Lesson 10: Genetically Modified Organisms: Science, Health and Politics

COURSE MATERIALS

A Genetically Modified Organism is simply something whose genetic material (DNA) has been
changed in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination. Genetic
engineering allows scientists to insert, or suppress, desired traits or features into an organism –
enhancing a crop’s resistance, for instance, or promoting photosynthesis. This artificial
manipulation of DNA would never happen in nature. It replaces the traditional method of selective
breeding, a common and completely safe practice used by growers.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

Since something is altered in the original composition of the organism, and the process is being
controlled by a set of procedures, environmental concerns will surely arise. Some of them are
summarized as follow:

1. Increased use of toxic herbicides and pesticides

The majority of GM crops are those which have been engineered to be herbicide (weed-
killer) resistant. ‘Roundup ready’ soya, produced by Monsanto and grown extensively in
North and South America, allows farmers to spray soya plants with Roundup - a toxic
cocktail of glyphosate and other chemicals. This may not harm the genetically engineered
crop – but the treatment creates chemical residues and run off, making it disastrous for
surrounding ecosystems.
It also encourages the development of ‘superweeds’ which are resistant to glyphosate,
such as the giant pig weed, which grows over 2m tall, or Morning Glory. The latter has
evolved a reproductive system which ensures its tolerance of glyphosate. This was not
something predicted by the genetic engineers.

2. Pleiotropy. DNA is a complex structure. Altering it in any way can create new
consequences and structures in the cell’s composition, as well as its relationship with other
cells. Chemists call this Pleiotropy. Genes are not like Lego pieces – if you change or
remove an element, there are ramifications way beyond the changed ‘piece’. In every
organism, genes, proteins and pathways interact with one another and are regulated in a
complex, multi-layered network process.

Despite scientists’ claims, it is impossible to predict the impacts of even a single gene
modification. Pleiotropic effects have included alterations in the crop’s nutritional, toxic
and allergenic properties. For example, a GM soya tested in 1996, developed 27% higher
levels of a major allergen, trypsin-inhibitor. In 2008 a GM maize had the unpredicted
appearance of a new form of the protein which is a known allergen. Even the new
technique, called CRISPR, heralded for its accuracy, still has unknown effects on non-
targeted cells. CRISPR scientists rely on algorithms to predict the most obvious cell
changes, but in a recent test case there were 100s of unforeseen effects.

3. Contamination GM crops can – and do - cross pollinate with wild and non-GM plants.
Other sources of contamination are the inadvertent spread of seed by farm machinery, as
well as mixing seeds during storage. Cross pollination will not only contaminate wild
plants, affecting their natural genetic makeup, but will seriously compromise any organic
 or non GM farming system. Despite claims that GM and non-GM can co-exist, it is patently
untrue.

Genetic engineering is a process by which a gene or a segment of DNA of an organism

is transferred to another organism. The term Genetic Engineering was coined by Jack
Williamson in 1951. It was through the effort of the genomics where genes in each DNA of an
organism are mapped and identified, this leads the genetic engineers to combine genes of
different organisms creating “Genetically Modified Organisms” or GMOs.
Agricultural plants are one of the most frequently cited examples of GMOs. Some
benefits from engineered organisms are:
1. Increase crop yield, reduce the cost of food production
2. Reduced the need for pesticides and herbicides
3. Enhance the nutrient composition and food quality
4. Resistance to pest and diseases
5. Greater food security
6. Medical benefits to the world’s growing population
7. Organisms grow and mature faster
8. Tolerance to environmental stressors
9. Production of non-protein (bioplastic) or nonindustrial (ornamental plant) products.

Some Genetically Modified Organisms

In Food and Agricultural Industries
1. Pest Resistance – resists certain pests. Ex. Bt Corn
2. Virus resistance – resists certain viruses. Ex. GM papaya or rainbow papaya
3. Herbicide tolerance – tolerance to chemicals that kills weeds.
Ex. Round up ready soybeans
4. Fortification – GMO fortified with certain minerals. Ex. Golden Rice or rice with vit. A
5. Cosmetic Preservation – resist natural discoloration Ex. Arctic Apple.Apple modified
to suppress the browning due to superficial damage
6. Increase growth rate – has faster growth rate than ordinary salmon. Ex. AquAdvantage
salmon

GMOs in Non-food crops and Microorganisms

1. Flower production – for modified color and extended vase life of flower. Ex. Blue roses
2. Paper Production – trees for higher yield of paper production. Ex. Poplar trees with
genes for ferulic acid
3. Pharmaceutical productions – GMO to produce pharmaceutical products Ex.
Periwinkle for enhanced production of an alkaloid vinblastine, a drug for cancer
treatment
4. Bioremediation – can assist in the bioremediation of polluted site. Ex. Shrub tobacco
5. Enzyme and Drug production – produce enzymes for food processing and medicine.
Ex. A Bacillus bacterium with a gene of a thermophilic anaerobe producing CGTase
an enzyme used for food flavor enhancer.
6. GMO in medical field – for diagnosis and treatment of human dreaded diseases. Ex.
Humulin, insulin produced by bacterium with gene of human to produce human insulin.

