by a reputable source since it provides comprehensive details on the topics presented in the article. It provides well-reasoned theories and arguments which are backed up by prior research which includes original research on specific topics and extensive bibliographies. The website provides various segments that redirect the audience into other pages with more detailed research concerning their area or topics of interest. Furthermore, it provides an argumentative discussion presenting both the opposing and the supporting points.
Any intelligent person can easily navigate through the website due to its easy features and segmentation based on different areas of interests such as the climate, food, finance, labor, social justice, and living green as well as news and updates. This classification helps the user to navigate through the website easily based on the area of interest. It also has a customer service line in which the users can present their requests on instances where they need help with matters concerning the website.
The content in the website is engaging as the authors of the content present their discussions and arguments comprehensively giving the readers a peek of the vast knowledge that they may not have heard of before. The discussion clarifies the biases on genetically modified organisms. To gain the confidence of the readers it first focuses on handling the uncertainties on the safety of GMOs. The main challenge presented through the discussion affecting the services that they offer is inclined research and the privation of government parameters. It also demands more unbiased scientific research on long-term effects to support various arguments through the discussions.
Any citizen can understand most of the content on the website irrespective of being a scientist. The language used through the website is simple and engaging with a clear illustration of the GMOs/. The developers avoid complex terminologies and maintain a simple language to explain even the complex process and results attained from various researches. The main objective of its simplicity is to reach a larger audience which includes the farmers, the customers, researchers, and the regulators. It also introduces other topics of interest to the readers. It also has a search engine which the user can employ for easy search when searching for a specific subject through the site.
One of the interesting facts about the website is that it has a well-organized info architecture. The info is well structured and obtainable through the website and proposes a wide range of info and incomes which entice the target audience. The developers focused on organizing the information from the audience’s perspective which enabled them to plan and develop the website segments and classifications cautiously and presented info through a strategy that was easier for the consumers to find.
Good navigation is another aspect that is attractive in the website which improves the Websites usability. It also has well-structured content that can be scanned easily when searching for interest areas. The formatting was favorable for the average internet users to skim through the contents of the web page without having to read through the whole work from top to down. The users can easily scan through the site and easily determine if it is relevant to their needs. The heading through the website is well structured. It is well-formatted using paragraphs, bullets, and lists which break up the text and makes it easier for the readers to scan through the text. The website developer focuses on the website under an abundance perspective leaving unrecognizable errors.
References
Green America https://www.greenamerica.org/gmo-inside
WEEK 7. Find an example of an article in news or social media that is promoting or reporting on GMOS on a national or global scale. Post a link to the article in the forum and provide a 300 word summary of the article.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3558185
The genetically modified organisms basically are being formed through insertion of a gene from a source that is external like bacteria, viruses, plants or animals into species that are normally not related. Biotechnology is responsible for enabling individuals to overcome physiological barriers that are insurmountable as well as exchanging genetic materials in between organisms that are living. Utilization of DNA technology that is recombinant has the capacity to permit the formation of a given organism that is desired as well as one that a human has designed. Food that is genetically modified means any given food that comprises of or is derived from an organism that is genetically engineered.
Having the crops that are genetically modified been cultivated on lands that are millions of hectares as well as their injection in our chain of food is a genetic experiment that is global including all beings that are living. Putting into consideration the pace that is fast of advances that are new within production of crops that are modified genetically, farmers, policymakers a we as consumers globally get challenged into reaching a consensus on a vision that is clear regarding the future of global supply of food. The food biotechnology debate that is ongoing gives an illustration of the conflict that is serious in between two various groups which are:
The investors of agri-biotech as well as their scientists who are affiliated who tend to see agricultural biotechnology to e a solution to the shortage of food the environmental resources scarcity in addition to pester and weeds infestations. The second group is the independent farmers, scientists, consumers as well as farmers who give warnings that the food which is genetically modified results into new risks to security of food, environment as well as human health like biodiversity loss, emergence of super pests and super weeds, increment of food allergies that are antibiotic resistance and additional effects that are unintended.