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POSTPROOF:

1)https://youtu.be/u4vhdZqdezY

2)https://www.google.co.in/search?q=old+trees&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSjAEaiQELEKjU2AQaAggADAsQsIynCBpiCmAIAxIoyxWoFcoV-grrCqkVrRWTC6oVwxXKKKw3ozfnKKMq5SHkKMkopze1LRowEGWkD-FTEU8x8j86pGCnF7-bZFxpqrcdSmVLpGeYb02hs-j-QWgtAymKgQ9786ILIAIMCxCOrv4IGgoKCAgBEgTgwbKbDA&sa=X&ved=0CBkQwg4oAGoVChMIhPXvo6uzyAIVQR2OCh17DwDl&biw=1366&bih=667#imgrc=tMtVwVSnzNh4dM%3A

3)http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/19096

4)http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/hyderabad/reportsAndPublications

5)http://nopr.niscair.res.in/

6)https://en.wikipedia.org

7)www.shutterstock.com

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An interesting read

DE-EXTINCTION:THE ROLE OF GENETIC MODIFICATION

Genetic modification to bring back extinct species.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150920-book-talk-simon-worrall-genetic-engineering-passenger-pigeon-resurrection-science-neanderthals/

http://longnow.org/revive/

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Will it one day be possible to bring a woolly mammoth or a Neanderthal back to life? If so, should we? How is climate change affecting the evolution and extinction of species?

Traveling the world from Kenya (in search of the white rhino) to a lab in California (where a geneticist is trying to resurrect the extinct passenger pigeon), O'Connor reports on the people and places on the front lines of what has become known as resurrection science.

Talking from her home in Brooklyn, she explains why the White Sands pupfish of New Mexico would have amazed Charles Darwin; how it may become increasingly necessary to genetically engineer species in order to save them; and why she has no plans to volunteer as a surrogate mother for a baby Neanderthal.
You write, "When I was a kid in the 1990s, the world felt like it was on the edge of catastrophe." Wind back the clock for us and explain how those childhood experiences got you interested in the question of extinctions.
I grew up in California, where kids are taught to conserve water from an early age. The early '90s was also a time when the idea that we need to save species at risk because of habitat destruction, pollution, and deforestation, was making news. When I was 14, I read Douglas Adams's amazing book, Last Chance to See, which made a huge impression on me.
Resurrection is a word normally associated with Jesus. That's not what you mean, is it?
[Laughs] It's only recently become a term used to describe the de-extinction effort. The reason I wanted it as the title for the book is that in the next decades we could be bringing back species from the dead, so to speak.

In the next decades we could be bringing back species from the dead.

This recalls Biblical mythology, and yet it is all about science. How can we use our scientific and technological mastery to do something we'd have thought miraculous not that long ago? By trying to de-extinct species, we're bringing together two very different things: mythology and science.
You write, "Humans are in the midst of an unplanned experiment of influencing the evolution of the planet's biodiversity." Explain the role of climate change and the concept of "rapid evolution."
Most of us are aware that climate change is altering habitats and environments. What we don't necessarily think about is that by changing habitats and environments, we're influencing the forces that act upon evolution.

Changes are now happening so quickly that they appear to be driving some species towards extinction because they can't adapt fast enough. Climate change is also driving adaptations that speed up evolution.

You can see species changing in response to their environment in a couple of decades.

The example I write about is a species called the White Sands pup fish, in New Mexico. Four populations of this fish are located in a small area in the Tulurosa Basin. What biologists have learned studying them is that evolution occurs much faster than Darwin believed, and faster even than biologists believed 30 years ago. You can see species like the White Sands pupfish changing in response to their environment in a couple of decades. That's pretty spectacular and scientists are becoming aware that this kind of rapid evolution is occurring in other species, like Chinook salmon or soapberry bugs.
One of the problems conservationists face is that there's no clear definition of what a species is. Explain "the species problem" and how this can alter an animal's status.
The species problem is essentially, how do we define a species? Before the 19th century, people believed a species was divinely created and had fixed identities. Thanks to Darwin, we know that species change.

But how do we define where a species begins and ends? Genetic sequencing compounds the problem because we can now look into the genetic makeup of an animal and see how closely-or not-it's related to a distant relative.

