Advantage of Genetic Engineering

Genetic Engineering in Humans, imagine a world where there is no diabetes, cancer, AIDS, and other dreaded diseases; a world where people could choose what their children could look like. To some, this is a scary, unnerving thought, but to others this is an exciting new step into our future. This unraveling discovery called genetic engineering is not science fiction anymore and may be the next stage in human evolution. There are many risks involved but there are many benefits we can get from this technology.

Human genetic engineering deals with the modification of a human being through the modification of the genetic structure. These changes are usually carried out by taking a trait from one species, whether animal, plant, etc., and transferring them into another species.

In of gene modification there are certain steps to follow. Step 1 is DNA Extraction. DNA extraction is the first step in the genetic engineering process. In order to work with DNA, scientists must extract it from the desired organism. A sample of an organism containing the gene of interest is taken through a series of steps to remove the DNA; Step 2: Gene Cloning. The second step of the genetic engineering process is gene cloning. During DNA extraction, the entire DNA from the organism is extracted at once. Scientists use gene cloning to separate the single gene of interest from the rest of the genes extracted and make thousands of copies of it; Step 3: Gene Design. Once a gene has been cloned; genetic engineers begin the third step, designing the gene to work once inside a different organism. This is done in a test tube by cutting the gene apart with enzymes and replacing gene regions that have been separated or span; Step4: Transformation. The modified gene is now ready for the fourth step in the process, transformation and gene insertion. After inserting, the gene will be part of that specific individual and he will carry in him the trait that was imparted to that organism.

When treating problems that arise from genetic disorder, one solution is gene therapy. A genetic disorder is a situation where some genes are missing or faulty. The idea of gene therapy is that a non-pathogenic virus or other delivery system can be used to insert a piece of DNA (a good copy of the gene) into cells of the living individual. The modified cells would divide as normal and each division would produce cells that express