Note
- can be used to produce drugs like insulin.
- has been used to make plants more resistant to pests or tolerant to herbicides.
- helped env. scientists monitor + solve many problems → related to env. damage.
| Applications of Genetic Engineering | Benefit to Society |
|---|---|
| Low cost production of medicines | Genetic Engineering → of imp. drugs → such as human insulin → drastically reduced cost of these medicines. With these drugs becoming more affordable → more patients → get access to them + treated |
| Production of crops that grow in extreme conditions: → drought resistant crops → salt tolerant crops → crops that make more efficient use of nutrients. | Allows farmers → grow crops → even when the env. conditions are not suitable for cultivating most crops. |
| Development of: → crops that produce toxins that kill insect pests. → pesticide resistant crops. | Use of costly pesticides → that may damage the env. → is reduced. e.g. → Bt gene from certain bacterium → can be inserted into plants → produce a toxin that kills certain insect pests. |
| Development of food designed to meet specific nutritional goals | Improved nutritional quality of foods. E.g. → 2 genes from daffodil and one gene from bacterium erwinia uredovora → inserted into rice plants to produce golden rice → have high vitamin A content |