How you define a species can also alter its legal status under the Endangered Species Act. A species may be protected, but its subspecies may not be. That's why it matters for conservationists to have an accepted definition of what a species is and is not.
Sometimes conservationists have to work with strange bedfellows. Tell us about Roy McBride and the attempts to restore the Florida panther.
I wanted to understand how there came to be a small population of panthers living in Florida, north of Miami and south of Disney World. When I started speaking to folks involved in the conservation effort, it became clear that McBride had played a central role.

He was the person who went out in the early '70s with the World Wildlife Fund and rediscovered this population that no one was sure even existed. In the early '90s, he then brought mountain lions from Texas to Florida in order to do a "genetic rescue" of the Florida panther population, which had become very inbred and was suffering as a result. That effort was very successful. They went from around 30 panthers to 160-180 today.

The reason McBride strikes some as an odd person to be involved with this rescue operation is that he was formerly hired by the U.S. government as a predator hunter.
We can't discuss extinctions without mentioning the Passenger Pigeon. Introduce us to Ben Novak and his attempts to bring them back to life.
Before the Endangered Species Act extended protection, the government was actively involved in hunting down predators that were deemed to pose a risk to businesses landowners.

Roy McBride was a very successful tracker and hunter of both mountain lions and the Mexican grey wolf. Some claim he single-handedly led to the extinction of mountain lions in Texas. I think that's an exaggeration. And after the 1970s, he became critical to the Florida panther recovery plan.

I approached the topic of extinction with some cynicism. I wasn't convinced that it was a necessary or appropriate response to some extinction crises. So meeting Ben Novak was a very important moment for me. He's a very passionate young man in his 20s who's completely in love with passenger pigeons and has dedicated his young life to try and bring them back to the forests of the northeast United States.

Passenger pigeons went extinct in about one-thousandth of a percent of the time they were on Earth.
Kes Hillman Smith is a name most of our readers won't be familiar with. Tell us a bit about her and your journey to Kenya in search of the white rhino.
Novak's work mapping the genome of this bird has shown they're at least 22 million years old. The first colonial settlers described seeing an incomprehensible abundance of them in American skies and forests. The last one died in 1914. And the fact that they went extinct in about one-thousandth of a percent of the time they were on Earth is truly incredible.
Recently the extinct Azuay stubfoot toad A recent British newspaper headline read: "Wanted: Adventurous woman to give birth to Neanderthal man-Harvard professor seeks mother for cloned cave baby." Could we one day actually bring back Neanderthals, and are you going to volunteer? leaped back to life in Ecuador At the end of the book, you say, "I have heard few cases for de-extinction that present a clear and compelling argument that justify the risks." How did writing this book change your perspective? And are you still convinced that the world is on the edge of catastrophe? . What does this tell us about extinctions? Are other species about to reappear?
What Novak and his team at the University of California, Santa Cruz, hope to do is use the genetic material of its nearest living relative, the band-tailed pigeon. There's no frozen tissue so you can't clone a passenger pigeon. By using genetic editing tools they'll alter the DNA of a band-tailed pigeon to passenger pigeon DNA.

Once they've been able to genetically modify a band-tailed pigeon, they hope to incubate that genetic material in other band-tailed pigeons to produce passenger pigeons.

If everything progresses as Novak hopes, we might have a passenger pigeon again in ten years. But there's a whole other process of trying to figure out how you teach this animal to be a passenger pigeon. It's not just DNA. There's also animal culture and the relationship between ecology and species. And it's far from clear that scientists understand how they could bring back those types of relationships.
Simon Worrall curates Book Talk. Follow him on Twitter or at simonworrallauthor.com.
When I started writing the chapter on northern white rhinos, there were seven left in the world. Two have subsequently died of natural causes. When I started speaking to people about the history of the northern white rhino, Kes Hillman Smith's name kept coming up.

I realized I'd read about her as a child, in Last Chance to See. Kes and her husband, Frasier, have spent more than two decades trying to protect the last population in Garamba National Park. Unfortunately, that population may well become extinct in the next few years.

Absolutely. There are dozens of species thought to have gone extinct, which were then sighted sometimes many decades after the last sighting. It's a testament to how hard it is to track and find animals in the wild. It also speaks to the resilience of some species to survive against the odds.

