Genetically Modified Organisms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Genetically Modified Organisms - Essay Example An organism that has been subjected to such genetic manipulation is referred to as a genetically modified organism. Genetic modification involves the altering of the DNA code in a cell that is artificially grown in a laboratory before being reinserted into the same organism or an unrelated organism. The totality of genetic information that is present within the DNA of an organism is called genome, and this information is coded in such a way that it can be understood by all other living species. According to this coding system, four nucleotides are required to provide instructions to a cell on how it is to make any protein. (Steinbrecher, 1998). Nucleotides are DNA units whose names are listed as letters – A, C, G and T. The arrangement of these in three letter words is equivalent to the code for specific amino acids. Within each gene, there are also regulatory elements which function as flags to control gene activity. Each gene also has an information block, which prevents gene activity from moving in an unusual direction. As a result, gene regulation is specific to the context of its environment.(Steinbrecher, 1998). The process of genetically modifying an organism, which transports a gene from one organism into another, must also provide a means to circumvent the information block with cells of each organism, in order to provide recognizable flags or control sequences, which the other organism will recognize and accept. This is accomplished through the use of viruses, which are able to integrate their own DNA information into a host cell and cause it to multiply. This occurs due to the presence of powerful promoters in the viral cells that force the host cell to read viral genes and produce viral proteins, thereby producing construct or combined genes that can be used to produce desired changes in an organism (Steinbrecher, 1998). One of the most common examples of genetically modified organisms are crops such as pest resistant

5 economics factors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

5 economics factors - Essay Example Different economic factors in the US contribute to or minimize the gender gap in state economy. In 1935, the government policy, Aids to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), was implemented and its main target was the single mothers and the low-income families. The conditions for qualification of this aid were that, the identified families had to be poor, except the single mothers who were all considered. This policy involved aid to such families. The aid came in the form of financial assistance, provision of free medical care, food donations, and subsidies on housing. This policy however raised a number of controversies. It was thought to result in an increased dependency of the poor in society. This would also discourage the poor from looking for employment and means of self-dependence. Finally, this would discourage people from getting marriage and thus increasing the number of single mothers. This was proved ineffective in ensuring a poverty-free society. Nonetheless, this policy was beneficial to women during its short operational period. In 1996, another policy of poverty eradication was implemented as a replacement of the AFDC. This was the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). This policy was funded by different states, unlike the AFDC, which was wholly funded by the federal government. In 2008, this policy was amended and required all single mothers to work a minimum of thirty hours in a week. The main argument for this proposition was that, most mothers in dual –income families went to work, therefore, the single mothers too were expected to work. In addition, unlike the AFDC, this policy had a time limit of five years. Since this program was temporal, it aimed at equipping the low-income families with enough resources to help them solve their financial problems and establish themselves financially in the