Genetically Modified Organisms

A presentation by : Jen KuangAishwarya Roy

Pantea Matt

Jessica

Question :

Does the production of drugs and bio-medical research using Genetically Modified Organisms raise any concerns through its effects on the human health?

What are genetically modified organisms?

Genetically Modified Organisms are organisms whose genome has been altered by the techniques of genetic engineering so that its DNA contains one or more genes not normally found there.

Before After

How do people genetically modify organism?

Step 1 – Identify the gene that causes a problem or the gene that a person wishes to modify

Step 2- Find a donor organism with the ideal trait, remove that trait from a donor organism then implant it into the other organisms DNA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G-yUuiqIZ0

Why is modifying an organisms gene important?

Today, 45 percent of U.S. corn and 85 percent of U.S. soybeans are genetically engineered, and it’s estimated that 70 to 75 percent of processed foods on grocery store shelves contain genetically engineered ingredients.

With the human population on earth to be over 7 Billion people , there needs to be a way to produce enough food to sustain all these people. However the ability to genetically modify a substance opened the door for people to modify other substances for non- essential things like pets for entertainment and more essential things like vaccinations for all.

How can edible vaccines help our developing world?

Edible Vaccines are a great news for people around the world especially those people of third world countries. By having a vaccine be delivered by fruits such a banana, removes decreases the cost of a normal vaccination. A vaccine usually would requires a sterile syringe, refrigeration prior to injection, and repeated booster shots. This system is difficult to implement in many developing countries, leaving people unvaccinated. Dr. Charles Arntzen, original idea was a village would have a communal banana tree where they are able to vaccinate themselves. However this obviously wouldn’t work due to factors such as quality control and dosage regulations. The best method he stated were for the fruits to be freeze-dried, transported, and reconstituted, which is more cost efficient that the vaccines today.

Health effects of genetically modified organisms...

Short Term Health Effects-allergic reactions- Allergic reactions in humans occur when a normally harmless substance enters the body and produces a negative immune response.

Long Term Health EffectsNot enough research has been to done to conclude what the long term effects are, but through estimates and hypothesizes we could estimate that the long term effects could possibly include damage to the treated organ and other organs not being treated directly.

HOWEVER….None of this is proven.

Critics believe that humans should not be the ones testing out this new type of technology.

Advantages of using GMOs :

Genetic modification of food stuffs will allow for far greater control of the resources that humanity needs to survive including matching the amount of food eaten to the amount that is needed, and not over producing and creating purposeful wastage as we do today with shelf life and subsidies.

Elimination of issues already existing in some foods is another human health issues that can be controlled if the allergens can be targeted.

Increase in the nutrition per food item is by far the largest need that will be needed if our population continues to rise. Some areas of the world food can be very expensive and increasing the nutrients per food item can greatly enhance the survivability of human populations under this strain.

In Conclusion

Of course, like every new scientific advances, genetically modifying an organism has its risks. For this reason many argue about the the risk and rewards genetically modified organisms. Many people who are against it are not able to prove the long term effects of genetically modified organism, for this reason many drugs made from genetically modified organisms are still being approved by the FDA.

Follow Up Questions?

1 - How should we go about observing the long term effects of GMOs?2 - What would the long term effects be on the ecosystem?3 - How could we eradicate the potential threat of GMOs?

Sources :

http://www.jyi.org/issue/banana-vaccines-

a-conversation-with-dr-charles-arntzen/

http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-mor

e/

http://factsaboutgmos.org/