Wednesday, October 17, 2018

The Finer Points Of A Genetically Engineered Organelle

By Mark Thomas


The thing about the body that a human being comes packaged in is that its not just one singular entity. Yes, it may look that way, but its in fact made of up of several different and interconnected parts, each layering over or working alongside the other into create a singular person. That is true in pretty much everything in life. Nothing is ever just one thing. It is always made up of smaller parts. In the same sense, the most infinitesimal of building blocks also have building blocks of their own, which can be controlled to some extent, like in the case of a genetically engineered organelle.

The first thing that should be done is to explain just what exactly an organelle is. Well, a person has internal organs, and those internal organs all perform a specific function to make that person keep on living. An organelle is much like that for a cell.

Nucleus, mitochondria, and a bunch of others. Those are examples of organelles. They all have a bunch of different functions within a cell. For example, the mitochondria, often jokingly and accurately called the powerhouse of a cell by students who learned it in high school but did not learn useful things like how to file taxes, is the part that converts energy into something usable by the cell.

Now, on to genetic engineering. In essence, the main thrust of the concept in the name is in the title itself. It is when the genetics of an organic creature are engineered, usually to make it something better. It is when base traits of an organism are modified to some extent.

There is a lot that can be done with genetic engineering. Take agriculture of example. Not only can crops be modified so that they produce higher yield, they can also be made more resistant to pesticides and even less enticing to pests. Then there the potential applications to it with people. The genetic predispositions to things like cancer and obesity can be eliminated before a baby is even born.

But there are some ethical implications to the practice. For example, there are those who fear the concept of designer babies, where germ line editing is done to an embryo in order to remove the risk of things like heart disease and other diseases. But there are those who fear that this will lead to a recurrence in eugenics.

Scientists who can conduct the requisite experiments can be found. They are not going to be easily found, but they do exist. A quick search for specialist in the field of biology and chemistry and genetics should lead to some names. Another great way is to go to a research university, where many of the professors teaching there are also high level scientists.

Now, there are some ethical implications to any science experiment. Everything should be done safely and properly. The scientific method, the step by step guide by which all experiments are conducted, should be adhered to.

The world is huge, and a lot of it is unknown. Which is why there are those who are laboring to make it known. They have many methods as to how they do what they do.




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