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Asked by anon-342341 on 15 Nov 2022.
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Chris O'Callaghan answered on 15 Nov 2022:
Good Question!
An organism is any kind of living thing, for example, it could be plant, an animal or a bacteria or fungus.These different types of organisms all use DNA as the molecule that stores their genetic information. That genetic information is the code that tells them how to be what they are and how to interact with their environment.
If they are genetically modified, that means that their DNA has been altered. This means that they may be a bit different to what they would have been if they were not genetically modified. For example, a genetically modified tomato might have been given some DNA that makes it a bit sweeter than a non-genetically modified tomato. Or it might have been given some DNA that protects it from a disease that other tomato plans could get.
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Ailish Tynan answered on 15 Nov 2022:
Hello! I think it’s good to think about this question in this way: Every organism contains its genetic code that are instructions to keep the organism alive and working properly. As scientists we have the ability to change certain parts of an organism’s genetics using lots of different tools. By modifying an organism’s genes we can study what effect this has on the animal or plant.
When we talk about humans or other animals this could help us answer the question about whether a specific gene is important for our health and when that specific gene is not working properly does that mean a disease is more likely to develop? In my research I grow lots of cells that I have genetically modified to change one gene in particular to switch it ‘off’ and then I study what happens to the cells – do they look and behave differently?
A lot of the time when people talk about GMO they think about plants and GMO food. This is the same as I just said for animals where scientists have changed small parts of the plant genes usually to help farmers to grow more crops that could be better quality too.
Scientists working in genetics will create GMOs all the time to help their research and a lot of the time GMO is made out to be alien or scary but the reality is that GMOs are very normal!
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Matthew Swift answered on 15 Nov 2022: last edited 15 Nov 2022 4:43 pm
Our DNA and all the DNA found in plants, animals and microorganisms is a bit like a recipe. Some parts of our DNA called genes code for proteins that have particular functions in maintaining the organisms health, growth and function.
A GMO is an organism that has had some genes in the recipe altered, replaced or completely removed by targeting the DNA which codes for it. There may be several reasons for doing this, in plants and crops it may be desirable to inset a gene in wheat that makes it more resistant to drought or low water conditions, allowing it to be grown in more hostile environments.
Alternatively, we can consider genetic modification when it comes to human health. If a particular gene is faulty genetic modification could help to repair or replace it completely possibly preventing the onset of diseases like cancer.
Genetic modifications is a hugely important tool to scientists in many different fields as a result.
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Katie Pickup answered on 16 Nov 2022:
As lots of the others have said, genetically modifying the organisms (eg plants, mice, zebrafish etc) or cells you are working with is a really useful research tool to help understand how genes actually work by looking to see what goes wrong when the gene is mutated or even deleted.
Often when you hear about GMOs in the press it refers to plants and food. Non-GMO crops we eat have been bred for thousands of years, and we have ended up selecting for specific genetic traits. The main aim behind GM crops is to speed up this process -instead of waiting hundreds of years to pick the disease resistant plants, with lots dying of disease in the meantime, you can use genetic techniques to introduce disease resistant genes right away. This could make farming more efficient, and might be one way to help feed our growing global population while minimising environmental impact.
An important thing to note is that GMOs themselves are genetically modified, but are not capable of genetically modifying anything else. The genetic modification introduces a mutation or genetic change in the GMO which is normally targeted somewhere very specific, and then this genetic change can be passed down to the next generation. But the presence of this genetic change doesn’t mean that other genetic changes will arise elsewhere in the organism’s DNA after the genetic modification has taken place, or in any other organism that comes into contact with the GMO.
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Elly Stamp answered on 16 Nov 2022:
Really good question!
If we go back to basics, an organism’s genetics is what make it IT. For example, a banana’s genetic code is what makes it a banana and not an apple or an elephant.
We can make changes, or “modifications”, to this genetic code in order to get add an extra function to an organism – for example taking a gene from a jellyfish that allows it to make a green fluorescent protein, and adding it to the genetic code of a mouse to make the mouse glow green!
Or if a gene is mutated and is causing damage or disease, we can “modify” the organism to turn this gene off to try and treat the problem.GMOs get a lot of bad media attention, especially when it comes to food, but they can definitely do some amazing things.
For example, around 1 billion worldwide don’t get enough vitamins in their diet, and the one missed the most is Vitamin A. Your body needs Vitamin A to be healthy and not having it can cause a lot of problems, including blindness. So, scientists have genetically modified some rice plants in order to make them produce Vitamin A. This has allowed a lot more people to get the Vitamin A they need and has decreased the amount of people going blind!
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