Клоны

More often than not, you can come across discussion of cloning in your daily life. All popular magazines, newspapers, and websites try to make you think about cloning. By using the word they usually mean embryo cloning, a part of the science of genetic engineering.  It is a well-developed industry where embryo cloning does not play the major role. The area that is more important is gene modification of plants. I think it is dangerous and unpredictable, but there is nothing we can do about it.

Our planet has many problems: greenhouse effect, acid rains, radiation, environmental pollution, overcrowding etc. The slogan "world hunger" also fits this list. Human population increases, so it follows that at some point there will be a lack of food. Solving of this problem is a very profitable business and the tool to solve it is genetic engineering.

Making changes in genes will make plant able to grow in various conditions, to be more productive, and to cost less. It is possible to make plants get these characteristics by genetic engineering. Many foods we eat now are examples of these genetically modified products. It seems easy to make it. In the process, it is necessary to take a gene from one animal or plant and place it into another. For example, from a camel and place it into tomato. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? In fact, it is not.

The first problem to appear is the manner of placing the gene. It seems simple to cut a A4 size paper in half.  Can you say for sure it is exactly the half? No, you cannot. Genetic engineering deals with another measuring system, like a set of molecules.

Second, nobody knows how the cell will behave after transplantation. By experiments, people can predict how the gene behaves under the conditions in the parent. In the test - tube, it will behave differently, because the genome is a closed autonomous system. If the conditions for one element of the system will change, the element will change the functions. It is possible to study the behavior in parent and test - tube, but it does not mean that data will help to predict the gene behavior in the donor.
 
However, the most important question is - how will it behave in our stomachs? We do not know what was "placed" in this vegetable, meat, or fruit when it was growing, and what will happen if we will eat it. There are no true answers to these questions. I think public reaction to embryo cloning is widespread enough to make people talk about the questionable ethical aspects and forget about the food we eat day by day.

In conclusion, the gene modification of plants may be dangerous and unpredictable, but there are problems of an overpopulated world that it can help to alleviate. It is impossible to control the process, but it will not be stopped. It is a scientific advancement that can help the mankind in the new millennium.