GMO
Genetically Modified Organisms
A brief description of the technology and an explanation of the associated science
The historical development and context of the technology
Bruce Perreault
This paper will identify and explore the technology of genetically modified organisms or GMOs. GMOs are the progression of humankind’s need for selection and improvement. It follows a history of selective cultivation, cross-breeding and hybrids. With the knowledge from the Human Genome Project came the possibility to introduce specific genes from completely different species. (Dornbos, 2013) This is the basic concept of genetic modification, that specific pieces of DNA could be transferred from one organism to another. The first transgenic plant, a tobacco plant resistant to antibiotics was created in 1983. While it could be an unbelievable resource GMOs have a lot of unknowns and are troubling to many people. There are controversies, the biggest being the health effects that genetically modified foods could have on humans. This paper will present unbiased facts and stay clear of this fevered topic.
Science that drove the technology
Humans have sought to improve their surroundings and possessions since the beginning of time. Having better food is no exception. When humans started farming rather then gathering we started to selectively breed seeds. This led to modifying families of plants with cross...