I've always been a huge fan of animals, so much so that I cried when I went on the Safari ride in Animal Kingdom. It was no surprise that I found myself at a local adoption event at a pet store to see some cute animals. As I was walking through the fish aisle, I stumbled upon a particular breed that fascinated me, Glo-Fish. In the somewhat dark tank swam a variety of fluorescent fish, I was instantly intrigued, but my friend insisted we go pet some kittens instead. Kittens? Really Jill? We have the real life star of my favorite childhood book, The Rainbow Fish, and you want to go see kittens? On my way home, I typed in "Glo-fish" to google up popped a number of articles on genetic modification. I had heard of genetically modified organisms, as in fruits and vegetables, but I never knew an entire industry existed to modifying animals. Did you know that there is a fish that contains antifreeze proteins in its blood? It lets it survive in near-freezing waters. It's time we learn a little more about the fascinating science of genetically modified animals. So today, we'll visit the history behind genetic modification, then we'll discuss why GMAs are important, and finally we will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of this science.
The first notion of genetic modification was explored in 1972 by biochemist Paul Berg. Berg was one of the first to create recombinant DNA, which is DNA that has been formed artificially by combining elements from two different organisms. I know what you're thinking.. I can't pet or follow instagram accounts of DNA, where are the cute animals? It wasn't until two years later, when the first genetically modified animal would come to life. Rudolf Jaenisch, a Professor of Biology at MIT, created the "transgenic mouse," the first animal that had a foreign gene inserted into its DNA. These mice were later used to mimic humans while studying a variety of diseases like cancer, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and many more. However, genetic modification isn't just limited to mice; several other animals' DNA have been altered. Sheep, pigs, rats, and fish have all been modified in one way or another. Maybe you've heard of the Belgian Blue, an animal you won't find at your local PetCo. If you haven't, let me paint a picture for you. Envision a cow, now envision that cow going to CrossFit 4 times a week. Pretty buff, right? The Belgian Blue has a mutation in the myostatin gene, which makes the myostatin protein function incorrectly and produces an accelerated amount of lean muscle growth. By definition, genetically modified animals are animals that have been changed for a variety of purposes including producing drugs, enhancing yields, increase resistance to disease, etc. In my opinion, it's pretty similar to my disturbing habit as a kid to take the head of one colored gummy bear, and place it on another. Red-green hybrids reign supreme.
Now that we've defined what genetically modified animals are, we can discuss why GMAs are important. If the Belgian Blue didn't exactly interest you, now's the time to pay attention. According to an article written by Royal Society, genetically modified animals have a wide range of purposes, such as medical research, toxicity testing, and agricultural benefits. One of the most successful uses of genetic modification is the Eviro-Pig. This little piggy went to the market, this little piggy went home, and this little piggy was genetically modified to produce smaller amounts of phosphorus into the environment. The Enviro-Pig emits 30-60 percent less phosphorus compared to a traditional pig, significantly decreasing its impact on the environment! Not only does genetic modification affect our planet, it impacts us too. According to an article from Bio.Com, GE medical products are starting to be produced, but only one is currently on the market, that product is named ATryn. ATryn is a human pharmaceutical developed to prevent blood clots, and the drug is extracted from the milk of a genetically modified goat. This drug has been used for patients undergoing surgery and even for women during labor. As incredible as that is, it doesn't stop there. In recent years, pigs have been undergoing genetic modification to increase the use of xenotransplantations, which are transplantations between two different species. No, it's not a sci-fi or horror novel, it's real life. According to an article from harvard.edu, pig organs are being used in humans! You may be thinking, where does genetic modification come into this? I'll explain. Pigs have molecules on their cell surfaces that humans do not have, meaning when a pig organ is transplanted into a human, the immune system will detect the cells are foreign and reject the organ immediately. Not even immunosuppressants can stop the rejection. With the use of genetic modification, the pig's organs can be given the necessary human proteins to be accepted by the body and the chance of rejection would diminish. More than 116,000 people currently await donor organs–all of which are in short supply. The use of genetically modified organs will exponentially help with organ availability. Maybe one of you guys will be receiving a pig's lung in the future after the whole "JUUL" trend dies down. Ranging from environmental purposes to medical miracles, genetically modified animals are helping us in extraordinary ways.
Future/ Pros & Cons Paragraph
So if genetic modification is on the rise, is it good or bad? It truly depends on how you look at it. As mentioned before, genetic modification has the potential to make insane advances in the medical field. Which would be beneficial to anyone. Genetically modified animals are being used to mimic humans when studying diseases. Knocking out specific genes in mice allow researchers to study the disease and test possible cures. Another positive of GMAs is the faster growth rate of animals. According to an article written by Penn State, animals can be modified to promptly mature. Dairy cows can be modified to produce more milk, and sheep can be modified to grow wool faster. This makes life easier, especially for farmers, but maybe not the cow that's trying to make it until the last Game of Thrones novel. When it comes to negatives, many people wonder whether genetic modification is humane. Animal rights activists argue that animals should be free to live their lives without being subject to genetic modification. These modifications are improving lives for humans, but at what cost? Genetic modification is a fairly new tool, with that comes uncertancies. As of now, we aren't sure if eating the products of genetically modified animals will potentially harm us. If that's the case, one of the advantages of these animals could disappear. According to an article from ConnectUs.com, genetic modification comes with the possibility of side effects for some animals. Recent tests showed that the animals were more prone to developing arthritis, had changes to their skeletal growth, suffered from dermatitis and gastric ulcers. Kinda sounds like my grandma.. And no, I'm not calling her a cow. Anyway, this is causing an outrage to those concerned with animal welfare. Like almost anything in today's world, people are going to have differing opinions on whether or not something like this is ethical or not, and only time will tell us how far this science will go.
So today, we visited the history behind genetic modification, then we discussed why genetically modified animals are important, and finally we talked about the advantages and disadvantages of this science. Genetic modification is an incredibly powerful tool that's on the rise, it's just a matter of how society decides to handle it. Fun fact: I learned that with genetic modification, it's possible to make almost any animal glow, just like Glo-Fish! So don't be surprised if you see me walking down the street with a "galactic purple" labradoodle.
