Genetic Engineering Essay

Genetic Engineering The cell is the basic structure of every human being and performs different functions depending on its specialization in the body. Through alteration, it is possible to completely change these functions in the body and express other characteristics. These are all encompassed in the genetic manipulation or engineering. Every organism (both plants and animals) can be manipulated by changing the genetic structure in the DNA. This will lead to formation of a transgenic organism whose genes have been altered hence it will be different from the rest of the organisms. These organisms will end up with several traits or characteristics that are different from their family. There are also several other combinations that have been developed involving humans and animals. For example, organs from the pig can be transferred to human beings. It has been established that the pig is quite closely related to the human beings in relation to several aspects such as physiology and anatomy of the organs. Most of its organs have the same size as those of humans and this is the basis of xenotransplantation. For example, there have been cases of shortages of organs such as kidneys and hearts. (Baxamusa, para 5). The advancement of technology has been a breakthrough in the history of mankind. Many scientists have developed various useful techniques in many areas of research. Genetic engineering is one of the many areas that have been applied both in plants and animal engineering. The DNA is the basic structure or blueprint in every organism or individual. This
Moore 2 laboratory procedure or technique is complex and has been widely used by researchers to alter this basis structure (DNA) of organisms. The DNA is the point where all information of an organism is stored. These are information which determines how the body works or functions. There are a variety of processes in the body of every organism which all rely on the DNA. For example, growth and biochemical processes are controlled by the DNA. The DNA has special segments which perform particular function in the organism’s body. These are known as genes (Baxamusa, para 8).
In all organisms, there are usually structural changes in the DNA. Research has shown that these structural changes are mainly due to certain enzymes in the body of these organisms. There are enzymes which separate the DNA strands and other functions to join them. This is the basis of Genetic engineering since scientists have used these enzymes to separate certain genes and later bring them together in a way that they want. Another important aspect is insertion of genes in the DNA strands. This is the knowledge of vectors (DNA strands) found in viruses and is capable of infecting cells by inserting between the DNA of the cells. This vast knowledge was the driving force for researchers to begin building vectors. These vectors inserted the genes that the researcher chooses into DNA strands of an organism. Using this technology, several features of a person can be altered such as; tone of the skin, color of the eyes, IQ, weight, disorders, diseases and height (Baxamusa para 5). Genetic engineering is done in several steps which are complex and carefully monitored. First, the gene which is responsible for the desired qualities has to be isolated. This is followed by transfer and insertion of the vector into the recipient organism. A transformation of the cells

of that organism will occur. The final stage will involve selecting the modified cells from the once which did not change (Courtois, p. 65). Genetic engineering has been applied in different areas in both plant and animal technology. For example, production of synthetic insulin, drugs and certain vaccines in humans. This technology might provide the solution to most of the serious deadly diseases that have for a long time in human beings such as HIV/AIDS, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. This also applies to other areas such as viral

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