An introduction to genetic engineering powerpoint that I used in my 8th grade field placement

2.  It is the direct manipulation of an
organism’s genome using modern DNA
technology … also called genetic
modification
 A genome is the entirety of an organism’s
hereditary information

3.  Glow-in-the-dark cats
 Venomous cabbage
 Web-spinning goats
 Less flatulent cows

4.  Scientists have recently taken the
gene that programs poison in
scorpion tails and looked for ways
to combine it with cabbage. This
would limit pesticide use while
still preventing caterpillars from
damaging cabbage crops. These
genetically modified cabbages
would produce scorpion poison
that kills caterpillars when they
bite leaves — but the toxin is
modified so it isn’t harmful to
humans.

5.  Agriculture research
scientists at the
University of Alberta
have identified the
bacterium
responsible for
producing methane
and designed a line of
cattle that creates 25
percent less methane
than the average cow.

6.  Researchers inserted a
spiders’ dragline silk
gene into the goats’
DNA in such a way
that the goats would
make the silk protein
only in their milk.
This “silk milk” could
then be used to
manufacture a web-
like material called
Biosteel.

7.  In 2007, South Korean
scientists altered a cat’s DNA
to make it glow in the dark
and then took that DNA and
cloned other cats from it —
creating a set of
fluffy, fluorescent felines.
The researchers took skin
cells from Turkish Angora
female cats and used a virus
to insert genetic instructions
for making red fluorescent
protein.

10.  The term cloning describes a number of
different processes that can be used to produce
genetically identical copies of a biological
entity.
 The copied material, which has the same
genetic makeup as the original, is referred to as
a clone.
 They occur naturally and artificially

11.  Gene Cloning: produces copies of genes or segments
of DNA
 Reproductive Cloning: produces copies of whole
animals
 Therapeutic Cloning: produces embryonic stem cells
for experiments aimed at creating tissues to replace
injured or diseased tissues

12.  The procedure consists of inserting a gene from one
organism, often referred to as "foreign DNA," into the
genetic material of a carrier called a vector.
 Examples of vectors include bacteria, yeast cells, and
viruses.
 After the gene is inserted, the vector is placed in
laboratory conditions that prompt it to
multiply, resulting in the gene being copied many
times over.

13.  Remove DNA from an egg cell
 Replace with DNA from the animal you wish to
clone by injection or electrical current
 Allow egg to develop into an early-stage embryo
 Finally, implant into the womb of a female of the
animal you are trying to clone

14.  Could create genetically modified animals
(sheep that produce milk that contains
blood clotting protein)
 Create animals for food
 Bring back extinct species …. DINOSAURS!!!

15.  Very inefficient … the cloned sheep Dolly
was the only embryo out of 277 that actually
survived
 Numerous health issues including early
death
 Minimal genetic variability

16.  Therapeutic cloning involves creating a cloned embryo
for the sole purpose of producing embryonic stem cells
with the same DNA as the donor cell.
 One of the human body's master cells, with the ability to
grow into any one of the body's more than 200 cell types
 The best stem cells exist during the first five days of
embryo
 The cells are harvested resulting in destruction of the
embryo

17.  Applications
 Stem cells can be used in experiments to help
understand disease and create new treatments
 New tissue formation
 Drawbacks
 Stem cells are similar to cancer cells in that they
can reproduce indefinitely and could develop
mutations
 It involves killing an embryo

19.  Read the articles on cloning
 Choose your side
 Write a paragraph explaining why you chose
that side