[Laughs] Absolutely not! The press loves this story because it's almost like the idea of time travel, and that's endlessly fascinating for us to think about. It was discussed because of a book by George Church, of Harvard Medical School, who's involved with some of these de-extinction initiatives.

His thought was that if we wanted to create greater genetic diversity within the human population, one way to do that might be to bring back Neanderthals through genetic engineering and then incubation in a surrogate. It's doubtful whether this is a good idea, or morally acceptable, though. Our mastery of technology is further along than our moral and ethical frameworks.

I think the world is changing faster than many of us can comprehend. That is something for us all to think about, particularly in regard to our relationship with nature and what kind of world we want to be living in. Do we want to live in a world with wild things free from human influence? And is that even possible with climate change?

My feeling about de-extinction has changed because the people I met and talked to are brilliant and passionate and had wonderful motives for wanting to bring back species that became extinct because of our ignorance and behavior.

But in many of the de-extinctions being proposed, they don't address the problems that caused the extinctions in the first place. We may be able to create woolly mammoths, which would be Asian elephants genetically engineered to survive in the Arctic. But that doesn't solve the problem of why Asian elephants are endangered. And it certainly doesn't solve the problem of why we're experiencing an era of rapid climate change. I hope that will be debated and discussed more in the near future.

We should make every effort to preserve wild places and wild things. But resurrection science is probably here to stay. We just have to decide the degree of intervention and influence we're comfortable with.

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Can Genetic Engineering Bring Back Extinct Animals?

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Will it one day be possible to bring a woolly mammoth or a Neanderthal back to life? If so, should we? How is climate change affecting the evolution and extinction of species?

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Genetic modification in plants

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SCOPE FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT

What further developments can be expected in the area of GMOs?

Future GM organisms are likely to include plants with improved resistance against plant disease or drought, crops with increased nutrient levels, fish species with enhanced growth characteristics. For non-food use, they may include plants or animals producing pharmaceutically important proteins such as new vaccines.

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RISKS TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUGGESTIONS TO COUNTER THEMIssues of concern to the environment include: the capability of the GMO to escape and potentially introduce the engineered genes into wild populations; the persistence of the gene after the GMO has been harvested; the susceptibility of non-target organisms (e.g. insects which are not pests) to the gene product; the stability of the gene; the reduction in the spectrum of other plants including loss of biodiversity; and increased use of chemicals in agriculture. The environmental safety aspects of GM crops vary considerably according to local conditions.

Environmental risk assessments can be performed for better results.

How is a risk assessment for the environment performed?

Environmental risk assessments cover both the GMO concerned and the potential receiving environment. The assessment process includes evaluation of the characteristics of the GMO and its effect and stability in the environment, combined with ecological characteristics of the environment in which the introduction will take place. The assessment also includes unintended effects which could result from the insertion of the new gene.

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SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE :

Should the modification of human genes be pursued?

Yes/No

Is genetic modification a viable option for the cure of diseases?

Yes/No

What are your areas of interest in this field?

What are your views on the scope for the advancement of this technology?

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APPLICATIONS:

AGRICULTURE

MEDICINES

DISEASE TREATMENT

PEST RESISTANCE

PRODUCTION

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For visual explanation of my topic, I took up:

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FuturaGene -- Genetically Modified Trees

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Applications and suggestions:

As it is already clear, the topic of my discussion suggests by itself that it presents the the manner in which a GMO affects the environment. The results of this feild of research can be used in :

1. Closing in on the most efficient and eco friendly way of genetic modification

2.Preparing and dealing with the biological dangers that may arise due to subjugation of GMO's to the environmnt

Suggestions:

Genetic modification is a process that should not be rushed with since it can have catastrophic impacts on the environment. Intense research and precaution needs to be undertaken before actual GMO production

Moreover genetic modification becomes increasingly difficult as we move from a low order species like bacteria to high level organisms like humans.Thus it is necessary that before moving to genetic modification in high level organisms ,proper equipment should be made available.

