Chapter 10 Summary
Key Takeaways
- Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Fundamentals. Biotechnology uses artificial methods to manipulate genetic material, enabling organisms to produce novel compounds or perform new functions. Genetic engineering specifically involves directly altering DNA to achieve desired traits.
- Recombinant DNA Technology. Recombinant DNA combines genetic material from different sources. It utilizes vectors (often bacterial plasmids) and restriction enzymes (molecular scissors) to insert and clone genes for practical applications.
- Applications in Medicine. Genetic engineering has revolutionized medicine by producing human proteins (e.g., insulin), vaccines, and novel treatments like gene therapy, offering promising solutions for genetic diseases.
- Agricultural and Environmental Benefits. Genetically modified crops and livestock improve food security by increasing yields, enhancing nutritional content, and resisting pests, diseases, and environmental stresses.
- CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing. CRISPR-Cas9 has transformed genetic engineering by enabling precise and efficient gene editing, with applications ranging from curing diseases to enhancing agricultural productivity and environmental conservation.
- Ethical and Social Considerations. Advances in genetic engineering raise significant ethical, social, and ecological questions, including concerns over safety, environmental impact, equity in access, potential misuse, and unintended long-term effects on humans and ecosystems.
OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT. [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
Prompt: Summarize the following content into six key takeaways.
Flashcards
Text Description
- Biotechnology: The use of living organisms or biological systems to develop products or technologies that improve life
- Genetic engineering: The direct manipulation of an organism’s DNA to alter its characteristics or produce new traits
- DNA extraction: Process of isolating DNA from cells; Usually involves breaking the cell open and using enzymes to eliminate other large molecules
- Recombinant DNA technology: A method of combining DNA from two different sources to create new genetic combinations
- Vector: A carrier used to deliver genetic material into a host cell, often a virus or plasmid
- Plasmid: A small, circular piece of DNA found in bacteria that is commonly used as a vector in genetic engineering
- Gene cloning: The process of making multiple identical copies of a specific gene or DNA segment
- Restriction enzymes: Proteins that cut DNA at specific sequences, used to isolate or insert genes in genetic engineering
- DNA ligase: An enzyme that joins DNA fragments together, often used to seal inserted genes into plasmids
- Insulin: A hormone produced by the pancreas that helps regulate blood sugar levels by allowing cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream
- Transgenic animal: An animal that carries a gene from another species, introduced through genetic engineering to give it new traits or abilities
- Genetically modified organisms (GMOs): Organisms whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques.
- Vaccine: Substance that stimulates the immune system to recognize and fight specific pathogens, providing protection against disease
- Gene therapy: Recombinant DNA technique that involves altering or replacing faulty genes to treat genetic diseases
- Gene editing: Techniques like CRISPR that allow precise, targeted changes to the DNA of an organism
- CRISPR-Cas9: A powerful gene-editing tool that allows scientists to precisely cut and modify DNA at specific locations; Uses a guide RNA and the Cas9 enzyme
- Gene drive: A genetic engineering method that increases the likelihood a specific gene will be passed on to the next generation, speeding up the spread of that gene in a population
- Stem cell: Unspecialized cell that can develop into many different cell types and can also make copies of itself
- Differentiation: Process by which a stem cell changes into a more specialized cell type
- Pluripotent: Stem cell that can develop into almost any cell type in the body; Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent
- Multipotent: Stem cells that can develop into a limited range of cell types related to their tissue of origin; adult stem cells are multipotent
- Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs): Adult cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells; pluripotent
- Cultivated meat: Meat produced by growing animal cells in a lab, without raising or slaughtering animals
- Personalized medicine: Medical approach that tailors treatment to the individual characteristics of each patient
- Reproductive cloning: Method used to make a clone (identical copy) of an entire multicellular organism
- Germline editing: Changing the DNA of reproductive cells (sperm, eggs, or embryos), which means these changes are heritable and can be passed down to future generations
- Branches of biotechnology: Genetic engineering, stem cell research, and reproductive cloning
- Genetic engineering techniques: Recombinant DNA technology and gene editing
- Applications of Recombinant DNA Technology: Insulin production, transgenic animals, transgenic crops (GMOs), production of vaccines, gene therapy
- Applications of gene editing: Medical applications (e.g. cure genetic disorders), agricultural applications (e.g. modify crops to enhance resistance to diseases), environmental applications (e.g. modify microorganisms to efficiently break down pollutants)
- Potential applications of gene drives: Reduce the spread of vector-borne diseases, manage invasive species, eliminate pesticide resistance in agricultural pests
- Three types of stem cells: Embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)
- Applications of stem cell research: Regenerative medicine, disease modelling, drug testing, cultivated meat, 3D bioprinting
- Applications of reproductive cloning: Conservation of endangered species, agriculture, medical research, de-extinction, pet cloning
OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT. [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
Prompt: Can you give me brief summaries of these key terms?
