Genetic technology: applications and implications

Genetic Technology

Ronald (2014) outlines some of the advancements that have been made in agricultural technology, including crop improvement, and how these have helped us to feed a rapidly growing human population. She notes that translational research is research that has been translated to agricultural practice. Some of the outcomes of this research include market assisted selection, which is a refined plant breeding technique; genetic engineering, where plants have their genes altered for a variety of reasons; and genome editing, which involves precisely altering DNA sequences in living cells, which is likely to lead to new crop varieties in the future.

Ronald also advocates for the translation of this research to aid subsistence farmers. She notes several advances, such as drought-resistant corn, rice with added Vitamin A and eggplant that is bred to be resistant to certain pests. The thrust of her paper is that there needs to be more support for genetic technologies. Where there is a high level of public skepticism, she claims that there is a link between this and high regulatory costs. This means that there is little incentive to develop solutions for subsistence or specialty crops. She does not, however, present evidence of this link, and this undermines her argument. She is essentially citing problems in the GMO industry and ascribing without evidence blame on people who oppose GMO food. This weak rhetorical tactic undermines her earlier points.

2)

The article reflects biology course material, and in particular it reflects the readings on genetic engineering. Chapter 10 covers this subject. Genomics, for example, is defined in the text as "the study of genomes, a broad field that encompasses whole-genome comparisons, structural analysis of gene products…" Ronald's article specifically cites genome editing as an emerging area of genetic engineering, drawing on knowledge of genomics to create food products with specific attributes through genomic manipulation.

The chapter's section on genetic engineering highlights many of the other techniques that Ronald (2014) describes as well. It explains what a genetically-modified organism is and directly discusses "designer plants." The text explains the concepts as they relate to the biology, while the Ronald article notes some of the uses for the technology. The text also notes some of the uses as examples of how genetic engineering works, and why people do it. In that sense there is overlap between the Ronald article and the text.

3)

The Ronald article is interesting in that it presents itself as a scientific article but it finishes more like an op-ed piece. Ronald does a good job of stating some of the benefits of genetic engineering, same as the text does, and then she states her position on the issue of regulation. The article feels at first like a cogent explanation of some of the uses and benefits for genetic engineering, and highlights the different techniques. This part of the article is strong, and it can inform the casual reader about what some of this stuff is and how it is used. The latter part of the article loses steam in terms of being much less rhetorically robust, but at that point it is veering into the political dimension, something the textbook does not do. Overall, the earlier parts of the Ronald article relate well to the material on genetic engineering, and provide further examples of the techniques used and the practical uses, bridging lab and farm as the article's title states.

4)

Research on this topic should be funded by the companies that will benefit from the research. Government should not act as a charitable provider for major corporations. The private sector has access to capital markets, in addition to the profits from their activities. These profits are all but assured through extensive patent protections. Thus, there is no shortage of money available for new development. The pharmaceutical industry has a similar development pathway -- government sets regulations governing development and then grants monopoly protections that ensure profits can be earned on a company's research investment.