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Jeremiah Sharp
Mrs. Stemen
BioTech
6 February 2015
GMO Essay
What are genetically modified organisms? Do the GMOs pose a threat to people or do
they have no effect. GMOs are a controversial topic; whether they are safe or not. Certain
mainstream crops are genetically modified like soy beans and corn. Genetic modification is
simply modifying DNA. Some people believe if a food has been genetically modified it should
be labeled on the package. Few of the many topics that will be addressed are protein synthesis,
genetic engineering and, gene splicing. Genetic engineering is manually adding new DNA to an
organism and a popular method is gene splicing.
What is the process of protein synthesis? Protein synthesis is started in the cells
nucleus. There are three main steps in this process; the steps are initiation, elongation, and
termination. In the first step, initiation, mRNA is translated. The second step, elongation, is the
mass of translation. It is the adding of amino acids by the peptide bonds. As a chain of amino
acids grows it just keeps growing. The final step in protein synthesis is termination. This last step
is where a polypeptide is set free from the ribosome (Protein Synthesis1, Protein Synthesis
Termination1). One important step in protein synthesis is transcription. Transcription is the

process of copying a nucleotide sequence of DNA to make a strand of mRNA (messenger RNA).
Another important step in this process is translation. Translation is a process where mRNA is
decoded and a new protein is produced. Protein synthesis is a very important step in when
studying GMOs and is the basic foundation for this topic.

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Genetic engineering, what is it and how is it done? The most basic definition for genetic
engineering is adding new DNA to another organism. Scientists do this to improve crops. It is
supposed to make them better and be better for the peoples consumption. There are many
different ways of genetic engineering. The most common ways are gene splicing, the plasmid
method, gene isolation, transformation, and more. In this essay only one will be addressed and it
is gene splicing.
Gene splicing is a unique and popular method of genetic engineering. Gene splicing is the
method of taking segments of genetic material and transferring them from one organism to
another. The technique is all in the use or restriction enzymes. Restriction enzymes are
enzymes that cut DNA near a specific nucleotide (Restriction Enzyme1).
GMOs are beneficial for so many reasons. Genetically modified foods are meant to
improve the crop. The crops usually have a higher yield and help improve the nutrients in the
foods. The taste is most likely the same. There is also a lack of scientific evidence to totally
prove GMOs are unhealthy. Also scientists should know the symptoms of GMOs and should
most likely tell the public about it. Trillions of genetically modified meals have been eaten
worldwide. Zero cases of harm for human health from eating GMOs have ever been
substantiated (Top Ten Statistics 1).
To conclude GMOs are more interesting and complicated than suspected. Genetic
engineering is still evolving and will continue to. Scientists will find better ways or worse ways
and fix them. Eventually genetic engineering will be a common thing in the future and scientists
will be experimenting with other things besides food. Perhaps one day they may be genetically
modifying children to make the children to the liking of the parents. Certainly genetic

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engineering will be a great field to be in. New experiments and ideas are developing every day
and soon everything will be developed into a new and improved version of its former self.

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Works Cited

Protein Synthesis - Learning Knowledgebase For Protein Synthesis Methods."

Protein Synthesis. N.p., 11
"Restriction Enzyme." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2015.
Smith, Michelle. "GENETIC ENGINEERING." GENETIC ENGINEERING. N.p., 1 Mar.
2002. Web. 06 Feb. 2015.
"Top Ten Statistics on GMOs." Top Ten Statistics on GMOs (n.d.): n. pag. 3 June 2013.
Web.
"Welcome." - Fisher Scientific. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2015.
Wiley, John. "Protein Synthesis Termination." Protein Synthesis Termination. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
"UNL's AgBiosafety for Educators." UNL's AgBiosafety for Educators. N.p., n.d. Web.
04 Feb. 2015.