GM Crops

Harvest of Fear

Should we Grow GM Crops?


1. What is a GM Crop.
GM crops are genetically modified crops. There are GM products in most of the food we eat.


2. List 2 arguments FOR the growing of GM crops
GM crops will be healthier, have a longer shelf life, and will be safer to eat. Some scientists say that genetically engineered crops will take over regular crops. Farmers usually produce genetically engineered crops without using pesticides.
Genetically engineered food would also be helpful to poor, hungry countries all over the world. Scientists would genetically engineer crops with more vitamins and minerals that people need to help malnourished countries,


3. List 2 arguments AGAINST the growing of GM crops.
Genetically engineered crops will take over small farmers. Genetically engineered crops may be too expensive for small farmers, and they may be forced off their land so it could be used by the larger farmers growing genetically engineered crops.
People feel like genetically modifying organisms go against nature.


Engineer a Crop

4. Practice this simulation until you get the largest ears of corn. How many times did it take you?
It took me two times to get the largest ears of corn


What’s for Dinner?


5. List two foods and desribe how they are being modified.
Pizza: For many of the ingredients in pizza scientists are trying genetically engineered versions of them. The cheese, wheat, green peppers, onions, and tomatoes may be genetically modified. They are modifying rennet, a dried extract used in cheese, so that cheese is more easily digestible and produce more cheese. They are modifying green peppers, onions and tomatoes so that they have a longer shelf life, resist pests, and survive droughts.

Bananas: Bananas are being modified to serve as a host of diseases for an edible vaccine. They are using bananas as an edible vaccine because they are indigenous to many countries and their skin provides a sterile barrier against contamination.



Viewpoints

*Read the article titled “Are GM Food Sufficiently Regulated in the US?”

Do you think food should be labeled if it has been genetically modified? Why or Why not?
Genetically modified food should be labeled. People have the right to know what they are eating. People need labels for nutritional reasons, and if people want to not buy and support genetically modified foods then they should at least know what they are.
 

 

Finished? Go to www.yahooligans.com and type "genetic engineering" in the search field. Browse some of the sites that pop up.

(Yahooligans is better than yahoo, the sites tend to be picked for education rather than for scientists and universities, you'll find more understandable and interesting sites on yahooligans than you will with Yahoo)

Write down any of the sites you visited below.
sciencemuseum.org.uk
invasions.bio.utk.edu
www.ornl.gov
 

Epigenome

Visit the learn.genetics website and visit each of the following sections on the epigenome.  Record your information in your genetics reflection blog.

IDENTICAL TWINS: PINPOINTING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ON THE EPIGENOME

   1. Often, the physical characteristics of genetically identical twins become increasingly different as they age, even at the molecular level. Explain why this is so. (use the terms "environment" and "epigenome")

Physical characteristics of twins become very different over time because they are exposed to different environmental factors. If one twin ate healthier than the other, then that would leave a different epigenetic tag then the twin that ate more junk food. The epigenome changes between the twins, so by the time they are old, they have very different epigenetic patterns. 

   2. Name 3-4 environmental factors that influence the epigenome.

Factors that influence the genome are: exercise, diet, toxins, and stress. All of these factors are introduced in our daily lives. 

   3. What is an imprinted gene?

An imprinted gene is an epigenetic tag that is passed on to the offspring. 

YOUR ENVIRONMENT, YOUR EPIGENOME

1. Discuss factors in your daily life (ie. Diet, exercise, stress etc.) that could be affecting your epigenome

Diet could be changing my epigenome, because  I don't eat a lot of vegetables. I do get a lot of exercise, which changes the way I look and my body type, which is signaled by my genes. Stress could also be changing my epigenome. When I get stressed it takes a toll on how I feel. Finally, toxins could be influencing my epigenome, such as polution from cars, second hand smoke, and industrial waste. When these travel through the air they can cause allergies and trigger asthma.

LICK YOUR RATS

   1. Explain how a high-nurturing mother rat shapes her pup's epigenome, and what that pup's response to stress will be.

A high-nurturing mother rat shapes the pup's epigenome by licking it constantly. When the mother licks and grooms the baby rat more, the GR gene becomes more active, making the pup have an easier time with recovering from stress. The gene will most likely stay the same throughout the rat's life.

   2. In rats, does licking by the mother activate, or deactivate her pup's GR gene?

It activates the GR gene. That means that the pup will have an easier time to relax after it gets stressed.

   3. Explain how cortisol and the GR protein work together in the brain to relax a rat pup. You may draw a diagram.

When the cortisol travels to the hippocampus (area of the brain) it binds with the GR proteins to help the rat get less stressed and recover from the stress more quickly.

   

4. The rat nurturing example shows us how parental behavior can shape the behavior of their offspring on a biochemical level. Relate this to humans and think about the personal and social implications. Record your thoughts.

Mothers who care for their children in a more nurturing way shapes how the children grow up. If you grow up in a very stressed household, you are more likely to become stressed. Children learn from their parent's behaviors and replicate them. It can also be a little like a cycle of violence. Abused children are more likely to be bullies in school and get involved with drinking and drugs when they get older.

NUTRITION & THE EPIGENOME

   1. Explain how the food we eat affects gene expression.

The nutrients we extract from food can enter our metabolic system and are changed into molecules we can use. They are turned into methyl groups along a pathway. When chemicals and additives from the food enter the body, they can change the epigenome. 

   2. Can the diets of parents affect their offspring's epigenome?

Yes. During early development, what the mother eats can affect the offspring for the rest of its life. Studies show that a mother with a methyl deficient diet will have methyl deficient children. In rats, the unhealthy rats were given a methyl rich diet and the offspring turned out healthy. The father's diet can also influence the child.

EPIGENETICS & THE HUMAN BRAIN

There are many epigenetic factors that influence behavior. 60% of genes differ between psychiatric patients and normal people. Child abuse is an environmental factor that that leaves a genetic mark on the brain, and in comparison of suicide victims, only abused people had tags on the GR gene.  Some drugs that treat mental illness change the gene expression. Drugs of abuse, such as cocaine can affect hundreds of genes at one time, and the effects can be written into the genetic code. 

People that committed suicide have higher methylation than normal. Children who were abused made up most of the suicide victims. The only differences between the suicide victims and normal people were found in the hippocampus of the brain.