Gm the pro's and the con's (GM and cloning)

Member Name: Helix

Product:	GM and cloning
Date:	20/05/01 (619 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: saving lives, stopping hunger, furthering human knowledge

Disadvantages: long term effects are not known

Uses of Gene cloning In Medicine and Agriculture.


This opinion is not for or against I am intending to present the evidence of both sides although I have a scientific background I hope I will remain objective. I shall address each major category individually.

Vaccines


Over the last century many diseases that were capable of devastating populations have been bought under control by the effective use of vaccines. Vaccines that are intended for uses against viruses are prepared from virus that are ‘live’. In the past though there have been two significant problems that have hindered the preparation of these attenuated vaccines.

1. The inactivation of the viruses must be 100% effective as the presence of just one live virus in the vaccine could lead to infection. This has been a problem in the past of vaccination of cattle with foot and mouth disease.

2. The large amounts of the viruses needed for the production fo the vaccine are usually obtained from tissue cultures. Unfortunately some viruses like hepatitis B do not grow in culture.

Recombinant DNA technology offers the only means of obtaining new vaccine that do not suffer from the problems associated with attenuated viruses. The use of cloning techniques centres on the discovery that virus specific antibodies may be produced which then respond to the virus when infected.

Screening for Genetic Diseases

A genetic disease is one that is caused by a specific defect in an individual gene. As humans possess two copies of each gene a person can be carrier of a defective gene without having the symptoms of the disease. This is because most types of defect are on the recessive genes. One exception is when the gene lies on the X chromosome. as then only the female can be carriers: males only have one X chromosome. So if a male carrying the defective gene on his X chromosome then he will exhibit the disease. As genetic diseases ar
e inherited it is generally possible to know if people are at a high risk of passing a disease onto their unborn children. this allows people a choice, it maybe a controversial choice but it’s the right of the parents to be able to do this. DNA can be obtained from fetal cells and can be examined directly for the presence of the correct or the defective copy of the gene. Cystic fibrosis is one of the commonest genetic diseases with one in 2000 Caucasian babies born with the debilitating disease. One is 20 people are carriers and there are roughly 5000 deaths world wide a year. There is no cure and a child that has it is likely to die before the reach adulthood.

Transgenic Animals.

Genetic modification of animals by recombinant technology entails the introduction of a cloned gene into the genome of a cell that might. after proliferation be present in the gem lines of developed organisms, so that subsequently it might be possible to establish true breeding lineages. this has its uses in horse racing if nothing else.. Much of the research in this area has centred on developing transgenic mice. the commonly uses protocol involves introducing by micro injection a cloned gene into a fertilized egg, implanting the treated egg into a receptive female and then testing the young to determine whether or not any of them have the gene . Mouse embryonic stem cells are what is know as to-tipotent. this means that they can develop into any tissues. Transgenic mice have been used to develop model systems for human genetic diseases like CF and Alzheimers

Using similar experimental strategies, transgenic versions of cattle, sheep, cattle, pigs, goats, and birds and fish have been generated. It is hoped that transgenics can be used to enhance the existing genetic properties of livestock and provide a genetic basis fro novel features. In addition it is anticipated that the mammary gland, especially those of cows and sheep can be used as a factory for cl
oned products that can be easily purified in large quantities from the milk. Products like insulin and factor VIII the clotting factor given to haemophiliacs

Pro’s and Con’s

There is on doubt that at the moment it seems like the human race is reaching saturation point in the amount of amazing scientific discoveries that have come to light in recent years. thanks to improved techniques in genetic screening would-be parents that are known carriers of defective genes now have the opportunity to have a family. Haemophiliacs at last have an effective treatment in factor VIII. Molecular biology is making headway in the identification of genes that are responsible for the expression of tumours. All of these and many more startling medical breakthroughs would not be possible without the effective use of the cloned sheep.

Dolly. could possibly mark the start of a whole heard of clones perfect pigs and super sheep. They wold become walking, breathing bioreactors. the possibilities are almost endless . the old traditional breed of England like the Gloucestershire old spot would no longer be on the verge of dying out. China could rest easy in the knowledge that they could clone enough tigers for their traditional ‘ medicines’. In many ways the global community could put to right the damage that it has done to the wildlife of the planet.

The use of GM crops are being touted as the solution to low yields ans sudden death by fungal infections and insect infestations. With the crops that have already been intensely crossbred and artificially selected without any form of gene manipulation, it seems the super crop is just around the corner. This could signify the end of devastating famines in developing countries. A way could be found around the lack of fertile land and again the possibilities are endless and are growing at an almost exponential rate.

But with every amazing discovery and mayor break through there is
always a down side, a flip side to the coin. Marie and Pierre Curie spent months trying to extract radium from pitchblende (uranium ore) and both ended up riddled with cancer for their efforts. If a genetic disease is just a simple mutation, what is stopping new mutations occurring in other genes? We may be able to genetically engineer out of humans horrific diseases but what is stopping nature from creating new ones ? In 1796 Jenner initiated the use of the vaccinia virus as a vaccine for the nasty disease small pox, in my opinion I do not for one minute think that he would have thought that the day would come when smallpox was completely eradicated from the world ( although both the Americans and the Russians have a vial each for identification purposes). With the rate at which major breakthroughs are being made it is an idyllic assumption to say that in 100 years time we may no longer have cancer or MS or motor neuron disease. This in time will prove to be a problem as more people live to ripe old ages and a mushroom effect is seen in population growth with larger proportions of the population being over working age , this then has economic repercussions. We need something to die from.


Common sense prevails, a line will be drawn at some point just probably not soon enough. when it is realised that cross pollination of GM crops is harming the indigenous flora of the country. Or that the population is becoming antibiotic resistant due to bacteria resistance as a direct result from over prescribing these types of drugs. Recent Dutch research has shown that this could be possible by the genes being absorbed by the bacteria in the gut. It is no wonder that public opnion is swinging in the direction of the anti’s. The fact that Monsanto, a really rich biotech company have recently made substantial donations to the Labour party, I’m sure has nothing to do with the government trialing GM oil seed rape ? A point to make here is that there is
enough food in the reserves of the EU alone to feed the developing world for a year and its only politics that is preventing the distribution of the grain mountains.

Although noone like to be reminded of their own mortality, as we all know it is the only certain thing about life we can be sure of. Human kind is discovering that it Can play God. It is not fault of the scientists it’s the polititans. Scientist are just trying to further the boundaries of human knowledge it’s the politicians who pass the laws governing what can be done with that knowledge.

Tp paraphrase Douglas Adams.. ‘some people say that we should not have come down form the trees, others go further and say we shouldn’t have bothered leaving the oceans'

Science is waking up in the brave new world of the 21st centaury, another renaissance of discovery and thought. It is my wish that governments and scientists alike tread carefully.

This is a broad outline and I will probably add to it .

Summary: