Opposing View

GMO or GEO refers to the organisms whose genetic material is altered through engineering processes. Basically these processes include using DNA molecules of various sources, to create and transfer into organisms novel genes.

Biotechnology has been used in many areas such as biological and medical research, agriculture and forestry. Such technology is found to be rather promising for realizing and increasing desired traits, increasing productivity and quality, restoring certain diseased or damaged tree species, toxic cleanup and bioremediation.

However, despite these advantages, Roger Sedjo, the director of RFF's forest economics and policy program, admits that "just as in agriculture, biotechnology and transgenics are controversial topics in forestry." I concur with his precaution: GE plants and trees planted in open space convey the possibility that the new genes spliced into them will interfere with natural forests. Genetic technology should therefore be restricted to indoors, with containment, and should not be mixed with wild life.

A significant number of such GE trees are known to have been developed to resist insects, such as two poplar species that were commercialised in China. Alerting effects are also detected on the soil. GE trees can affect the bacteria, earthworms and soil respiration. The leaves of GE trees planted along a water sourse can enter the waterways and we still do not have enough data to foresee its consequences for the aquatic life.

The U.S. government, with more profit oriented motives, is setting to approve a request from ArborGen, the genetically engineered (GE) tree R&D company owned by International Paper, for permission to plant over 250,000 GE eucalyptus trees in seven southern U.S. states.

ArborGen genetically modified the tissue from Brazilian eucalyptus trees in its laboratories in New Zealand, to increase the amount of cellulose and alter the species in such a way to tolerate cold. The engineered eucalyptus were brought to USA and were cloned. Thus 260,000 GE eucalyptus will be planted in open forests of seven US states, namely Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, if the final approval will be given.

This genetically-engineered, non-native tree that is dangerously invasive, flammable, and need a lot of water. Camila Moreno, an attorney and Global Justice Ecology Project staff consultant in Brazil, points that "In Brazil, eucalyptus plantations are known as 'green deserts' because they do not allow anything else to live (...)". It is not hard to see that it will definetely be gambling with the ecological balance. As, Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), the statutory adviser to the Government of United Kingdom and international nature conservation has advised, invasive species:

"will alter the genetic pool (a process called genetic pollution), which is an irreversible change."

Although many diagnosed with diabetes have the disease somewhere in their family medical history, diabetes is not a disease that is inherited in any simple pattern.

First of all, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes do not have the same causes. However, there are two factors that are involved in both: there must be an inherent predisposition for the disease and there must be a trigger for it.

Proof that genes alone are not enough to get diabetes can be found in the case of identical twins. Identical twins have identical genes, yet in cases where one twin is diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes there is only a 50% chance that the other twin will also develop the Type 1 diabetes. If the diagnosis is Type 2 diabetes, then the risk goes to 3 out of four for chance. A mixture of nature and environmental factors make it impossible to determine who will get diabetes and who will not.

Type 1 Diabetes

When it comes to Type 1 diabetes, people generally need to inherit risk factors from both sides of their family. These risk factors are very prevalent in Caucasian segments of the population. Still, even those who are at risk do not always get diabetes, prodding researchers to dig deeper into what possible environmental triggers there are that set off the disease.

Type 1 diabetes is known to occur more often in winter than in summer and therefore has researchers believing that cold weather is a possible trigger. Viruses are also suspected as a trigger as well as other auto-immune diseases. (Diseases in which the immune system attacks the body's tissues.)

Type 2 Diabetes

Of the two types of diabetes, Type 2 has the stronger genetic base but depends a great deal more on environmental factors. The genetic predisposition for Type 2 diabetes mixed with those living in a Western lifestyle is an infamous cocktail for developing this disease. As is such with the great majority of the Western diet and lifestyle, too much fat and refined carbohydrates and not enough fiber coupled with inactivity has birthed this disease into epidemic proportions. As obesity rises, so do reports of diabetes. In comparison, those living in areas of the world that are not Westernized do not develop Type 2 diabetes despite their high genetic risk.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes, diabetes that develops during pregnancy, has no clear genetic or environmental triggers. Although women who develop the disease are more likely to have a family history of diabetes, it is unclear what other non-genetic factors play a role. Women who put off having children until their later years and women who are overweight seem to be the most common groups to be diagnosed but this is not always the case.

