different examples of commercially valuable GMOs?
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Wow, that sounds like a whole essay. One example is BT cotton which contains a toxin from the bacteria Bacillus thurengensis (spelling?), this prevents cotton plants from being eaten by boll weavils. Valuable/beneficial because the cotton can be raised without having to spray chemical insecticides on the field which can then spread into water supplies. There are another line of crops called Round-up Ready, which allow you to spray weed killer without killing the plants you're trying to grow. You could probably check out the Monsanto website and find some good info there.\nOh- another good one is Golden Rice. It contains genes to make beta carotine to prevent night blindness in children in developing countries
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Gentetically modified food, is basically food that has been tweaked by scienists to make it better.  For example, genetically modified wheat will grow taller and resist diseases better than a regular wheat plant.  This allows the modified wheat to generate more money for farmers because they have larger crops, and loose less plants to disease
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It is NOT the right answer. There are so many other ways to combat hunger and end famine. (if only they were financially beneficial to those with the power to implement them) Western countries are looking for ways to financially benefit from trade agreements and biotech contracts instead of altruistically wishing to end hunger and poverty. And all of it at the cost of the environment and human health and lives.\n\n"Resistance to GMOs in Africa made the headlines in 2002 when Zambia rejected GM food aid at a time of critical food shortages in parts of the country. \n\n"Despite pressure from around the world, the Zambian government maintains that it has made a responsible decision by not accepting GMO food aid. We argue that the long-term impacts of GMOs and products derived from them are not fully understood and, therefore, safety and caution should take precedence over other interests including international trade agreements," says Dr. Mwananyanda Mbikusita Lewanika, Executive Director of the National Institute for Scientific & Industrial Research in Zambia."\n\nGMOs are BAD for people and the environment.\nhttp://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/genetic-engineering/feeding-the-world-facts-vers\nhttp://www.alternet.org/story/11224/tp://www.non-gm-farmers.com/news_print.asp?ID=2080\nhttp://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/genetic-engineering\nhttp://www.truefoodnow.org/\nhttp://ipcb.org/
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SUB-CATEGORIES OF BIOTECHNOLOGY:\n\nRED BIOTECHNOLOGY is biotechnology applied to medical processes. Some examples are the designing of organisms to produce antibiotics, and the engineering of genetic cures to cure diseases through genomic manipulation.\n\nWHITE BIOTECHNOLOGY, also known as GREY BIOTECHNOLOGY, is biotechnology applied to industrial processes. An example is the designing of an organism to produce a useful chemical. White biotechnology tends to consume less in resources than traditional processes when used to produce industrial goods.\n\nGREEN BIOTECHNOLOGY is biotechnology applied to agricultural processes. An example is the designing of an organism to grow under specific environmental conditions or in the presence (or absence) of certain agricultural chemicals. One hope is that green biotechnology might produce more environmentally friendly solutions than traditional industrial agriculture. An example of this is the engineering of a plant to express a pesticide, thereby eliminating the need for external application of pesticides. Whether or not green biotechnology products such as this are ultimately more environmentally friendly is a topic of considerable debate.\n\nBIOINFORMATICS is an interdisciplinary field which addresses biological problems using computational techniques. The field is also often referred to as computational biology. It plays a key role in various areas like functional genomics, structural genomics, and proteomics amongst others, and forms a key component in biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector.\n\nThe term BLUE BIOTECHNOLOGY has also been used to describe the marine and aquatic applications of biotechnology, but its use is relatively rare.
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Advantages is that they produce more food, therefore feeding more people, especially for those countries in need.\n\nHowever, they are genetically modified and some people are afraid of gm foods.
