Genetic engineering and genetically modified organisms have potential risks and downsides according to the document. While genetic engineering has applications in agriculture and medicine, it can also have detrimental effects on humanity. Introducing foreign genes into other species can have uncontrolled and unpredictable consequences. Studies have shown genetically modified foods can be toxic and cause health issues in animals. Genetically engineered crops also have negative impacts on biodiversity and the environment by promoting the growth of pesticide-resistant superweeds and superbugs. The long-term effects of genetic engineering are uncertain due to its new and crude nature, making it a controversial technology that manipulates nature in ways bypassing normal evolution.

1. THE HARMFUL EFFECT OF GENETIC
ENGINEERING
By- Sanju Sah
St. Xavier’s college, Maitighar, Kathmandu
Department of Microbiology

2. •Humans have been engineering and modifying life by
selective breeding of plants and animals.
•We were good at it without knowing, why of it.
•Until we discovered Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid or DNA.
•Information are coded on it so change the information, you
change the character.
•1960’s scientists bombarded radiation to cause random
mutation in the genetic code with the idea of getting useful
plants and animals.
•Variation by pure chance! Sometimes it works!

4. • 1970’s scientists introduced bacterial DNA into plants to study and modify
them.
• For research, medicine, agriculture and for fun.
• 1974 first GMO was the mice for research
• 1980 a microbe was developed and patented

5. Patenting Biological life forms
•Chakrabarty in 1980, when the genetically modified
bacterium was granted a patent.
• In 1972, Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty, a genetic engineer
and a researcher of the General Electric Company, filed a
patent application in relation to a bacterium that was
intended to consume petroleum (oil) spills (superbug).

8. Genetic Engineering
•GE? Direct manipulation of microorganism and genome.
•Taking foreign DNA and inserting it into host genome to
create new types of organisms.
•Isolating the DNA of interest introducing it into a host
genome

9. •While Genetic Engineering has numerous applications
in the fields of agriculture and the pharmaceutical
industries it is overall a detrimental process to the
advancement of humanity.
•GMO’s are organisms that have been created by
artificially transferring the genes from the DNA of one
species into the genes of an unrelated animal or plant.

10. • These GMO’s are used in manufacturing foods such as fruits
and vegetables .However GM foods have not been
scientifically proven safe for human consumption.
• Studies have shown that this experimental process does not
have any guarantee of safety.
• Mixing plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes will lead to
uncontrolled and unpredictable results.

11. •GM food? modified to obtain certain traits as less growth
time, resistant to pathogens, pest, herbicides, production
of extra nutrients.
•Eg. Corn attacked by worms corn borer to lower the
production
•Bt is a soil born bacterium which produces a protein that
are inherently toxic to certain insects
•So Scientists have discovered that if we take that gene
and introduced onto corn bt corn (Bacillus thuringensis),
Bt gene inserted into crop
•Pest dies feeding on any part of the plant

12. • GM foods change the chemical makeup of plants after using
genetic engineering and the possible health effects of consuming
GM foods.
• Example: Let’s say you want to create a corn plant that produces
its own pesticide.
• You take a gene from a soil bacterium Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis)
and you make millions of copies of the gene and you put it into a
gene gun and you shoot that gun into a plate of millions of cells,
hoping that some of the genes make it into the DNA of some of
those cells.
• Then you clone those cells into a plant.
• Now the process of insertion plus cloning causes massive
collateral damage in the DNA of the plant.

13. • 2-3% is different, there can be hundreds or
thousands of mutations to our gut bacteria gets
worse when you think of what can transfer the corn
and cotton that are genetically engineered there’s
varieties that produce their own pesticides.
• So if the gene that produces pesticides transfers, it
might turn our intestinal bacteria into living
pesticide Factories.

14. • Researches carried out on laboratory animals has supported
the claim that GM foods are toxic and cause negative health
effects.
• Rats fed on GM corn developed massive tumors, stomach
ulcers and showed abnormal growth which led to their early
death.
• Mice fed on GM soy later showed disturbed liver, pancreas
and testes function.

15. • In addition to causing negative health effects, GMO’s carry
the potential to damage the environment. The use of GM
crops promotes the production of super weeds and super
bugs.
• These organisms (super weeds) are resistant to pesticides
and herbicides, which means that increasing amounts of
stronger pesticides will be used, tat can result in grave
consequences for the surrounding ecosystems.
• These pesticides not only reduce pests and weeds but also
result in the elimination of other beneficial field growth
and non-target living organisms, which reduces the
biodiversity responsible for sustaining the natural
ecosystems.

16. • Pesticides reduce biodiversity besides it pollute air, soil, and drinking water,
posing serious health risks in farm workers and consumers.
• As a result the use of biotechnology in Agriculture has considerable negative
impacts on the environment.

17. • Now scientists have the ability to
modify and research Genetics to
such a high level, the question is
raised whether or not it should
be used.
• Many people argue that
manipulating nature and playing
with God’s creations is morally
wrong.
• One of the highly controversial
issues regarding this technology
is the practice of Human Cloning.

18. • Is it morally correct to create another human being?
• Who is to say that your life has a higher value that that of an
embryo?
• Scientists can create a working body but can they engineer a soul?
• What ultimately leads to many people being against Genetic
modification of ay kind is the fact that there are a vast number of
possibilities and the potential dangers associated with this
technology are immense.
• Therefore , humans should refrain themselves from manipulating
Nature and should acknowledge the fact playing God will only
have devastating impacts on the Human Race as a whole.

19. • Gene editing: super muscled pigs, fast growing salmons, featherless
chickens and see through frogs, fluorescent fish.

20. •Creating creatures in the laboratory who do not exist in
the nature.
•Difficult to keep these creatures alive because they do
not know how to fight well and survive.
•Engineer things to live longer and hardy than natural
things.
•Danger is that the engineered organism will overcome
the natural breeds.
•GE rice will take over the natural ones so all food comes
from one variety.
•One is susceptible to a disease all rice are destroyed

21. •Keep diversity; GE destroys the natural genetic variety
•Creating things that turn into medicine which contain
those microbial or animal protein will harm us,
purification.
•Microbial organisms are made to be factories.
•If the test goes wrong, how to contain it.

23. •Environmental Hazards:
•GE: Bt toxin: targeting of benign insect species
•Insects becomes overly resistant to pesticides
•Cross contamination of weeds, herbicide weeds
•Cross contamination to non-GM crops
•Public Health Hazards: Allergy increase in many crops
not previously known.
•Antibiotic resistant genes, mixed with foreign DNA
•Organ Damage: Kidney and liver damage

24. •Economic Issues
•Patents: gene company making a turn over to profit
spent for research, highly prized seeds
•Market rejection: consumers do not want to eat GM
food
•GM contamination: more expensive so cross
breeding cause loss of natural property.

25. •Quite new
•Crude technology
•Very controversial
•Essentially manipulating nature
•By passing evolution,
•Uncertainty at the end.