Genetic modification and manipulation of cells
written by Gloria Poole, RN, artist of Missouri and Georgia.
I am quoting a medical textbook and will include info about it but here's the quotes: " DNA has become the easier [ to analyze]. It is now possible o excise [cut out] specific regions of DNA to obtain them in virtually unlimited quantities, and to determine the sequence of their nucleotides at a rate of hundreds of nucleotides a day. By variations of the same techniques, an isolated gene can be altered [engineered] at will and transferred back into cells in culture or [with rather more difficulty ] into the germ line of animals where the modified gene becomes incorporated [ becomes a part of] as a permanent functional part of the genome. " page 181. And continuing further down the same page, this quote: " ..recombinant DNA technology has generated new experimental approaches that have revolutionized cell biology. " And skip to page 194 same textbook, for this quote: " although it is often not difficult to obtain mutants that are deficient in a particular process, such a DNA replication or eye development, it can take many years to trace the deficit to a particular altered protein. Recently, recombinant DNA technology has made possible a different genetic approach in which one starts with a protein and creates a mutant cell or organism in which that protein [or its expression} is abnormal. Because the new approach reverses the traditional gene-to-protein direction of genetic analysis, it is commonly referred to as reverse genetics. Reverse genetics begins with a protein with interesting properties that has been isolated from a cell. By methods described [in a following chapter] the gene encoding the protein is cloned and its nucleotide sequence is determined. This sequence is then altered by biochemical means, to create a mutant gene that codes for an altered version of the protein. The mutant gene is transferred into a cell, where it can integrate into a chromosome by genetic recombination to become part of the cells' genome. If the gene is expressed, the cell and all of its descendants will now synthesize the an altered protein. if the original cell used for gene transfer is a fertilized egg, whole multi-cellular organisms can be obtained that contain the mutant gene, and some of these transgenic organisms will pass the [mutant] gene on to their progeny [offspring] as a permanent part of their germ line. Such genetic transformations are now routinely performed on such organisms as complex as fruit flies and mammals. And note that biotech is also doing these experiments on humans with cells obtained from aborted babies and their ovaries and gonads.] Technically, even humans could now be transformed in this way..."
I read some of the chapter explaining how the manipulation of the cells is done. It is very complex and difficult reading because it is geared to the education of medical doctors [but I, Gloria Poole, RN own this textbook that I got for medical education for my purposes.] I am only going to summarize a few key points in the how they do it section because I am writing this so lay people without any medical training or skills could understand it. From pages 207-209 same textbook: The "scientists" hydrolyze [tear apart} the amino acids [proteins] and then they manipulate them using enzymes called aminoacyl-tRNA syntheses but there is a different enzyme for all 20 amino acids. They add "two methyl groups to G: n, N-dimethyl G; two hydrogens to U: dihydro U; isopentenyl to A: N to the 6th power and [chemical sign of a triangle [not able to make on this keyboard] to the 2nd power isopentenyl] A; and sulphur to replace the oxygen in U : 4-thiouridine. Then the amino acids recombine with a different tRNA molecule and is modified. The scientists can cause the cells to degenerate by transforming it to more than one tRNA or that a single tRNA can pair with more than one codon [ a triplet of three nucleotides in the mRNA molecule. I do not remember chemistry well enough to understand it all myself. The medical textbook I quoted is : Molecular Biology of The Cell' second edition" written by Bruce Alperts, Dennis Bray, Julian Lewis, Martin Raff, Keith Roberts and James D Watson who are all PhD's except for one who is Martin Raff educated at McGill University who is a M.D. it was published by Garland Publishing, Inc of New York and London.
I am writing this because I am OPPOSED to the manipulation of human cells for any reason. And I am OPPOSED to the manipulation / genetic modification of foods, seeds, animals also.
I am not copyrighting this particular post because it contains quoted material from a medical textbook. But most of what I personally write is copyrighted content. See the about me page here: http://gloriapoole-rn-artist.blogspot.com/p/about-gloria-oole-rn-artist-of-missouri.html
for more information. Also see my copyright notice on my official blog of Tapestry of LIFE at https://tapestry-of-life-llp.blogspot.com and on my name blog https://gloriapoole.blogspot.com.
Gloria Poole, RN, artist / Gloria Poole / Gloria / gloriapoole / gloria-poole / gloria.poole / artist-gloriapoole / gloriapoole_RN / gloriapoole.RN / at my own apt in Missouri 20 May 2014 at 10:27am.