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In this time of environmental crisis, genetic engineering and other new technologies should be examined for possible flaws that indicate they might be environmentally hazardous or disruptive. On an ecological balance sheet, genetic engineering should be credited with both assets and liabilities. Consider these hits and misses in biotechnology's history:\n\n* Toxic-waste cleanup -- a hit (potentially): Genetic engineering is now addressing the problem of toxic waste site cleanups by, for instance, modifying the genes of chemical-eating bacteria in order to improve their ability to detoxify waste. With many GM bacteria at work, a toxic site might be cleaned up less expensively than by using conventional treatments. Of course, field tests must be monitored carefully to detect unforeseen problems. The GM bacteria may be shown to be excellent performers, but it is also possible that natural bacteria may have the edge over their modified brethren.\n\n* Nitrogen fixing -- a miss: Finding a way to use nitrogen-fixing bacteria more extensively has been a dream shared by many biologists. The bacteria colonize near the roots of alfalfa and other legume plants, and they provide their hosts with nitrogen obtained from the air. Corn, wheat, and other crops that do not have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria require applications of nitrogen fertilizer. Using genetic engineering, scientists tried to develop nitrogen-fixing bacteria that would live contentedly with non-legume host plants. Some experimental trials in the laboratory were somewhat promising, but field trials failed. The research was discontinued.\n\n* Safer pest control -- hits and misses: Insecticides used to protect field crops are expensive and environmentally hazardous. Geneticists have succeeded in helping plants produce their own insect-killing toxin. From the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, they obtained a toxic gene, which they cloned and then transferred to plants. Cotton and corn genetically engineered with the Bt toxin genes are able to produce their own insecticide.
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Crops are genetically engineered to be resistant to particular insect pests. For example, toxin genes (Bt toxin) from a bacterium found in soil (Bacillus thuringiensis) are inserted into the crop DNA so that the plants produce toxins specifically deadly to the larvae of their pest insects. \nSoybeans have been genetically modified to resist herbicides that would normally kill them. \nPlants are genetically modified to ensure longer shelf life or greater resistance to frost. \nFarm animals (such as pigs, cows and chickens) are genetically modified for faster growth rates, leaner muscle-to-fat ratios or superior resistance to disease. \nPlants are modified to yield higher protein or nutrient levels, or produce healthier oils containing ‘functional food’ components such as omega 3 fatty acids. \nGenetically modified cows can produce milk that contains higher levels of bioactive milk proteins or human blood clotting components or a human breast milk component.
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In terms of how many restriction endonucleases there are "in the world", the answer could theoretically be in the millions.  Different strains of the same bacterial species can make different RE, so you can imagine the potential for variety in nature.\n\nAs for commercially available: new england biolabs sells about 230 different enzymes.\n\nAs for what's commonly used, it depends on the lab and the target organism.  The lab I got my PhD in, we worked with a low gc bacteria, and we used very different enzymes than we use in my current lab, working with a high gc bacteria.  In either case, we used 20-30 different enzymes.
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Another "usual one"--stem cell research a.k.a "Using your twin brother for spare parts"...  oh, let's not forget genetically modified products. \n\nBut writing about something that you don't hear about every day is a better idea. Most people have already formed an opinion about where they stand on these "big issues" and are usually less willing to even read your paper if it goes against their "beliefs". Your teacher might give you a credit for picking a topic that is less debated by general public. For example: "reintroducing wolves into the environment", "rebuilding houses destroyed by floods, fires and earthquakes in places where they will be likely destroyed by the same few years down the road"....
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GM- genetically modified\n\nthese plants have their genes altered and there are many possible mutations that can occur.  also, not much research has been done on the long term effects GM food has on our body.  Why do you think Zimbabwe and Angola rejected our maize offer? because they felt that they were the guniea pigs.  anyway, if you look at how a gene is inserted into a plant using the recombinant DNA method, it is actually very dangerous and unstable.  Scientists are making use of bacteria' plasmids to act as a truck to insert the gene.  Although viral causing genes are removed, what makes scientists so sure that they wouldn't remain, mutate and form a super bug?\n\nAlso, there are religious ethics violated, e.g. some people believe we shouldn't play God and Muslims, they cannot eat pork.  What if the pork gene was inserted into maize? and they eat the maize??? also, some people might be allergic to peanuts, if the peanut gene were to be inserted into a crop, and starts expressing itself, would the person die?