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Lignin -Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers. Lignins are one of the main classes of structural materials in the support tissues of vascular plants and some algae

Tannins- it is an astringent, bitter plant polyphenolic compound that binds to and precipitates proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids

Phytochemistry- it is in the strict sense of the word the study of Phytochemicals. These are chemicals derived from plants

Quercetin- it is a flavonol found in many fruits, vegetables, leaves and grains. It can be used as an ingredient in supplements, beverages, or food

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Survey Questionnaire :

Target Audience : environment enthusiasts, forest departments, section of the general public related to the ecosystems in which the GMO is subjected to.

1. Effects of Genetic modifications are restricted to the organism undergoing modifications only or its immediate surrounding only. True or false? Comment.

2. Is Genetic modification actually a safe process?How wrong can it go?

3. Are we ready for the next big leap - Human Genetic Modification?

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POSTPROOF:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2240019

http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/clo.2004.6.369

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1586/erm.09.53#aHR0cDovL3d3dy50YW5kZm9ubGluZS5jb20vZG9pL3BkZi8xMC4xNTg2L2VybS4wOS41M0BAQDA=

http://content.onlinejacc.org/article.aspx?articleid=1136958

Martin J.F.; Stem cells and repair of the heart. Lancet. 364 2004:183-192.

Couzin J., Vogel G.; Cell therapy. Renovating the heart. Science. 304 2004:192-194.

youtube.com

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NEW TERMS

Cardiomyocytes:

Cardiac muscle cells or cardiomyocytes (also known as myocardiocytes or cardiac myocytes) are the muscle cells (myocytes) that make up the cardiac muscle.

Fibrolasts:a cell in connective tissue which produces collagen and other fibres.

Arrythmias:a condition in which the heart beats with an irregular or abnormal rhythm.

Myocardium:the muscular tissue of the heart.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells(MSCs):

Mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs, are multipotent stromal cells that can differentiate into a variety of cell types, including: osteoblasts (bone cells), chondrocytes (cartilage cells), myocytes (muscle cells) and adipocytes (fat cells).

Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor(VEGF):

It is a signal protein produced by cells that stimulates vasculogenesis and angiogenesis.

Fibronectin:
It is a high-molecular weight glycoprotein of the extracellular matrix that binds to membrane-spanning receptor proteins.

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APPLICATIONS:

cardiovascular medicine

tissue engineering

allogenic transplantation

Research

Cancer diagnosis

Gene Therapy

Curing diseases

Here is an example of genetic modification of stem cells to cure a disease.

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Terminal diseases: Doctors discover stem cell cure for incurable MLD disease, saves 18YO-TomoNews

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Hong Kong, China - Meta-chromatic leuko-dystrophy, also known as MLD, is a genetic disorder that affects lipid metabolism. It affects the growth and development of the myelin, the fatty covering which acts as an insulator around nerve fibers throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems. A teenage girl in Taiwan was wrongly diagnosed with attention deficit disorder when she was 13.

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QUESTIONS

What is a Genetically Modified Organism?

A genetically modified organism (GMO), also known as a transgenic organism, is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. GMOs are the source of medicines and genetically modified foods and are also widely used in scientific research and to produce other goods.

How can genetic engineering transfer characteristics from one species to another?

Genetic engineering differs from conventional plant breeding. In conventional plant breeding half of the genes of an individual come from each parent, whereas in genetic engineering one or a few specially selected genes are added to the plant genome. Moreover, conventional plant breeding can only combine closely related plants. Genetic engineering permits the transfer of genes between organisms that are not normally able to cross breed because they are not genetically compatible. The transferred genes are called trans genes. They can come from another plant species, or even from a completely different organism (e.g., bacterial genes). These trans genes are then replicated and inherited in the same way as natural plant genes. Genetic engineering of plants usually makes use of a type of bacteria which has the natural ability to transfer DNA to some plants.
TARGET AUDIENCE:

The target audience here would e the people with diseases with no known cure. Genetic modification can provide a pathbreaking way to deal with such maladies.Cardiac stem cell therapy holds promise in the future treatment of heart disease such as acute myocardial infarction, chronic ischemic heart disease, and congestive heart failure. The therapy’s current use is significantly hampered by biologic and technologic challenges.
represents an important advancement because this approach may overcome the issue of cell viability, scalability, and immune tolerance. Furthermore, the functions of the stem cells may be further enhanced by their genetic manipulation. Finally, the recent demonstration that genetically modified cells may secrete therapeutic factors provides a potential breakthrough in that, rather than administering cells, one may be able to administer specific proteins produced by these cells for cardiac therapy

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SUGGESTIONS:

These issues need to be considered by all stakeholders, including veterinarians, to ensure that all parties are aware of the ethical issues at stake and can make a valid contribution to the current debate regarding the creation and use of genetically engineered animals.Veterinarians can play an important role in carrying out such monitoring, especially in the research setting when new genetically engineered animal strains are being developed.

