Describe applications of biotechnology, including genetic engineering and DNA analysis, and evaluate their benefits and concerns (North Carolina Standard Course of Study, Biology, LS.Bio.8).

What this topic is asking

North Carolina LS.Bio.8 asks you to describe applications of biotechnology and evaluate their benefits and concerns. For the Biology EOC you need to know genetic engineering and GMOs, gel electrophoresis and DNA fingerprinting, the older tools of selective breeding and cloning, and the newer tool CRISPR, plus how to weigh benefits against ethical and safety concerns. Items often give a real use and ask you to name the technique or judge a trade-off.

Genetic engineering and GMOs

The classic example is putting the human insulin gene into bacteria, which then produce human insulin that can be collected and used to treat diabetes. Because the genetic code is universal (the same codons mean the same amino acids in all organisms), a human gene placed in a bacterium still produces the human protein. Other examples include crops engineered to resist pests or tolerate herbicides. The benefits include cheaper medicines and more productive crops; the concerns include possible effects on health or ecosystems and questions about labelling and control.

DNA analysis: gel electrophoresis and fingerprinting

This is a frequent EOC item: you may be asked what electrophoresis separates by (the answer is size) or to read which samples match in a diagram.

Selective breeding, cloning, and CRISPR

Three more tools complete the picture, from oldest to newest:

• Selective breeding is the oldest: humans choose organisms with desired traits to reproduce, so the trait becomes more common over generations (for example, dairy cows that produce more milk, or larger crops). It uses existing variation, not new genes.
• Cloning produces a genetically identical copy of an organism (or cell). It is used to copy organisms with desirable traits and in research.
• CRISPR is a recent tool that edits DNA precisely, allowing specific changes to a gene. It opens powerful possibilities in medicine and agriculture and raises some of the sharpest ethical questions, especially about editing human DNA.

The standard asks you to evaluate, so for any technique be ready to give a benefit and a concern. Benefits cluster around medicine, food, and forensics; concerns cluster around safety, ethics, fairness of access, and unintended effects.

Try this

Q1. State what gel electrophoresis separates DNA fragments by, and which fragments travel farthest. [2]

• Cue. By size (length); the smallest fragments travel farthest through the gel.

Q2. Give one benefit and one concern of genetic engineering. [2]

• Cue. Benefit, for example cheaper medicines (insulin) or more productive crops; concern, for example safety, ethical, or environmental questions.