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Transgenic maize (corn) has been deliberately genetically modified to have agronomically desirable traits. Traits that have been engineered into corn are resistance to herbicides and incorporation of a gene that codes for the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin, protecting plants from insect pests. Hybrids with both herbicide and pest resistance have also been produced. Transgenic maize is currently grown commercially in the United States.\n\n>>>>>>>The European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis, destroys corn crops by burrowing into the stem, causing the plant to fall over.\n>>>>>>>The best way to determine the resistance corn borer has developed to BT corn is see if it survives after eating BT corn. If it has no resistance it will starve to death upon consumption.
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Biotechnology covers a wide range of uses, but I'd say that mostly it's about manipulating cells to express genes that we want them to express.  This could be to make them produce industrial enzymes, designer agriculture, or biopharmaceuticals.  the genetic code is pretty much universal, meaning we can take a gene from one organiand put into another to acheive specific results.  Industrial enzymes can be used for anything from cleaning wastewater with special enzymes to degrade certain toxins, to making enzymes that breakdown starch into sugar for the production of ethanol for fuel, to the making of specific detergents.  With agriculture, we can transfect plants with genes that make them more resistant to diseases or vermin, or more robust and able to grow under more varied claimates, or we can make food bigger or more nutritious.  In biopharmceuticals, we address genetic disorders by creating the proteins that some people are unable to make for themselves, allowing them to lead more normal lives.
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Genetic engineering, genetic modification (GM), and the now-deprecated gene splicing are terms for the process of manipulating genes, usually outside the organism's normal reproductive process.\n\nIt involves the isolation, manipulation and reintroduction of DNA into cells or model organisms, usually to express a protein. The aim is to introduce new characteristics or attributes physiologically or physically, such as making a crop resistant to a herbicide, introducing a novel trait, or producing a new protein or enzyme. Examples can include the production of human insulin through the use of modified bacteria, the production of erythropoietin in Chinese Hamster Ovary cells, and the production of new types of experimental mice such as the OncoMouse (cancer mouse) for research, through genetic redesign.
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~ genetic engineering of food, especially for third world countries, and replacing lost vitamins, minerals, etc.\n~ DNA fingerprinting, DNA polymerase, for crime scene investigations\n~ Scientists are now able to clone virtually anything to improve the desired characteristics. For example, genetically engineered animals like pigs are now being tried out to include omega 3 fatty acids for all those meat lovers. (Pigs have more omega 6 fatty acids originally.)\n~ There are so many more values of genetic engineering. You need to do some research on this. Try looking on the web, or in your school textbook (i.e. Biotechnology Unit). It is a hotly debated topic, so its scope is extremely wide. \nGood luck!!! :)\n\n*ANON*
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Hi, i've read of an article about microbiology and genetic engineering; to sum it up, here goes:\nIn recent years, bacteriology has been greatly expanded from its concentration on bacterial disease. The discovery that bacteria fix nitrogen in the root nodules of leguminous plants (see Nitrogen Fixation) has led to attempts to inoculate the roots of other plant strains and thereby increase soil fertility and the productivity of food crops. Some bacteria are able to digest petroleum and other hydrocarbons; others absorb phosphorus. These bacteria are being intensively investigated as possible aids in cleaning up oil spills and removing phosphorus from sewage sludge. Other bacteria may be more efficient than yeast at producing alcohol and are being explored in the search for new energy sources. Escherichia coli, a normal inhabitant of the human intestinal tract, is the most thoroughly studied of all organisms. Studies of the mechanisms of genetic exchange and the biology of plasmids and bacteriophages (see Bacteriophage) of E. coli have been crucial in understanding many aspects of DNA replication and the expression of genetic material. These studies have led to the ability to insert DNA from unrelated organisms into E. coli plasmids and bacteriophages and to have that DNA replicated by the bacteria, with the genetic information it contains expressed by the bacteria. It is thus possible for bacteria to become living factories for scarce biological products such as human insulin, interferon, and growth hormone.
