University Of Pennsylvania

A genetically modified organism, or GMO, is an entity whose "genetic make-up has been deliberately altered" (Jumba, 2010 p. 1). The resulting animal or plant is referred to as "transgenic." Transgenic plants and animals have an ever-increasing variety of uses and applications. Plants can be modified so that they are resistant to pesticide application, so that they can deliver greater nutrition, and even have glowing genes inserted to indicate that they need to be watered (Zimmer, ...

Advances in gene manipulation have given rise to practical applications in myriad fields including agriculture, medicine, and research. Sentinel plants are able to fluoresce when they need water, and spinal cord injuries are able to be healed in mouse models using manipulated stem cells

These organisms are at an advantage when the environment is stable and has few demands; such a population can reproduce quickly. However, in the face of changing environmental pressures, organisms can use mutation and gene mixing to create variety that will possibly be successful. Scientists can also create clones artificially through biotechnological approaches. Cloning came to the forefront of public dialogue in 1997, when Dolly the sheep was cloned at the Roslin Institute (Kashyap, 2001)...