Genetic Engineering: A Literature Review

Marc Nelson
The University of Texas at El Paso
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Abstract
Genetic engineering is a topic thats not very well known to people. It is a really advanced topic
and is one that is relatively new with great potential. This literature review will inform the reader
of the history, present impact, and the future of genetic engineering. Surveys, statistics, and facts
will contribute to the research on the reliability of the topic.
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Genetic Engineering
Genetic engineering is the process of manipulating genes and DNA to change an
organisms genetic material. For example, scientists can transfer a gene from a certain organism
to another in order to enhance a certain attribute. It is most commonly used to improve the
abilities of a species to serve for human purposes. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have
played a huge role in food production and agriculture by genetically modifying plants and
increasing growth hormones in animals. For medical purposes, genetic engineering has been
used to increase the number of vaccines against a variety of diseases like the herpes simplex type
I virus (cold sores), the influenza virus and more.
Genetic engineering has already taken its toll on the world. Although it is a relatively new
procedure, there is plenty of promise and concern that surrounds it. Before making any
assumptions on whether genetic engineering is a safe procedure for the world or not, the
following important questions should be considered:
1. Why and when was genetic engineering introduced?
2. How has genetic engineering impacted the world?
3. What is the future of genetic engineering?
The following review of literature will: provide information on the benefits and costs that genetic
engineering has caused, what people think of genetic engineering, inform on why genetic
engineering was considered a solution for the world, and what the future of genetic engineering
holds.
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Why and when was genetic engineering introduced?
The study of genetics can be traced back to the ancient mythical times of Aristotle as he
proposed that genetic material is carried by a sperm and that the female fluid organized it, but it
was Gregor Mendel who really made an impact in genetics. In 1858, Mendel reported his studies
of genetic inheritance through pea plants which revealed the patterns of genetics. Since then,
scientist increased their interest on how the genetic structure works. It was not until 1944 when
DNA was officially declared to be the carrier of genetic information by Oswald McLeod and
Maclyn McCarty. In 1973, modern genetic engineering was introduced when Paul Berg, Stanley
N. Cohen, and Herbert W. Boyer discovered how to recombine the structure of DNA. The United
States Food and Drug Administration approved the first genetically engineered drug in 1972
which lead to the first field test for GMOs which was conducted in 1978. In 1984 The Human
Genome Project was proposed for the first time. 1996 saw the birth of the sheep Dolly, the first
cloned mammal. In 2003, the final sequence of the human genome project is announced.
Through the second half of the 20th Century, the Green Revolution played a significant role in
developing GMOs and saw some incredible increases of food production. According to Pranghu
Pingalis article between 1960-2000, yields for all developing countries rose 208% for wheat,
109% for rice, 157% for maize, and 78% for potatoes.
Based off the history of genetic engineering, we are able to see how it has been developed
over a period of time. It is the way science works. Genetic engineering is a relatively new
science, but it shows the process of how genetic engineering derived from a combination of
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genetics and engineering. It also shows how science has progressed through the years and how
much potential it holds. No one officially introduced it, scientist have just been building off each
others research, discoveries, and innovations to be able to reach this point.
How has genetic engineering impacted our society?
In our present day, GMOs have become the main focus of genetic engineering. The Green
Revolution probably kick started the development of GMOs in the United States, but it was not
until 1996 when GMOs were introduced into grocery stores through tomatoes. The biggest
concern with GMOs is if they are safe to grow and consume. A lot of speculation arises from
this, but it is still unclear if there is a threat, simply because no evidence of health risks have
been found. In the survey Genetic Engineering on surveymonkey.com, twenty-four colloge
students were asked the question Should scientist be allowed to insert genes into crops to
improve nutrition, durability, and disease resistance? 63% of them answered yes, 25% answered
no, and 12% were not sure. Although this model cant represent society as a whole, it shows how
people would tend to accept GMOs if they can improve nutrition, durability, and disease
resistance.
According to centerforfoodsafety.org, about 75% of processed foods in supermarkets
around the United States contain genetically engineered ingredients. Genetic engineering has
allowed corporations to produce excessive amounts of food as cheaply as possible while having
one goal in mind; to continue to expand and make money. With the amount of processed foods
available, it can be concluded that genetic engineering on processed foods can be contributing to
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the growth of obesity in the United States. According to usatoday30.usatoday.com, adult obesity
rates have doubled from 15% to 30% and childhood obesity rates have more than tripled. GMOs
have played a big role in the economy. Due to their abilities to produce more yields and resist
pests better than the actual organism, GMOs have been able to stabilize and reduce food prices.
source. To ensure food safety, GMOs are regulated by the US Department of Agriculture
(USDA), Food and Drug Agency (FDA), and the Environmental Protective Act (EPA).
What is the future of genetic engineering?
The future of genetic engineering offers a lot of promising innovations to humans.
Scientist are looking to expand on advances have already been made through genetic engineering
in the medical field. Pharmacogenetics is the study of how genes influence a persons response to
drugs according to explainingthefuture.com. Since it has not been known why people respond
differently to the same medications, pharmacogenetics offers the promise of allowing vaccines
and medications to be targeted through a persons genetics rather than their weight and age.