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Introduction\nThe possibility of human cloning, raised when Scottish scientists at Roslin Institute created the much-celebrated sheep "Dolly" (Nature 385, 810-13, 1997), aroused worldwide interest and concern because of its scientific and ethical implications. The feat, cited by Science magazine as the breakthrough of 1997, also generated uncertainty over the meaning of "cloning" --an umbrella term traditionally used by scientists to describe different processes for duplicating biological material. \n\n\nWhat is cloning? Are there different types of cloning?\nWhen the media report on cloning in the news, they are usually talking about only one type called reproductive cloning. There are different types of cloning however, and cloning technologies can be used for other purposes besides producing the genetic twin of another organism. A basic understanding of the different types of cloning is key to taking an informed stance on current public policy issues and making the best possible personal decisions. The following three types of cloning technologies will be discussed: (1) recombinant DNA technology or DNA cloning, (2) reproductive cloning, and (3) therapeutic cloning. \n\n\nRecombinant DNA Technology or DNA Cloning \n\nThe terms "recombinant DNA technology," "DNA cloning," "molecular cloning,"or "gene cloning" all refer to the same process: the transfer of a DNA fragment of interest from one organism to a self-replicating genetic element such as a bacterial plasmid. The DNA of interest can then be propagated in a foreign host cell. This technology has been around since the 1970s, and it has become a common practice in molecular biology labs today. \n\nScientists studying a particular gene often use bacterial plasmids to generate multiple copies of the same gene. Plasmids are self-replicating extra-chromosomal circular DNA molecules, distinct from the normal bacterial genome (see image to the right). Plasmids and other types of cloning vectors are used by Human Genome Project researchers to copy genes and other pieces of chromosomes to generate enough identical material for further study. \n\nTo "clone a gene," a DNA fragment containing the gene of interest is isolated from chromosomal DNA using restriction enzymes and then united with a plasmid that has been cut with the same restriction enzymes. When the fragment of chromosomal DNA is joined with its cloning vector in the lab, it is called a "recombinant DNA molecule." Following introduction into suitable host cells, the recombinant DNA can then be reproduced along with the host cell DNA. See a diagram depicting this process. \n\nPlasmids can carry up to 20,000 bp of foreign DNA. Besides bacterial plasmids, some other cloning vectors include viruses, bacteria artificial chromosomes (BACs), and yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs). Cosmids are artificially constructed cloning vectors that carry up to 45 kb of foreign DNA and can be packaged in lambda phage particles for infection into E. coli cells. BACs utilize the naturally occurring F-factor plasmid found in E. coli to carry 100 to 300 kb DNA inserts. A YAC is a functional chromosome derived from yeast that can carry up to 1 MB of foreign DNA. Bacteria are most often used as the host cells for recombinant DNA molecules, but yeast and mammalian cells also are used.\n\n\nReproductive Cloning\n\nCelebrity Sheep Has Died at Age 6\n\nDolly, the first mammal to be cloned from adult DNA, was put down by lethal injection Feb. 14, 2003. Prior to her death, Dolly had been suffering from lung cancer and crippling arthritis. Although most Finn Dorset sheep live to be 11 to 12 years of age, postmortem examination of Dolly seemed to indicate that, other than her cancer and arthritis, she appeared to be quite normal. The unnamed sheep from which Dolly was cloned had died several years prior to her creation. Dolly was a mother to six lambs, bred the old-fashion
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are you talking about "transgenic crops"  or traditional breeding methods?\n\nGenetically Modified (GM) crops are typically transgenic.  This process involves taking genes from one species—an animal, plant, bacterium, or virus—and inserting them into another species, such as an agricultural crop.  \n\nTo find out more, go to the website below: