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TCE is not the only chemical that transgenic poplars can break down, and their effects are not limited to cleaning water. Doty and her team of researchers found out that compared to control poplars (non genetically modified) the transgenic ones were also able to purify from carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, and vinyl chloride. The first one is a solvent (toxic), the second is a harmful byproduct of disinfection, and the third is used to make plastic, and is potentially cancer-inducing (carcinogenic).

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Note: most of the questions below have already been discussed in length within the other boxes, here they are just provided to give a structured summary and identify which WWWWWH questions were used.
1. Who benefits from this?
2. What are the strengths/weaknesses?
3. Where is there the most need for this?
4. When would this benefit our society?
5. Why is there a need for this today?
6. How can we change this for our good?

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1. Biotechnology
2. GMO Definition
3. Phytoremediation
4. Background Information
5. The Science Behind GMO Pollution Absorbing Plants
6. Other Positive Effects
7. Purpose
8. Strengths and Weaknesses
9. Summary (Using WWWWWH)
10. Bibliography
Note: the padlet is organised in a scattered fashion, and thus the information boxes are not in reading order. To read as an organised sequence, refer to the order above.

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The denotation of biotechnology is bio- simply biology, the branch of science which deals with living organisms, in this case specifically with their genes, and technology- which combines the use of artificial processes on living organisms for supposedly developmental purposes. However, this science is still being widely discovered, and has brought advancements, as well as less desirable socioeconomic, moral and political issues.

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The word "GMO" stands for "Genetically Modified Organism". The broad meaning of this is used to describe a living thing whose genetic code (genes) have been changed, or who has undergone the introduction of a new gene, with the end result of a man-made organism with selected traits and abilities. Genetically modified organisms are part of the ampler topic or biotechnology.

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Phyto- plant.
Remediation- restoring balance.
Phytoremediation is the use of plants to purify the environment (air, water, and soil) from dangerous chemicals. This science is slowly being explored as several individuals believe it could be the cure for the artificial destruction on Earth, and that it could clean up human-made pollution. Many consider this to be more aesthetically pleasing than other chemical cleaning techniques, and far more affordable. The problem with this recent technique is that it has been viewed as too slow to provide substantial cleansing.

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There have been 3 main active experiments conducted using phytoremediation.
- The first one was conducted in 1998 by Clayton L. Rugh and coworkers, at the University of Georgia (in Athens, Georgia).
- The second and third studies were both initiated in 2007.
- One of them was carried out by Sharon Doty, a plant biologist at the University of Washington (Washington, USA), along with her associates and Stuart Strand (a bioremediation researcher at the university).
- The other one of the same year was conducted by Neil Bruce, a biotechnologist at the University of York (England) and his workmates, in partnership with Doty's investigation.
- All experiments so far have been conducted using poplar trees, as these plants are already able to clean up up to 3% of TCE from the water without being genetically modified.
- Furthermore, poplars are strong enough to stand in chemical-ridden soils and be resistant to them, unlike many other plants, meaning that they can help the water condition without being disintegrated.

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The Science Behind GMO Pollution Absorbing Plants 

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The Science Behind GMO Pollution Absorbing Plants 

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As you might have guessed from the title, the experiments involve common plants, which are being genetically engineered to purify the environment of harmful chemicals and substances which pollute mainly the water, in this case. There are a few studies, most of them being conducted using poplar trees, or one study using an aspen tree (which is a species of poplar). Sharon Doty from the the University of Washington is using an enzyme extracted from rabbit liver, and inserting it in poplar trees. The main result of the new transgenic poplar plant is that it can break down trichloroethylene (a chemical known as P450 2E1) and instead release harmless byproducts of the breakdown into the environment. The enzyme's gene taken from the bacteria used in human and animal livers to render contaminants harmless to be excreted out of the body. Instead, this reaction is now engineered to occur outside of the body, and in the environment.

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"Experimental poplar plants, several inches tall, growing in a solution laced with trichloroethylene were able break down, or metabolize, the pollutant into harmless byproducts at rates 100 times that of the control plants."
Credit: Image courtesy of University of Washington
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071015193434.htm

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"Sharon Doty grows the modified plants that destroy air- and soil-based toxic contaminants".
Source: © University of Washington
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/gm-trees-clean-pollutants-from-air-and-soil/3001823.article

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The purpose of using phytoremediation in this case, is to clean up post-industrial contaminated water sites, specifically in the United States and England.

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Strengths and Weaknesses (Including Economical and Environmental Factors)

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Strengths and Weaknesses (Including Economical and Environmental Factors)

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Strengths
- The genetic modification of poplar trees is a positive thing because whereas unchanged nature-made poplars can remove 3% of TCE from water sources on its own, with this transgenic modification they absorb from 51% to 91% of all TCE polluting a water source.
- One of the economical factors that impact this case in an optimistic way, is that using transgenic poplars  to clean up contaminated water sites could be more than 10 times less expensive than using other technology.
- Furthermore, an environmental bonus of using phytoremediation is that it is much more aesthetically pleasing than an artificial installment, and is much more convenient because plants are biodegradable, and thus will not leave a trace behind after having cleaned up.
Weaknesses
- Although producing transgenic trees and plants is legally allowed if these are used for scientific testing and are restricted to the lab or special greenhouses, their growing for commercial uses (such as phytoremediation) is forbidden according to federal laws.
- This is because transgenic plants are still considered risky, as plants naturally flower and spread (reproduce) easily, meaning that we have limited control over them, and we would not want to release a transgenic gene into the environment, in order to avoid affecting other organisms.

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1. Oxford Dictionary of English
2. http://www.livescience.com/1959-genetically-engineered-plants-clean-humanity-messes.html
3.https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/genetically-modified-plants-suck-up-pollution/
4.https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071015193434.htm
5.http://www.nature.com/news/1998/981001/full/news981001-6.html
6.https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/gm-trees-clean-pollutants-from-air-and-soil/3001823.article