Gene therapy also offers potential to help patients who suffer from genetic mutations. Though
these future innovations could be incredible advancements in genetic engineering, they will
likely be very expensive and complicated procedures.
Cloning is another subject that raises a lot of ethical questions. When the twenty-four
college students were asked, Should humans be cloned? 71% answered no, 4% answered yes,
and 25% were not sure. These results show how for most people surveyed reject the idea of
human cloning. As far as we know, there is no evidence of a clone human, but one can only
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imagine how society would react to them. When asked Should animals be cloned? 26%
answered yes, 48% answered no, and 26% were unsure. Cloning livestock is expensive and
comes with the chance of a low success rate for those farmers who wish to clone. According to
the article How do I know if Im eating cloned meat?, cloning is a pricey venture that costs
more than $15,000 for a single cow.
Peoples ethics and personal opinions play a factor in on what the students
answered to for these question. Based off the survey, you could see how the some people could
probably not be aware of the subject matter since the results were not consistent with each other
and the percentage of the unsure answers. When the students were asked Should parents be
allowed to genetically modify their children? 9% said yes, 87% said no, and 4% said they were
not sure. This gives us a good indicator of why it would be hard for society to allow people to be
able to modify their own children. The procedure wouldn't exactly be the easiest too and would
probably really expensive.
Conclusion
Based off the surveys, you could tell on what questions peoples ethics would unite by
voting no and how on other questions you could see how the results were more spread out
within the choices. Even though there is a lot of heavy debate on the topic, genetic engineering
should be seen as how it can help the people instead of just trying to make a market out of it.
There is a lot of future research needs to be done to gain to see if facts will gain or lose validity
when relating to genetic engineering. For now genetic engineering seems to be heading towards
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the right direction by trying to benefit the people, but a lot of change would need to come if the
limits of ethics of genetic engineering were to be stretched.
References
Afzal-Javan, Fahimeh. Mobini-Dehkordi, Mohsen. Amplification, Sequencing and Cloning of
Iranian Native Bacillus subtilis Alpha-amylase Gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Jundishapur Journal of Microbiology. Oct2013, Vol. 6 Issue 8, p1-7. 7p.
Darnovsky, Marcy (2014, Febuary 23). Genetically Modified Babies. The New York Times.
Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/24/opinion/genetically-
modified- babies.html?_r=0
Entine, John (2013, October 14). 2000+ Reasons Why GMOs Are Safe To Eat And
Environmentally Suitable. Forbes.com. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/
sites/ jonentine/2013/10/14/2000-reasons-why-gmos-are-safe-to-eat-and-
environmentally-sustainable/
Freedman, David (2013, August 20). The Truth about Genetically Modified Food. Retrieved
from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-truth-about-genetically-
modified- food/
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Hadzimichalis, Norell (n.b.) Genetic Engineering: The Past, The Present, The Future.
futurehumanevolution.com. Retrieve date April 4, 2014, from http://
futurehumanevolution.com/genetic-engineering-the-past-present-and-future
Harmon, Amy (2013, July 27). A Race to Save the Orange by Altering its DNA. The New York
Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/science/a-race-to-
save- the- orange-by-altering-its-dna.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Hoffman, Bethy (2013, August 26). Just Because Science Can Genetically Engineer Foods,
Doesn't Mean We Should. Forbes.com. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/
sites/ bethhoffman/2013/08/26/why-genetically-modifying-food-is-a-bad-idea/
JasonRezaJorjani (2011, December 15). Genetic Engineering for Human Enhancement.mp4
[Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXfYshYnbIA
Kostigen, Thomas ( 2012, November 16). Genetically modification can help solve food crisis.
marketwatch.com. Retrieved from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/genetic-
modification-can-help-solve-food-crisis-2012-11-16
Lendaman, Stephen (2008, Febuary 22). Potential Health Hazards of Genetically Engineered
Foods. globalresearch.ca. Retreived Febuary 27, 2014, from http:/
www.globalresearch.ca/potential-health-hazards-of-genetically-engineered-foods/8148
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Pingali, Prabhu (2012, April 2). Green Revolution: Impacts, limits, and the path ahead. pnas.org.
Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/109/31/12302.full
Rodger, Kara ( 2008, Febuary 1). To Clone or not to Clone. britanica.com. Retrieved from
http:// www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/02/to-clone-or-not-to-clone-livestock/
Uzogora, Stella (2000 d.n.). The impact of genetic modification of human foods in the 21st
century: A review. Biotechnology Advances, 18 (2000), 179206.
Federation of American Scientist. (2011, d.n.). U.S. Regulation of genetically modified
crops. Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/biosecurity/education/dualuse-
agriculture/ 2.- agricultural-biotechnology/us-regulation-of-genetically-
engineered-crops.html
Young, Sandra (2010, September 20). Safety of Genetically Engineered Salmon Debated.
Cnn.com. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/09/20/
genetically.engineered.salmon/
Layton, Julia (d. n.). How do I know if Im Eating cloned meat. science.howstuffworks.com.
Retrieved from http:// science.howstuffworks.com/ innovation/edible-
innovations/ cloned- meat.htm
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Hellmich, Nancy (2010, January 3). U.S. obesity rates leveling off, at about one-third of adults.
usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/
health/ weightloss/2010-01-13-obesity-rates_N.htm?csp=usat.me
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