Adventure Ausrama Blog

Genetic modification is favored in health but not for food. Convincing people to eat genetically modified food still has a long way to go to gain majority acceptance. Yet, just about everyone is in favor of using gene technology to treat health problems. This is a strange anomaly. Gene manipulation of any kind will change the world we live in. Once a change has been made and it spreads through the environment it is there forever. Drug companies admit they have lost the war in Europe. There is no way that GM food will ever be accepted there. It is largely an emotional decision, not scientifically based. Possibly, in the near future, Europe will ban DNA experimentation in health as well. This will be counter-productive. If money is invested in nations that welcome gene science then the environment will change anyway because we all live in the same world. There is a major problem looming, however, on the real future of genetically modified crops. To be profitable far...

The possibility of scientists creating a Frankenstein monster in genetic experiments is real. It could happen. Something that runs roughshod over human chemical barriers can be given life. The reality of genetically modified crops "contaminating" adjacent farms and ridiculous monetary claims by Monsanto are common. Everything living does affect everything else. There are no hard barriers keeping them in. A great frontier is wide open to them. An "off-switch" is badly needed. Modified insects to fight pests and disease have already been released. There is a way to reduce the danger. Create a genetic code that is able to force a genetically modified organism to commit suicide. This works for insects but not so well for GM bacteria. Denying bacteria an essential element is problematic. There are two ways to destroy such bacteria. The first involves the creation of a synthetic extra amino acid in proteins. GM bacteria are created that need this 2...

The Pollard farm looks like an ordinary farm but there is something that makes it unique. Many cows there are identical. Indeed, 20 are clones. They are copies of the most productive animals around. It must be noted, however, that the clones real age is their actual age plus the age of the animal they were cloned from. This is the problem with cloning, but, in breeding animals that give more meat and milk there has been no major obstacles. Less feed is required per pound of meat or liter of milk. Clones also reproduce quicker with reduced complications. This is good for the environment: less fertilizer and diesel is used. There are issues with genetic tampering of animals and crops. Scientists are saying that despite decades of work no genetically modified crop has yet been adopted worldwide. Because only people from high-income countries eat meat, cloning of cows will not help world hunger. The real challenge with cloning of cows is the high cost - $15,000 per animal. So meat from th...