What is Genetic Engineering? 
Gene editing began with the selective breeding of
animals and crop improvements via horticultural breeding
and natural selection. Early biotechnology included the
activity of microbes for bread making, cheese, beer and
wine. Today genetic engineering is primarily molecular.
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| Recombinant DNA
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molecules of DNA formed by
laboratory or natural methods. |
| Gene cloning |
using
laboratory methods to make identical, or nearly identical,
copies of an organism, cell or DNA sequence. |
| Gene splicing |
a pre-mRNA
transcribed from a DNA segment is cut up to make different
mature mRNA molecules that may generate multiple
functional proteins. Gene splicing is an important source
of protein diversity. |
| Genetic modification |
Genetic
modification is a technique to change the characteristics
of a plant, animal or micro-organism by transferring a
piece of DNA from one organism to a different organism. |
| Gene editing |
Gene
editing refers to the process of changing regions of
cellular DNA. The most common gene editing techniques
involve inactivating a gene's function (knockout),
introducing or correcting a SNP mutation, or adding an
endogenous gene (knock-in). |
| Synthetic biology |
is a
multidisciplinary field of molecular sciences that focuses
on living systems and organisms, and it applies
engineering principles to develop new biological parts,
devices, and systems or to redesign existing systems found
in nature. |
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Examples |
in
vitro fertilization, stem cell biology, mammalian
cloning, DNA sequencing, brewing yeasts, GMO's
(genetically modified plants & animals), synthetic
insulins, HGH, mRNA vaccines & genomics. |
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