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APPLICATIONS:

Research

Manufacturing

Medicine

Gene therapy

Agriculture

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NEW TERMS:

1)'no,unless'-principle-Biological activities with animals are to be prohibited by the government unless the aim is so important that the violation of these values is overruled

2)consequentialist-utilitarian approach-the more suffering is involved,the more important the goal must be.

3)anthropocentric:regarding humankind as the central or most important element of existence, especially as opposed to God or animal

4)prima facie:based on the first impression; accepted as correct until proved otherwise.

5)moratorium:a temporary prohibition of an activity

6)dichotomy:a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different

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SURVEY-QUESTIONER:

What are public attitudes toward animal use, and more specifically the use of animals in research?

TARGET AUDIENCE:

1)VEGETARIANS:

INFERENCE:

Vegetarians have been associated with lower acceptance of the use of animals in research compared to non-vegetarians. Vegetarians are related to value orientations such as an increase in altruistic values and a decrease in traditional values. Vegetarianism is an action or behaviour that results from a particular attitude toward animals. This attitude may be generalized into a broader concern with animal rights, protection or welfare, due to underlying beliefs, meaning that vegetarian individuals are more likely to oppose the use of animals in research.

2)RURAL versus URBAN PEOPLE:

INFERENCE:

Survey has shown that people with a rural background have a greater acceptance of animal use than urban people, and greater support for animal experimentation. In developed countries urban people may never come into contact with the animals they eat; instead, animals are more likely to be companions and part of the family. Perhaps for this reason, urban residence has been found to be related to greater concern for animal well-being.

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Why I took up this topic for discussion?

Well, Genetic Modification is Holy Grail of the human race's future.Thus this topic interested me.However what specifically peaked my interested was what would be the effects of Genetic modification on the environment as ,it needs to be ascertained that we are not messing with the laws of nature and the natural flow of things.

Why this field of research should be taken up so seriously?

It is always better to be prepared for the future than regret later on wards for not properly handling the situation at hand. Since Genetic modification ,if not properly controlled can lead to catastrophic results,it will always be one of our top priorities to evaluate what effects a GMO may have on the surrounding environment and life forms.

What are the possible expansion areas of this field of research?

Every branch of science dealing with genetic modification has the scope for incorporating this division of reasearch for determining the after effects of a GMO on the ecosystem where it is placed

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Interested in the topic....?You can begin from here :

(This is how I went about collecting the data for this discussion)

Look up for the above cited journal from here:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40928228?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=How&searchText=genetically&searchText=modified&searchText=trees&searchText=affect&searchText=aquatic&searchText=ecosystem&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DHow%2Bgenetically%2Bmodified%2Btrees%2Baffect%2Baquatic%2Becosystem%26amp%3Bprq%3Dcryptography%26amp%3Bgroup%3Dnone%26amp%3Bfc%3Doff%26amp%3Bhp%3D25%26amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bso%3Drel%26amp%3Bwc%3Don

I came across this journal while scouring the the website www.jstor.org

It fascinated me and I looked around for more when i found this presentation file which explained in a layman's language the very basics of this topic:

http://www.slideshare.net/jeffrey25/genetically-modified-organisms-5161789

and finally for a visual explanation ,I took up:

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POSTPROOF:

1)monist.oxfordjournals.org/content/monist/79/2/247.full.pdf

2)www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › NCBI › Literature › PubMed Central (PMC)

3)International Encyclopedia of Environmental Politics by:
John Barry, ‎E. Gene Frankland

Originally published: January 1, 2001

Publication:Hoboken : Taylor and Francis

City of publication: london

Edision : 2014

4)www.jstor.org/stable/27903477

5)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-48RVaqZck

6)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN1w7EionA4

7)The Ethics of Animal Research: Exploring the Controversy

Edited by Jeremy R. Garrett

Published by: The MIT Press

http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5hhc1z

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Why are animals being genetically engineered?

