Adult cell cloning and genetic engineering advantages and disadvantages

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Adult cell cloning and genetic engineering advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

  • Cloning animals can be using in farming ( e.g. Cattle can be cloned so herds of cattle that produce a large amount of milk can be produced, which is a useful characteristic).
  • If someone has a faulty gene ( that is causes a genetic disorder) they can swap out the faulty gene with the correct gene, so they would be cured
  • Genetic modification has allowed some medicinal drugs to be produced ( like insulin for diabetes)
  • Genetically modified crops may be resistant to insects or herbicides, this means it will cost less to produce food, and take up less space
  • Cloning can save animals from extinction

Disadvantages

  • Although genetically modified crops produce a bigger yeild, they will be infertile, so it will cost the farmer money, as he will have to by the GM crop again each year, costing farmers money
  • Some people are concerned about introducing to the wild flower population
  • As crops will be genetically modified so they are pest resistant, it could effect food chains
  • Other insects that aren't pests may be effected by GM crops (e.g. Bees)
  • Some people worry about the effects on the people eating GM products, are they safe?
  • Some people are concerned about the ethics involved with cloning and GM products
  • We also don't know the long term affects of GM products, or if we will create a new species that we don't know anything about, or could be dangerous
  • Cloning limits the "gene pool" as there isn't any variation as no genetic information is mixed. This is a problem for natural selection if the environment changes

Evaluation

I think that genetic modification is useful, providing that we research the effects of it more, so we know the long term effects and the effect on other useful organisms. I don't think adult cell cloning is a good idea as it will have long term effects on organisms as the gene pool becomes limited, meaning organisms can't adapt to survive

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