Potential Risks of GMOs

Several concerns arise regarding GMOs, since there are unknown consequences when
the natural state of an organism is altered. Such alterations can change the organism’s
metabolism, growth rate, and other environmental factors. These consequences not only
concerns the GMO but also the natural environment in which the organism is allowed to
proliferate.

Potential Risk to Humans

1. Possibility of exposure to new allergens in genetically modified organisms
2. Transfer of antibiotic-resistant genes to gut flora.
3. Insertion of the genes requires vectors and these vectors may become part of
the food and may become toxic to the consumer.
4. Several researches validate the link between genetically engineered foods to
immuno-suppression in rats study, this can also be true to other animals and
humans.
5. Cancer promoting hormone called insulin-like growth factor-1 are increased in
GM cows to produce more milk. Study shows that the hormone could survive
digestion and make its way into the blood stream of the consumer which is
linked to growth of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer.
6. Nutritional value of food can be altered by genetic engineering. Study shows
that nutrients are lost in GE foods.

Potential Risk to Environment

1. Emergence of new forms of resistance and secondary pests and weed problems.
Pests may develop resistance to the GMOs with pest-resistance, leading to formation
of super pest.
2. Production of new pathogens may result in recombination of virus and bacteria.
Vectors of the modified gene to the target cell are often viruses or bacteria. These
vectors may cause new disease not only to the GMOs but also to the consumers.
3. Presence of GMOs may interfere with the natural communities through competition or
interaction.
4. GMOs may also interfere with the biochemical cycles.

Bioethics and GMO

There are five sets of ethical concerns, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCOB) in the
United Kingdom, have raised about GM crops.
1. Potential harm to human health;
2. Potential damage to the environment;
3. Negative impact on traditional farming practice;
4. Excessive corporate dominance; and
5. “Unnaturalness” of the technology.

Biosafety on GMOs

International organizations developed principles and treaties that somehow ensure

biosafety on GMOs. The World Health Organization (WHO) together with Food and Agricultural
Organization (FAO) created Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Codex is responsible for the
development of standards, codes of practices, guidelines, and recommendations on food safety.
The principles include pre-market assessments of the GM food products and its evaluation of
direct and indirect effects.
Cartegena Protocol on Biosafety is an international environment agreement which aims
to ensure safe handling and use of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs). The protocol seeks to
protect biological diversity from the potential risk pose by LMOs resulting from modern
biotechnology. They require the exporters to seek consent from the importers before its first
shipment of LMOs.
The International Trade Agreement on Labeling of GM foods and food products. The
agreement requires the exporters of GM products to label their products and give rights to
importing parties to reject or accept the GM products.

Readings:
GE Food and your Health
https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/311/ge-foods/ge-food-and-your-
health#:~:text=The%20scientists%20specifically%20warned%20that,%2C%20pesticides%20or
%20heavy%20metals).

WATCH THIS VIDEO

Salamat Dok: Golden Rice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3fljqzp0di

ACTIVITY/ASSESSMENT

1. Research on three GMO’s developed in the Philippines. Discuss the need for each.
2. Which one is better, the organic or the GMO? Defend your answer in five sentences.

References:
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/biodiversity/
https://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/gmos-health-concerns

Lesson 11: The Nano World

COURSE MATERIALS:
Nanoscience and nanotechnology are the study and application of extremely small things and
can be used across all the other science fields, such as chemistry, biology, physics, materials
science, and engineering.

Fundamental Concepts in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

It’s hard to imagine just how small nanotechnology is. One nanometer is a billionth of a
meter, or 10-9 of a meter. Here are a few illustrative examples

 There are 25,400,000 nanometers in an inch

 A sheet of newspaper is about 100,000 nanometers thick
 On a comparative scale, if a marble were a nanometer, then one meter would be the size
of the Earth

Nanoscience and nanotechnology involve the ability to see and to control individual atoms
and molecules. Everything on Earth is made up of atoms—the food we eat, the clothes we wear,
the buildings and houses we live in, and our own bodies.
But something as small as an atom is impossible to see with the naked eye. In fact, it’s
impossible to see with the microscopes typically used in a high school science classes. The
microscopes needed to see things at the nanoscale were invented relatively recently—about 30
years ago. Once scientists had the right tools, such as the scanning tunneling microscope
(STM) and the atomic force microscope (AFM), the age of nanotechnology was born.
 Although modern nanoscience and nanotechnology are quite new, nanoscale
materials were used for centuries. Alternate-sized gold and silver particles created colors in the
stained glass windows of medieval churches hundreds of years ago. The artists back then just
didn’t know that the process they used to create these beautiful works of art actually led to
changes in the composition of the materials they were working with.
Today's scientists and engineers are finding a wide variety of ways to deliberately make
materials at the nanoscale to take advantage of their enhanced properties such as higher
strength, lighter weight, increased control of light spectrum, and greater chemical reactivity than
their larger-scale counterparts.

ETHICAL ISSUES RAISED BY NANOTECHNOLOGY

Although the modern world is already gearing towards nanotechnology due to advantages its
offer, there are still ethical and societal impacts that we need to consider. These impacts can be
summarized as follows: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5393069/

READINGS:
Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine; Ethical Aspects
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5393069/

WATCH THIS VIDEO

Nanotechnology: A New Frontier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLa8DQkKlyU

Activity/Reflection Question:
Give examples of nanotechnology prevalent here in the Philippines.