So what is the conclusion here? You can have the genetic risk, environment, and the lifestyle triggers, and still not develop diabetes. The other side is also true. Diabetes can develop without many of the triggers.

The only thing that we as a human race can do is limit the triggers for diabetes as much as we can. Eat healthy, exercise regularly, keep our weight under control and hope that our genes are in our favor.

It seems that some people are destined to be skinny. They have never known being fat, and they make being thin look easy. Others of us are in the opposite situation. It is a struggle to lose weight, and being thin seems impossible. Could it be that our genes have something to do with it? As it turns out, there are several genes that play a role in obesity. Defects in some of these genes cause certain syndromes to develop. Not everything is known about the genetics of obesity, but our knowledge is expanding.

A part of the brain called the hypothalamus controls several functions of the body. One of these is the regulation of the sense of hunger. There is an interplay between various chemical messengers and the hypothalamus. This interplay is called the hypothalamic leptin-melanocortin system. Our fat cells make a signal called leptin. The more fat we have, the more leptin is produced. It binds to the leptin receptor in the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus senses a minimal amount of leptin which tells the brain that the body has at least the required amount of fat to function. Once the receptor is activated, a protein called proopiomelanocortin (POMC) is made. POMC is then cut into smaller parts by enzymes. One of these enzymes is proenzyme convertase 1 (PC-1). One of the smaller proteins produced by PC-1 is called alpha-MSH which binds another receptor in the hypothalamus called MC4R. Once MC4R is turned on, it triggers some intracellular signals that end up telling your brain that you are not as hungry. Got all that?! Check out the link at the end of this article and go to the "Genetics" tab. On the "leptin" page, there is a diagram that explains it.

A defect in the genes for any of the signals, enzymes, and receptors mentioned above can lead to an increased appetite. The most common of these mutations is a defect in MC4R. However, it is not the most severe, and some people with a defective MC4R gene are still thin. Mutations in other genes cause a voracious appetite in very young children, and they are nearly destined to eat far more than their bodies will ever need. In addition to becoming very obese, associated problems can include: small ovaries and testicles, thyroid dysfunction, decreased immunity, and low functioning adrenal glands. Fortunately, these more severe conditions are rare with only a handful of known cases. There are treatments for a few, like replacing leptin with shots. For others, like MC4R, there are to treatments.

A few genes that aid in the development of the hypothalamus are also associated with obesity. The SIM1 gene encodes signals that come from the MC4R receptor. One case of a young girl with a SIM1 mutation was obese and also tall. In addition to development of the hypothalamus, the tropomysin-related kinase B (TrkB) receptor and the chemical signal called brain-derived neutrotrophic factor (BDNF) play roles in memory, behavior, and intellect. Defects in either of these two can cause obesity and memory problems.

In the reward center of the brain, dopamine is released when we eat food. People who have mutations in a stretch of DNA called TaqIA have fewer dopamine receptors and thus need to eat more to feel the same sense of reward. This lends weight to the fact that some people may literally be addicted to food, and the sweeter the food, the stronger the addiction.

There are also several genetic syndromes associated with obesity that involve more than one gene. They are too complex for this article, but here is a list of some of them: Prader-Willi, Bardet-Biedl, Ahlstrom, Cohen, and Carpenter syndromes.

Humans are running out of fresh water, and that seems kind of interesting considering two thirds of our planet is water on the surface. Still saltwater is undrinkable for humans and so, we can only drink fresh water, and we must have it to survive. This means we need more desalination plants to keep up with our demand. Not only to drink but also for agriculture, livestock, and cleaning, cooking, and hygiene.

As we learn more and more about the human genome we will be able to modify humans in such a way that they may not retain as much water or need as much water to survive. There are many animal species that do not require very much water and they have evolved and adapted to live in harsh environments such as desert regions, or live high up in the mountains where there is only water part of the year.

With 6.8 billion people on the planet water is a very serious issue, and we do have a global water crisis, which is getting bigger; along with our population growth and our needs. Most people decry the genetic modification of much of anything, but in the future it is something we're going to have to look at.

We may be genetically modifying humans to do all sorts of things such as long-term space travel, increased intelligence, and to prevent aging. So if we're going to do all that we may as well also genetically modify people that don't need to drink as much water and can survive on less. That only makes sense. Please consider all this.