# data[].attributes.body
In the past, wild bananas contained large and hard seeds. They were also very small with small amounts of white flesh. Now bananas are much larger with more yellow flesh with small seeds. They also have been genetically modified to be more resistant to a fungus called Fusarium by cloning a gene RGA2 found in certain bananas in the wild which gives bananas resistance to the Fungus.

Advantages:
Bananas has been modified to be bigger to provide more nutrients, they have also been genetically modified to produce more vitamins such as Vitamin A.

Disadvantages:
Some disadvantages is that it can cause allergies, makes to food more toxic due to new mutations causing the production of toxins such as carcinogens. They also have been modified to produce pesticide which could decrease biodiversity.

# data[].attributes.body
Soy beans are modified by the means of transgenics, which is the gene modification to express characteristics based on genes introduced from another source. Mostly related to those of herbicide resistance. Transgenic soybean plants have been developed with a gene from a soil bacteria that allows the use of an herbicide that would normally kill soybeans.

Benefits:
the soybeans are more resistant to chemicals -> good for harvesting for farmers
they serve environmental benefits and can grow with fewer resources

Risks:
higher content of methionine -> which can cause allergic reactions especially for those with existing nut allergies
induce obesity, diabetes and fatty liver

# data[].attributes.body
The GMO potato has been engineered through a method of gene silencing called RNA interference (RNAi). This genetic engineering technique results in a potato that hides the symptoms of blackspot bruising rather than preventing it.

Benefits:

Increased supply of food with reduced cost and longer shelf life. Faster growing plants and animals. Food with more desirable traits, such as potatoes that produce less of a cancer-causing substance when fried.

Risks:

These can cause numerous health issues, including nausea, vomiting and neurological effects. The most complex issue is that PPO-silencing also results in the concealment of various tuber infections. So consumers may eat potatoes that look perfectly healthy but actually contain fungal or bacterial pathogens.

An example

Potatoes contain two forms of starch – a branched form (amylopectin = 80%) and an unbranched form (amylose = 20%)

Amylopectin is responsible for the useful industrial properties of starch (adhesives, textiles, paper, etc.)

Amylose forms a gel which makes potato starch less stable and more difficult to use for industrial purposes

Amflora potatoes have been genetically modified to only produce amylopectin by inhibiting the amylase-producing enzyme

Amflora potatoes possess an antisense copy of the gene responsible for amylose production

This antisense gene synthesises a complementary mRNA sequence that binds to the normal mRNA sequence

Consequently, the gene responsible for amylose production is not translated and the potato only produces amylopectin

# data[].attributes.body
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1N0aVBSfFwFPZqBY0VSdXjXk_4QI4yN7u6TKQ7_VF-wE/edit?usp=sharing

caelyn, yujin

# data[].attributes.body
How they are GMO foods:

In the mid 90s, Hawaii was hit by a disease running rampant known as papaya ringspot virus

Through genetic modification, scientists obtained a genetic sequence from the virus and inserted it into the genome of the papaya

The end result was 100% virus-resistant plants(similar to vaccination in humans)

Risks:

Genetically modified papayas have not been proven to be safe long-term

Such risks include the creation of new and more potential viral diseases

# data[].attributes.body
GM Coho salmon have much faster maturation rate and body mass and length than wild-type coho salmon due to microinjection of a gene that controls growth hormone into fish eggs. The gene is sourced from Chinook salmon, a much larger species of salmon.

Advantages:
- Shorter times between harvests (large enough at 16-18 months)
- Decreases prices of salmon as it's cheaper to produce.
- May not survive well in the wild where there are usual food shortages.
Risk

1. experienced population crashes or complete extinctions

2. Transgenic salmon consistently outcompeted wild-type salmon for food and even cannibalized wild-type salmon when kept together in captivity.

3. could outcompete wild salmon for food

-) wild salmon populations could disappear or be altered forever

1. undermining the sustainability of our food supply.

2. devastated many of our wild fish populations and failure to recover this once-abundant natural food source.

https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetically-modified-organisms-gmos-transgenic-crops-and-732/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) | Learn Science at Scitable

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If you could save lives by producing vaccines in genetically engineered bananas, would you? What if that meant exposing other organisms to foreign proteins and potentially upsetting the ecosystem? People have been altering the genomes of plants and animals through traditional breeding techniques for many years, but genetic engineering means we can now have more control over what changes are made, and we can also produce a wider range of variations. For example, we can incorporate genes from one species into a completely unrelated one. But where should we draw the line? The debate over large-scale commercialization and use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as well as products made from those organisms, has been growing ever since the advent of recombinant DNA technology.

# data[].attributes.body
Emily & Aden

Corn starch is a highly processed corn product made from corn – genetically modified (GM) corn.
- made from the starchy part of corn

Benefits
improve quality of food consumed (texture)
increase calorie intake (if you want to do this)

Risks
high in calories and carbs but low in essential nutrients
increase blood sugar levels and harm heart health
adds zero nutritional value to foods into which it is added and has no benefits as well.

look at corn to see the bigger picture

# data[].attributes.body
Pros :

Plant-incorporated insect protection

GMO corn offers farmers increased grain yields, improved grain quality, and a decrease in insect damage.

They also note modest or no effect on numbers of non-target insects.

GMO corn can lead to increases in income to the farmer

reduction of health risks to consumers of maize.

cheaper than their non-GMO counterparts

Modified form of African corn contains 2 times as much folate when compared to traditional crops, 6 times as much vitamin C when compared to traditional crops, and 169 times more beta-carotene than traditional crops.

Cons :

It can change the landscape of croplands.

may cause allergic reactions because of their altered DNA and they may increase antibiotic resistance

# data[].attributes.body
Kyren & Bernice
Golden rice is a Genetically modified variant of rice that contains higher levels of carotenoids. The genes that give golden rice to make beta-carotene in it’s endosperm of the kernel come from both daffodils and a bacterium called Erwina urewodena. The genes along with promoters are inserted into plasmids that occur inside the species of bacterium (Agrobacterium Tumefacians). These agrobacteria are then added to a petri dish containing rice embryos. They also transfer the genes. That encode instructions for making beta carotene. The transgenic rice plants must now be crossed with strains of rice that are grown locally and suited to a particular region’s climate and growing conditions.

Benefits-
Golden rice is beneficial to those who lack Vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency caused damage to the rod and come cells in the eyes. By consuming golden rice as a substitute for white rice, these people are able to increase their intake of Vitamin C.

Weaknesses-
There aren’t many weaknesses of Golden rice, one weakness of GMO crops in general has caused increased competition in nature and an introduction of golden rice into external environments may cause the loss of other kinds of biodiversity through competition.

Another potential weakness would be that we do not know how golden rice would continue to evolve in the future. The evolution of this organism could trigger antibiotic resistance which may trigger potential allergies.

# data[].attributes.headline
Research and then discuss  The potential risks and benefits associated with genetic modification of crop.   

# data[].attributes.subject
Research and then discuss  The potential risks and benefits associated with genetic modification of crop.   