As scientists have sequenced the genomes of domestic animals, more is known about genes and the traits that they control.  By finding genes that control beneficial traits, we are able to precisely introduce those genes into another animal’s genome, so the GE animal will possess that trait.

One example is the Enviro-Pig™.  Through genetic engineering, this animal emits 30 to 60 percent less phosphorus than traditional pigs fed the same conventional diet.  This lessens livestock’s impact in the environment

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How can genetic engineering transfer characteristics from one species to another?

Genetic engineering differs from conventional plant breeding. In conventional plant breeding half of the genes of an individual come from each parent, whereas in genetic engineering one or a few specially selected genes are added to the plant genome.

Moreover, conventional plant breeding can only combine closely related plants. Genetic engineering permits the transfer of genes between organisms that are not normally able to cross breed because they are not genetically compatible. The transferred genes are called trans genes. They can come from another plant species, or even from a completely different organism (e.g., bacterial genes). These trans genes are then replicated and inherited in the same way as natural plant genes.

Genetic engineering of plants usually makes use of a type of bacteria which has the natural ability to transfer DNA to some plants.

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Questionnaire:

What is your area of interest under this topic?

The area that interested me the most was the fact that biotechnology can be used to save trees and also improve their various qualities just by bringing some genetic changes in them.

When did  genetic transformation to tree biotechnology be used in geology?

Such advanced applications have been developed in the past decade and new advancements are being made at a brisk rate.

Who are the authors of your reference article?

The authors are:

Khurana, Paramjit
Khurana, Jigyasa.hh

Where apart from the areas mentioned by you can genetics transformation be used?

Genetic transformation can also be used on various living beings in order to enhance their various potentials.

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A quick tour of the reference article......

Genetic Modifications in organisms, as of today is not something uncommon or unheard of . It is no longer some far fetched futuristic concept but something that is very much real. From the Reference papers cited above I concluded that genetic modifications has fair share of benefits as well as disadvantages as Genetic Modification does not the Genetically Modified Organism(GMO) ONLY BUT also the ecosystem in which the organism thrives.

Mutation in the Genetically Modified Trees can be induced in order to improve the quality of pulp obtained from them. They an also be used to cause the GMO reduce the Carbon Dioxide emissions in order to control global warming or create immunity against various hereditary/infectious diseases.

Genetic Modification may be applied to increase the capabilities of an organism,however there is always room for error,a large one at that, and thus introduce some undesired changes in the GMO . Now these changes can have drastic outcomes on the ecosystem to which the GMO is subjected to.For example taking the case when mutation is caused in GMO to produce better quality pulp, the lignin content in the trees is increased artificially.But this poses an environmental threat as it causes a very steep decrease in the rate of decomposition of the leaf litters produced by these GMO when introduced in an aquatic ecosystem. The slowed decomposition rate may cause blockage off the flow in the aquatic ecosystem or even loss of life in the aquatic ecosystem.The reason for this decreased rate of decomposition has been identified as a flavonoid compound tannin.Moreover the introduction of GM in trees also leads to decrease in the species of various insects due to change in leaf and bark compositions.And it dos not need to be specified the importance of the insect species in the survival of various ecosystems.

Thus concluding, it can be said that Genetic Modification is a benefit that we reap at a price as it is potentially lethal to the environment if not practiced at controlled pace.

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Nowadays biotechnology have advanced to such a stage that its benefits can be seen in the field of forestry. Forest trees cover about 30% of the total earth's land surface. They provide renewable food, wood, shelter, leaves, bark, roots and are source of medicinal products. The wide use of forest-tree products and the continuous deterioration of natural forests mean that foresters can no longer rely on the exploitation of existing forests. Extensive accelerated breeding programms are needed for reforestation and to improve the existing forest- tree species. Biotechnology has made significant contributions to the improvement programms of agronomic crops, accelerate tree improvement and offers the opportunities to enhance forestry research. Forest biologists and tree breeders are turning their attention to these biotechnologies, which enable them to overcome barriers and can be integrated into conventional breeding methods. Plant biotechnology comprises a range of activities, such as vegetative propagation and tissue culture, genome analysis and genome cloning, gene transfer and DNA recombination. Although applications of biotechnology in forest trees and ornamental woody plants is just in its infancy, micro propagation is rapidly becoming a standard tool for tree improvement. In addition, emerging success and practical application have become visible in genetic transformation. These initial achievements have already proven that biotechnology will make great impact on tree improvement .

