Introduction to Advances in Genetics

After the development of agriculture and the domestication of certain animals, humans realized they could get offspring with desirable characteristics by choosing parents with the traits they wanted. This practice is believed to have started 10,000 years ago!

Cloning refers to producing an organism that is genetically identical to the organism from which it was produced.

Genetic engineering or gene splicing is the process by which DNA from one organism is transferred to the DNA of another organism. The organisms do not even have to be closely related. Human insulin, growth hormone and blood clotting factors have been produced by using genetic engineering practices to insert human DNA into bacterial DNA.

Cloning and genetic engineering are different than the selective breeding of the past because they usually must be conducted in a laboratory. Usually, these techniques are used in the medical field to treat diseases, to improve food production, or to save endangered species of organisms. In the next few days we will learn more about cloning and genetic engineering.