Category Archives: Genetic Engineering

Cloning Genetic Engineering By: Rejaul Alam … Continue reading →

Scientists reprogrammed the common bacterium E. coli so it requires a synthetic amino acid to live. BSIP/UIG via Getty Images hide caption Scientists reprogrammed the common bacterium E. coli so it requires a synthetic amino acid to live. Researchers at Harvard and Yale have used some extreme gene-manipulation tools to engineer safety features into designer organisms. This work goes far beyond traditional genetic engineering, which involves moving a gene from one organism to another. In this case, they're actually rewriting the language of genetics. The goal is to make modified organisms safer to use, and also to protect them against viruses that can wreak havoc on pharmaceutical production. To understand what they've done, you may need to remember a bit of basic biology. The enzymes and other proteins in our bodies are all built from building blocks called amino acids. There are usually just 20 amino acids in nature. But George Church, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, has created a bacterium that requires an additional amino acid, one made in the lab and not found in nature. His lab did that by rewriting the bacteria's genetic language to add a "word" that calls for this unnatural amino … Continue reading →

Mediscan/Corbis Synthetic biologists hope to treat disease in the gut by making Lactobacillus bacteria (pictured) that are dependent on an artificial amino acid. Critics of genetic engineering have long worried about the risk of modified organisms escaping into the environment. A biological-containment strategy described this week in Nature1, 2 has the potential to put some of those fears to rest and to pave the way for greater use of engineered organisms in areas such as agriculture, medicine and environmental clean-up. Two US teams have produced genetically modified (GM) bacteria that depend on a protein building block an amino acid that does not occur in nature. The bacteria thrive in the laboratory, growing robustly as long as the unnatural amino acid is included in their diet. But several experiments involving 100billion or more cells and lasting up to 20days did not reveal a single microbe capable of surviving in the absence of the artificial supplement. Our strains, to the extent that we can test them, wont escape, says Dan Mandell, a synthetic biologist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and an author on one of the two studies describing the strategy. The microbes also do not swap their engineered DNA … Continue reading →

Future of Food - film animation Film documentary produced by Lily Films. I conferred with experts while helping design depictions of the stages of genetic engineering process. Integrated a wide variety of source materials... By: Kyle Kosup … Continue reading →

IMAGE:Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with Open Access options and in print that explores the psychological and social issues surrounding the Internet... view more Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers New Rochelle, NY, January 20, 2015--When Facebook users share information on important life events, do they prefer to do so directly (detailed status updated or wall posts) or indirectly (photos, change of job title)? How a person chooses to share such news depends on whether the event is positive or negative, according to a new study published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website until February 20, 2015. In the article "How Are Important Life Events Disclosed on Facebook? Relationships with Likelihood of Sharing and Privacy," Jennifer Bevan and coauthors, Chapman University, Orange, CA, focus on significant life events related to romantic relationships, health, work, and school. They report that the specific event itself did not determine how an individual would share the news on Facebook, rather whether it was positive or negative. Users tended to share positive life events indirectly … Continue reading →

Everybody loves Florida orange juice. Since its emergence in the late 1940s, the sunny beverage has survived hurricanes and anti-sugar diet crazes to become as common on American breakfast tables as scrambled eggs. But Floridas citrus industry is facing a new existential threat: Citrus greening, a bacterial disease spread by an insect called the Asian citrus psyllid, is killing Floridas citrus trees. The disease emerged in 2005 and since then citrus production has slowed. Last year Florida produced only 104.4 million boxes of orangesits lowest in about 30 years. Researchers and industry experts say they have a potential solution: genetic engineering. Texas A&M University and University of Florida researchers are separately testing GMO citrus. Erik Mirkov, a plant pathologist at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center who has been working on solutions to citrus greening for nine years, has developed an approach that uses spinach defensins to strengthen oranges resistance to greening. Mirkov says if Americans want to keep orange juice on their tables, genetic engineering is the best option. "Greening is in Florida and Brazil, so the two biggest producers of oranges in the world could potentially not be able to grow them anymore," Mirkov says. "In a … Continue reading →

Heres the headline: 80% Of Americans Support Mandatory Labels On Foods Containing DNA. DNA! Hahaha! Americans are so dumb etc etc. As Robbie Gonzalez writes, Not GMOs. DNA, the genetic material contained in every living thing known to science and practically every food . . . The results smack of satire, but theyre real. . . . The results indicate that most Americans do not understand the difference between DNA and a genetically modified food. . . . The survey results are also symptomatic of chemophobia, an irrational fear of chemicals . . . I dont buy it. I agree with Thomas Lumley, who writes: Theres no way this is a sensible question about government policies: it isnt a reasonable policy or one that has been under public debate. Most foods will contain DNA, the exceptions being distilled spirits, some candy, and (if you dont measure too carefully) white rice and white flour. Nevertheless, 80% of people were in favour. There was also a question Do you support mandatory labeling for foods produced with genetic engineering. This got 82% support. It seems most likely that many respondents interpreted these questions as basically the same: they wanted labelling for food containing … Continue reading →

OMD Genetic Engineering - Saturday Superstore Here we have a very old and rare clip of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark on the Saturday Superstore and they are doing Genetic Engineering. By: Neil Taylor … Continue reading →

AP Bio Project Genetic Engineering It's epic, watch... Ms. Kenna's Class! By: Jimbo Jones … Continue reading →

Genetic Engineering Process Created using PowToon -- Free sign up at http://www.powtoon.com/join -- Create animated videos and animated presentations for free. PowToon is a free tool... By: Sanaa Ghani … Continue reading →