Genetic engineering
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Scientists can now alter the genetic code – the very blueprint of life. Some scientists claim that this holds great promise for the future of medical research. But is it true, and what does it mean for animals?
What are genes?
Every living thing has a genetic code in each of its cells, which determines how it will grow and what it will grow into. As a human being, you have approximately 20–25,000 genes, contained in the chromosomes, within the nucleus of every cell in your body. The genes are composed of DNA, which helps to build the proteins that construct and control the body. Different genes are responsible for physical characteristics such as hair and eye colour, and some genes are responsible for genetic defects, like cystic fibrosis. In most cases of genetic defects, individual genes do not cause such diseases. They are ‘triggered’ by environmental factors, and/or by the behaviour of other genes.
What is genetic engineering?
Animals have been used in experiments for decade...
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