Exam 19: Applications and Ethics of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

Gene therapy will probably be used predominantly for correcting germ-line mutations because fewer ethical issues are associated with that than with somatic cell gene therapy.

Rational drug design involves the synthesis of specific chemical substances that affect specific gene products.

The Human Genome Project seeks to rid the human population of genetic disease.

Which term is commonly used to describe the production of valuable proteins in genetically modified plants and animals?

To generate glyphosate resistance in crop plants,a fusion gene was created that introduced a viral promoter to control the EPSP synthetase gene.

Briefly describe what is meant by the term edible vaccine.

Prenatal detection of human diseases has been greatly enhanced by two procedures.Name and briefly describe each.

Many instances involving genetically modified organisms,especially food crops,will be entering the human food chain in the years to come.On what basis are genetically modified foods considered safe to eat?

List the general genetic requirements and guidelines for gene therapy.

New methods of delivering vaccines are likely to be developed so that traditional injection will be less frequent.

The first attempts at gene therapy began in 1990 with the treatment of a young girl with a genetic disorder abbreviated SCID.What does SCID stand for? In the context of SCID,what does ADA stand for?

Under strictly controlled conditions,a probe can be used that will hybridize only with its complementary sequence and not with other sequences that may vary by as little as one nucleotide.What are such probes called?

Biotechnology has yet to produce a single useful product for a human health condition.

An unapproved form of gene therapy,known as enhancement gene therapy,can create considerable ethical dilemmas.Why?

What is RNAi?

RFLPs are commonly used in recombinant DNA technology to ________.

Describe the structure of a DNA microarray and its use.

How is a microarray used to scan for mutations in a genome?

Once DNA is separated on a gel,it is often desirable to gain some idea of its informational content.How might this be done?

One of the problems associated with the generation of transgenic plants is that the ecological parameters of many plants are not completely understood.