Definitions
- Biotechnology - the use of microorganisms to perform industrial or manufacturing processes
- Cisgenics - a type of genetic engineering that is similar to plant breeding
- Gibberellic acid - a type of plant hormone
Summary
- Scientists at The Oregon State University, led by professor Steven Strauss, found that cisgenics might give way to new possibilities in biotechnology. Cisgenics uses genes from similar species of plants to help them produce more quickly. Because of this, they found that they can, not only improve forestry, but also crop agriculture around the world. The way this process works is by manipulation the gibberellic acid in a tree, they are able to affect its growth rate and wood properties of the tree.
Discussion
- This is a great breakthrough in this field of science, because up till now, were were only able to use biotech to transfer genetic traits from one species of animals to another.
- Since we now have greater control over how a plant can grow, that means we can increase the rate of crops yield, and making more food than normal.
- Just by using cisgenics, we might be able to solve some of the world's problems, such as hunger and the rate of deforestation.
Questions
- Does this process make any other drastic change in the plant that could be harmful and hard to detect?
- Can cisgenics also shorten a plant's life span since we increase their growth?
"Genetics Offers New Biotechnology Tools." United Press International, Inc 11
June 2010: n. pag. Science Online. Web. 18 Oct. 2010.
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June 2010: n. pag. Science Online. Web. 18 Oct. 2010.
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Hi Thyne,
ReplyDeleteYour title is really interesting and it draws me in. Your definitions are great and helped me to understand the rest of the article. In the summary, I don't think you should put in bullet points. Otherwise, the summary points out all the interesting points in the article. I think you should add a little more in your discussion about, for example, how cisgenics works and whether or not we can use a similar form on animals. Also, as in the summary don't use bullet points. I agree with your questions, and would also add one like "Are cisgenics dangerous to use in the environment because of their modified genes?" Finally, I don't know where your citations are. Overall, a great choice for an article and really well written.
Thyne-
ReplyDeleteGreat choice in article! I thought you did a great job getting the reader's attention through the title. Maybe for the definitions you could add "forestry." Other than that, great job on the definitions, since you made very complicated words really easy to understand. I think you could have elaborated more on why the gibberellic acid is used to increase the growth rate. For the discussion, include how this relates to our science class right now. I would add another questions relating to the gibberellic acid like the one I had above, "Why is gibberellic acid used to increase the growth rate and not any other plant hormones?" You are lacking citations, and remember to not use bullet points. Other than that, great job!