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Genetically Modified Organisms

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Genetically Modified Organisms

In the present day, if people were asked to name a controversial issue related to genetics, genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) would definitely come up most of the time. This topic has been all over the news for the past few years and it has caught people’s attention. Do they benefit society as a whole? Are they a threat to the public’s health? Should scientists even manipulate genes in organisms? A great deal of questions and doubts have arisen regarding GMO’s and people keep debating on whether they are good or bad.

Genetically modified organisms can be animals, plants, or microorganisms that have been modified at the genetic level using genetic engineering techniques. Specific genes are inserted in these organisms in order to achieve a certain trait. Although there are many applications for GMO’s such as enhanced growth in animals or the generation of transgenic mice for research purposes, the most common, and controversial, GMO application is crop plants. A variety of crop plants have been modified genetically to increase their yield, decrease the price of some foods, and give them a resistance against some diseases and herbicides. Certain people are in favor of GMO’s because they argue that humanity has always been modifying organisms through animal and plant selective breeding, so it wouldn’t hurt to do this through more specific and advanced engineering techniques. While this might be the case for some people, others oppose

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