Genetic engineering refers to the technologies that are being used to change the genetic make-up of cells and transfer genes from one species to another.

Genes are complex chemical units contained within chromosomes. They determine the characteristics of an organism.

Genetic engineering involves either altering these characteristics within an organism or transferring them to another. Through genetic engineering, organisms are given new combinations of genes and therefore new combinations of characteristics that do not occur naturally.

Two American scientists, Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boy

Like human health risks, scientists think it is unlikely that they have uncovered all the potential harms that genetic engineering may have on the environment. The ability to predict what might go wrong with a technology is limited by the currently incomplete understanding of biology and ecology.

Boyer and Cohen decided to combine their discoveries and make better use of them. Boyer’s enzyme would allow Cohen to introduce specific DNA segments to plasmids. These plasmids could be used to clone precise, previously targeted strands of DNA. Within four months Boyer and Cohen’s joint efforts had resulted in cloning predetermined patterns of DNA.

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