Genetic Engineering, history and future Essays - Molecular Biology

Genetic Engineering, history and future Essays - Molecular Biology Genetic Engineering, history and future Altering the Face of Science Science is a creature that continues to evolve at a much higher rate than the beings that gave it birth. The transformation time from tree-shrew, to ape, to human far exceeds the time from analytical engine, to calculator, to computer. But science, in the past, has always remained distant. It has allowed for advances in production, transportation, and even entertainment, but never in history will science be able to so deeply affect our lives as genetic engineering will undoubtedly do. With the birth of this new technology, scientific extremists and anti-technologists have risen in arms to block its budding future. Spreading fear by misinterpretation of facts, they promote their hidden agendas in the halls of the United States congress. Genetic engineering is a safe and powerful tool that will yield unprecedented results, specifically in the field of medicine. It will usher in a world where gene defects, bacterial disease, and even aging are a thing of the past. By understanding genetic engineering and its history, discovering its possibilities, and answering the moral and safety questions it brings forth, the blanket of fear covering this remarkable technical miracle can be lifted. The first step to understanding genetic engineering, and embracing its possibilities for society, is to obtain a rough knowledge base of its history and method. The basis for altering the evolutionary process is dependant on the understanding of how individuals pass on characteristics to their offspring. Genetics achieved its first foothold on the secrets of nature's evolutionary process when an Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel developed the first "laws of heredity." Using these laws, scientists studied the characteristics of organisms for most of the next one hundred years following Mendel's discovery. These early studies concluded that each organism has two sets of character determinants, or genes (Stableford 16). For instance, in regards to eye color, a child could receive one set of genes from his father that were encoded one blue, and the other brown. The same child could also receive two brown genes from his mother. The conclusion for this inheritance would be the child has a three in four chance of having brown eyes, and a one in three chance of having blue eyes (Stableford 16). Genes are transmitted through chromosomes which reside in the nucleus of every living organism's cells. Each chromosome is made up of fine strands of deoxyribonucleic acids, or DNA. The information carried on the DNA determines the cells function within the organism. Sex cells are the only cells that contain a complete DNA map of the organism, therefore, "the structure of a DNA molecule or combination of DNA molecules determines the shape, form, and function of the [organism's] offspring " (Lewin 1). DNA discovery is attributed to the research of three scientists, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and James Dewey Watson in 1951. They were all later accredited with the Nobel Price in physiology and medicine in 1962 (Lewin 1). "The new science of genetic engineering aims to take a dramatic short cut in the slow process of evolution" (Stableford 25). In essence, scientists aim to remove one gene from an organism's DNA, and place it into the DNA of another organism. This would create a new DNA strand, full of new encoded instructions; a strand that would have taken Mother Nature millions of years of natural selection to develop. Isolating and removing a desired gene from a DNA strand involves many different tools. DNA can be broken up by exposing it to ultra-high-frequency sound waves, but this is an extremely inaccurate way of isolating a desirable DNA section (Stableford 26). A more accurate way of DNA splicing is the use of "restriction enzymes, which are produced by various species of bacteria" (Clarke 1). The restriction enzymes cut the DNA strand at a particular location called a nucleotide base, which makes up a DNA molecule. Now that the desired portion of the DNA is cut out, it can be joined to another strand of DNA by using enzymes called ligases. The final important step in the creation of a new DNA strand is giving it the ability to self-replicate. This can be accomplished by using special pieces of DNA, called vectors, that permit the generation of multiple copies of a total DNA strand and fusing it to the newly created DNA structure. Another newly developed method, called polymerase chain reaction, allows for faster replication of DNA

