Interpret a range of secondary sources

Interpret a range of secondary sources to assess the influence of social, economic and cultural contexts on a range of biotechnologies.

  • Harm to the Environment:
    • Whether a GMO (genetically modified organism) may or may not cause harm to the environment and its adaptability with the changing climatic conditions still cannot be predicted. In some cases, the effect of the existence of a GMO on other organisms raises questions too. For example, A strain of corn has been created with a gene that encodes a natural pesticide. On the positive side, the transgenic corn is not eaten by insects, so there is more corn for people to eat. The corn also doesn’t need to be sprayed with chemical pesticides, which can harm people and other living things. On the negative side, the transgenic corn has been shown to cross-pollinate nearby milkweed plants. Offspring of the cross-pollinated milkweed plants are now known to be toxic to monarch butterfly caterpillars that depend on them for food. Scientists are concerned that this may threaten the monarch species as well as other species that normally eat monarchs.
  • Bioterrorism:
    • Governments are worried that terrorists will use biotechnology to create new Superbugs, infectious viruses, or toxins, for which we have no cures.
  • Laboratory/production safety:
    • It’s hard to protect oneself if you don’t know what you’re working with. Some new technologies, usually nonbiologicals such as nanoparticles make commercial production lines before they have been sufficiently tested for safety. There is also concern about technician safety in laboratories, even under secured conditions, when working with organisms of unknown virulence.
  • Protecting Human Subjects in Clinical Trials:
    • At times, human trials don’t work the way they are planned which may cause the subjects on which the products / technologies are used are harmed and in severe cases, these tests and trials turn out to be lethal.
    • This issue has generated considerable debate since 1999, when 18-year-old Jesse Gelsinger died while participating in a gene therapy trial at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Affordability:
    • A wide number of clinical biotech products and treatments cannot be afforded by the mass public.

 

Extract from HSC Biology Stage 6 Syllabus. © 2017 Board of Studies NSW.

EasyBio > Genetic Change > Genetic Technologies > Interpret a range of secondary sources

Interpret a range of secondary sources to assess the influence of social, economic and cultural contexts on a range of biotechnologies.

  • Harm to the Environment:
    • Whether a GMO (genetically modified organism) may or may not cause harm to the environment and its adaptability with the changing climatic conditions still cannot be predicted. In some cases, the effect of the existence of a GMO on other organisms raises questions too. For example, A strain of corn has been created with a gene that encodes a natural pesticide. On the positive side, the transgenic corn is not eaten by insects, so there is more corn for people to eat. The corn also doesn’t need to be sprayed with chemical pesticides, which can harm people and other living things. On the negative side, the transgenic corn has been shown to cross-pollinate nearby milkweed plants. Offspring of the cross-pollinated milkweed plants are now known to be toxic to monarch butterfly caterpillars that depend on them for food. Scientists are concerned that this may threaten the monarch species as well as other species that normally eat monarchs.
  • Bioterrorism:
    • Governments are worried that terrorists will use biotechnology to create new Superbugs, infectious viruses, or toxins, for which we have no cures.
  • Laboratory/production safety:
    • It's hard to protect oneself if you don't know what you're working with. Some new technologies, usually nonbiologicals such as nanoparticles make commercial production lines before they have been sufficiently tested for safety. There is also concern about technician safety in laboratories, even under secured conditions, when working with organisms of unknown virulence.
  • Protecting Human Subjects in Clinical Trials:
    • At times, human trials don’t work the way they are planned which may cause the subjects on which the products / technologies are used are harmed and in severe cases, these tests and trials turn out to be lethal.
    • This issue has generated considerable debate since 1999, when 18-year-old Jesse Gelsinger died while participating in a gene therapy trial at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Affordability:
    • A wide number of clinical biotech products and treatments cannot be afforded by the mass public.

Extract from HSC Biology Stage 6 Syllabus. © 2017 Board of Studies NSW.