Unit 6 Reflection

In this unit I learned about the topic of bio-engineering. We learned about selective breeding, and how that is an advantage. It is interesting to think of selective breeding, because that is actually what humans do. This of course gives us an advantage because we tend to get better results with our offspring. We also learned about how scientists can manipulate DNA. This goes for extracting the DNA from an item using chemicals. You can cut the DNA using restriction enzymes. Also, you can sort your DNA using gel electrophoresis. This is actually a really fascinating thing to do because the DNA actually moves through the gel! We also learned about plasmids. They are little rings of DNA and you can alter a plasmid, and incorporate a genetically modified piece inside of it. This way the bacteria will take up a new form/job when it accepts the plasmid. Lastly, we went through the advantages of genetic engineering. I honestly do not support genetically modified food. I believe that genetically modified food is unnatural, and could be potentially harmful if something went wrong. Are our bodies designed to consume these genetically unnatural foods? I also am not sure about genetically modifying bacteria. It is certainly cool, but what happens if something goes wrong? If something goes wrong you might create a "super bacteria" that is resistant to antibiotics, and harmful to our bodies. It could potentially kill a lot of people! There are advantages though, and I am sure there will be some very substantial improvements in the technology over the next 20 years. The candy lab helped me understand gel electrophoresis. I also got an understanding for how the whole separation concept worked. The plasmid lab (using all the strips of paper) helped me understand how a plasmid works, and how an enzyme can replace a certain piece of that plasmid. I do wonder what genetically modified foods do to your system. I am still working on my new years goals. The results will take time though, so I have no immediate news to report about yet.