One of the best-known and controversial applications of genetic engineering is the creation and use of genetically modified crops or genetically modified organisms, such as genetically modified fish, which are used to produce genetically modified food and materials with diverse uses.
Genetic Engineering Careers
Good
genes aren't always a matter of luck. Sometimes, they're the work of genetic
engineers. Genetic engineering, or the scientific altering of DNA, is a
subspecialty of biomedical engineering. On top of diverse career options,
genetic engineers enjoy above-average incomes and job opportunities. Genetic
engineers earned a median annual income of $84,760 as of May 2011, according to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with projected job growth of at least 29
percent from 2010 to 2020.
Genetic
engineers who choose careers in human health focus on treatment of chronic
illness. They developed genetically engineered insulin for diabetes patients in
the 1980s, and have since created genetically engineered clot-busters to stop
heart attacks, proteins and antibodies to fight cancer, vaccines for hepatitis
B, hormones to halt anemia and antibodies to prevent organ rejections in
transplant patients. Genetic engineers also turn otherwise harmful viruses or
bacteria into messengers that carry therapeutic drugs to specific tissues.
Genetic codes help them to uncover hereditary defects ranging from cystic
fibrosis to hemophilia. Though many inherited conditions were not treatable as
of 2012, genetic engineers are researching methods to fix faulty DNA codes. In
the absence of treatments, genetic engineers report results of genetic testing
to counselors who help patients prepare for potential diagnosis and treatment.
Genetic Engineering is Big Business
In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a genetically-altered micro-organism
could be patented. With that door now open to profit, private genetic research
soared.
Most people think
positively about the advancements in biotechnology in areas like medicine,
which is indeed a big part of the industry. Leading geneticists are hot on the
trail to eradicating cancer and the latest in cloning has successfully grown
body parts like the human ear. What this means for vital organ transplants is
extraordinary.
As we step into 2010,
biotechnology is common practice in a many of today’s industries.
Bio-fuels, based on
plants like corn or animal by-products, are supplementing and, can actually
replace, our dependence on oil and natural gas.
Gene
therapy involves the replacement or repair of defective genes and may lead to a
cure for cancer and many other diseases. Bio-identical hormones are helping
women navigate through menopause and are in the lead for that fountain of youth
formula we all hope for.
Genetic Engineering from a Laptop
Today we have the ability to do genetic engineering from a laptop, and Hessel is trying to inform and inspire a new generation of scientists who are willing to grasp the life-transforming potential of this powerful new tool.
The idea of engineering life artificially tends to conjure up images of unpredictable life forms that grow out of control, bringing harm and disease to the planet. But that’s the stuff of science fiction. According to Hessel, we should be more worried about electronic warfare and insidious hacking activities than synthetic life forms.
“I find computers far freakier than any living organism,” he says. “With most microbes, you wash your hands, bleach the counter, and they’re gone. But who’s going to turn off all the computers?”
Besides, biological information travels slowly, filtering through ecosystems, confronting at every step of the way the formidable human immune system and modern medical technologies that thwart its progress.
“To examine the flow of biological information, you start with the first person who catches a cold,” Hessel explains. “The spread of that new cold around the world takes months. That’s incredibly slow compared to a tweet, which can spread around the world nearly instantly. Compared to electronic information, I don’t think biological information has a hope.”
Hessel thinks of biological information in computer terms. Bacteria are processors; viruses are software; genomes are operating systems. And most importantly, human beings are programmers who create apps that add new features to existing genomes. “It doesn’t matter whether you engineer something or whether you evolve something,” he says. “You kind of end up at the same place.”
By programming living systems, Hessel suggests, we will reach into every single area where biology operates and change our planet: we will control the food supply, create new drugs and build renewable fuels. Grass will spread the internet everywhere it grows.
This utopia is not so far away. Genetic engineering has brought us to a point where we can think about bypassing natural selection to create our own species in the environments we choose. Hessel calls it a “parallel biology,” one that allows us to mix and match different organisms to generate synthetic offshoots of the tree of life.
“It’s completely outside of the Darwinian philosophy of incremental change,” Hessel says. “We basically throw all the old rules out, and now we get to apply human needs to it. And that’s pretty cool.”
As Google satellites reveal, we have already transformed the face of the earth through our technological advancements. We just haven’t done it in the most intelligent fashion.
“We’re literally changing this entire planet by putting up buildings and creating gadgets with plastic and toxic materials,” Hessel says. “We’re doing it with stuff that isn’t very friendly to life. We’re putting living things to the periphery and we’re poisoning ourselves. I think we have to shift our thinking a little bit and start remembering that we’re living organisms and we have dependence that involves all the other living organisms on this planet.”
Hessel is exuberant about the biological possibilities that lie ahead. He says we should let fun and curiosity drive genetic research, not the narrow needs of markets. At the very least, we have to learn to think exponentially.
“If you think about taking 30 steps, you know exactly how far you’re going to go and where you’ll end up,” Hessel says. “But if you take 30 exponential steps, you’ve walked around the world over 10 times.” It’s a doubling factor that our brains can’t quite grasp because we are hardwired to conceptualize in linear fashion, moving steadily in one direction, rather than taking boundless leaps to wherever."
“Everything’s changing except our thinking, which is the slowest thing,” Hessel says. “When it comes to the rate of change in technology, human beings are the limiting factor.”
Genetic Engineering Institutions
List of Ten Excellent Genetic Engineering Schools
School Name | Distinction | Location |
Arizona State University | Students in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering have access to 21 distinct labs. | Tempe, AZ |
Ohio State University-Main Campus | Students can attend events such as an Engineering Career Success Conference and an Engineering EXPO. | Columbus, OH |
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | Students can participate in outreach services through the Biomedical Engineering Society and research opportunities in the field. | University Park, PA |
Purdue University-Main Campus | Purdue tied for 8th place on U.S. News & World Report's 2014 list of best engineering schools. | West Lafayette, IN |
University of California-Los Angeles | Bioengineering faculty have been recognized by publications and organizations such as Popular Science Magazine and the National Institute of Health. | Los Angeles, CA |
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | The university's Department of Bioengineering recently received $100 million from the Grainger Engineering Breakthroughs Initiative. | Champaign, IL |
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | Along with Purdue, U-M tied for 8th place on U.S. News & World Report's 2014 list of best engineering schools. | Ann Arbor, MI |
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | The engineering school offers students access to a nearby medical school, as well as 300 medical device companies in the area. | Minneapolis, MN |
University of Texas at Austin | On its 2014 list of best engineering schools, U.S. News & World Report ranked UT-Austin in tenth place. | Austin, TX |
University of Washington-Seattle Campus | The university tied for seventh-place ranking on U.S. News & World Report's 2014 list of best schools offering graduate programs in bioengineering. | Seattle, WA |
For More details: http://agbiosafety.unl.edu/basic_genetics.shtml