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My topic is Applications of genetictransformation to tree biotechnology.

My reference paper is published in the NISCAIR-CSIR, India,( IJEB Vol.37(07) [July 1999])

The reference link:

http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/19096

The authors of this paper are:

Khurana, Paramjit
Khurana, Jigyasa.hh

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My topic is Genetic Modification of Animals: Should Science and Ethics Be Integrated?

My reference paper is published in

Oxford University Press

The reference link:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/27903477

The auther of this paper is

Henk Verhoog

Biological activities with animals are to be prohibited by the government unless the aim is so important that the violation of these values is overruled. This is the 'no,unless' policy defined by Brom and Schroten.
In the law a number of goals are mentioned which legitimate the use of animals. So we could say that this law endorses a  'yes,but'-approach. It says yes to animal experimentation for broadly specified goals,but it imposes a number of restrictions when comes to experiments involving pain.
Production of transgenic animals by crossing species-barriers violates the nature and integrity of the animals involved.
Reasoning almost naturally leads to the view that science and ethics are two totally different fields of thinking which cannot be reconciled with each other. The present situation in biotechnology seems to be that,in scientific community there are strong reasons to keep ethics out,whereas there are equally strong public reasons to bring ethics in,based on concern about social and ethical impacts of genetic engineering. As a moral agent each individual should function in larger social frameworks. Wanting to separate science from ethics as two independent spheres of life would be inhuman. The life-world ,the world which is shaped by our values,comes first ,and although scientific theories about reality may not contain normative statements, this doesn't mean they are not ,in some way or the other, related to contextual values.

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My topic is Genetic Engineering and Stem Cells:

Combinatorial approaches for cardiac cell therapy.

My reference is a paper published in the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine,IEEE(Volume:27,Issue:3).

The reference link:

ieeexplore.ieee.org/ielx5/51/4527206/04527228.pdf?tp=&arnumber=4527228&isnumber=4527206

The authors of this paper are

Robert D. Kirkton

Nenad Bursac

The use of genetic engineering to induce or alter specific protein expression in stem cells has offered a potential route for designing more efficient cell sources for cardiac repair. As the feasibility of stem cell genetic manipulation has already been proved and as genetic techniques continue to advance, the combinatorial approach for cardiac cell therapy is promising.Although recent studies have proved that the heart has endogenous repair mechanisms, including the recruitment and maturation of resident stem cells , the natural regenerative ability of cardiac tissue is apparently insufficient to prevent the occurrence of heart failure. Therefore, the transplantation of exogenous cells into the damaged myocardium (cellular cardiomoplasty) has been actively pursued as a method to improve compromised heart function. Selection based on genetically acquired resistance to antibiotics driven by the activation of cardiogenic promoters has enabled up to 99% in vitro purification of mouse embryonic stem cell derived cardiomyocytes.
Although genetic selection procedures are instrumental for the isolation of cardiogenic cells as well as the removal of potentially tumorigenic undifferentiated stem cells, the use of selection alone to obtain a sufficient quantity of cells for implantation would initially require a very large amount of stem cells. Therefore, new genetic engineering strategies are being pursued to actively increase the efficiency of stem cell differentiation into cardiac cells or to introduce cardiogenic potential in noncardiac cells.

In conclusion, the studies that use genetic engineering to enhance the selection, survival, and integration of stem cells in cardiac implantation therapies will be vital to the forward momentum of this field.

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Reference article:

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I shall be discussing on How genetically modified species affects the ecosystems.

The authors of journal paper references:

E. Petter Axelsson

Joakim Hjältén

Carri J. LeRoy

Riitta Julkunen-Tiitto

Anders Wennström

Gilles Pilate