Free Essays on Waking Life

Richard Linklater accomplished a vision that he had almost scrapped until the immergence of a new technique in rotoscoped animation. Waking Life is a film infused with the power of animation that takes us through a journey of dreams and makes one question their own reality. The method of animation used was the step to making this powerful piece of cinema a reality and would not have happened without it. Rotoscoping was inventing in 1915 by animation pioneer Max Fleischer. It is a method that takes live action footage and traces over the images to produce very realistic movement. It is because of this tracing method that some feel rotoscoping is a sort of a cheat or easy way out. However, rotoscoping and other forms like it are a way to explore animation and its creativity even further; it allows animators more artistic freedom by saving labor: â€Å"To not use these labor saving methods and tools would take us back to the days when acetate cells weren’t invented and you had not only to animate every frame but had to redraw the background every time as well.† It was this type of freedom that allowed everyone involved with the piece to create a film that is just as visually stunning as it is narrativly. Director Richard Linklater wanted to bring artist, like painters, who did not necessarily know anything about producing animation and involve them in the process as animators. To accomplish this Linklater enlisted animator Bob Sabiston as art director. Sabiston brought with him his own developed software nicknamed RotoShop. This software was the tool that allowed artists of all animation levels to create their visions. It is a system that allows artists to trace over the video (Quicktime) with Wacom pens and tablets with results that are very close to brush strokes on a canvas. This method is accelerated due to the software’s interpolation system, which automatically connects lines within so many frames. Sabiston co... Free Essays on Waking Life Free Essays on Waking Life Richard Linklater accomplished a vision that he had almost scrapped until the immergence of a new technique in rotoscoped animation. Waking Life is a film infused with the power of animation that takes us through a journey of dreams and makes one question their own reality. The method of animation used was the step to making this powerful piece of cinema a reality and would not have happened without it. Rotoscoping was inventing in 1915 by animation pioneer Max Fleischer. It is a method that takes live action footage and traces over the images to produce very realistic movement. It is because of this tracing method that some feel rotoscoping is a sort of a cheat or easy way out. However, rotoscoping and other forms like it are a way to explore animation and its creativity even further; it allows animators more artistic freedom by saving labor: â€Å"To not use these labor saving methods and tools would take us back to the days when acetate cells weren’t invented and you had not only to animate every frame but had to redraw the background every time as well.† It was this type of freedom that allowed everyone involved with the piece to create a film that is just as visually stunning as it is narrativly. Director Richard Linklater wanted to bring artist, like painters, who did not necessarily know anything about producing animation and involve them in the process as animators. To accomplish this Linklater enlisted animator Bob Sabiston as art director. Sabiston brought with him his own developed software nicknamed RotoShop. This software was the tool that allowed artists of all animation levels to create their visions. It is a system that allows artists to trace over the video (Quicktime) with Wacom pens and tablets with results that are very close to brush strokes on a canvas. This method is accelerated due to the software’s interpolation system, which automatically connects lines within so many frames. Sabiston co...

Tobacco Horror Show Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tobacco Horror Show - Essay Example Throughout the article, an attempt has been made to conclude which of the means, literal or visual, is most effective when it comes to delivering ‘the right’ information. The question is, what is more important, the tobacco companies business that will be affected or public health that is always put on the line due to their tobacco production and products? The answer is simple and in my opinion, a smoker needs to be conveyed a message, in a way, that it actually delivers neutralized related aspects such as bad lungs, cancerous cause, short breath, addiction and eventually a shorter span of life. Moreover, a literal message might not have the same effect as compared to the one that is visually displayed as it can be adequate for the smoker to develop the right understanding. The motive should be to educate smokers and to help them overcome the smoking practice or addiction. Displaying images that depict the internal and overall destruction of a human body will make a smok er think twice. Works cited Fish, Stanley. "The Tobacco Horror Show."Â  New York Times. 14 Nov. 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. . The Age of the Superfluous Worker America’s survival in the global economy today is questioned as the unemployment ratio has consistently climbed, as observed. As the situation worsens the estimated jobless ratio has now hiked to almost 15% of the overall work force. These statistics include the type that has now given up their search for work, the superfluous workers. These issues, when combined, severely contribute to the ever-increasing surplus pool. If present-day capitalism continues to eliminate a greater number of jobs as compared to what it creates, soon, along with the addition to surplus labor, majority of workers will eventually turn into superfluous workers. If a considerable proportion is continued to be expelled from within the American work force, soon America will transform into a disturbed society. This age has rightly been named ‘ the age of the superfluous worker’. Where there are less job opportunities for every American citizen, most of them transform into superfluous workers. According to my point of view, government needs to focus more on creating jobs and providing earning opportunities to its own people. If unemployment continues to climb heights, the youth is estimated to reach the ‘surplus state’ at an early age. If out-sourcing offices to lower waged countries continues, an ongoing addition to superfluous workers is never likely to halt. Other than the government concentrating more on creating jobs, employers also need to play a considerable role. They need to understand the fact that if they continue to outsource businesses, soon a time will come when the nation’s youth will be mentally challenged. Works cited Fish, Stanley. "The Age of the Superfluous Worker."Â  The New York Times. 14 Nov. 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. . Moving Beyond Civil Rights Initially, civil rights mad e America a united and fair nation yet in the present, civil rights have failed to bring about any changes in the lives of many minorities, women and the unemployed. Due to the initial successful implementation of civil rights laws, Americans perceive every issue of social injustice