By: Sarah and Kayla

By: Sarah and Kayla

• The insertion of a foreign gene (transgene) into an animal is successful only if the gene is inherited by offspring.

• The success rate for transgenesis is very low and successful transgenic animals need to be cloned or mated.

• Toxicity-sensitive transgenic animals have been produced for chemical safety testing

• Microorganisms have been engineered to produce a wide variety of proteins, which in turn can produce enzymes that can speed up industrial chemical reactions2

• Creates "friendly" bio herbicides and bio insecticidesImproved conservation of soil, water, and energy Better natural waste management

• Should scientists focus on in vitro transgenic methods rather than, or before, using live animals to alleviate animal suffering?

• Will transgenic animals radically change the direction of evolution, which may result in drastic consequences for nature

and humans alike?• Is human welfare the only consideration? What about the welfare

of other life forms?2

• In 2001, two scientists at Nexia Biotechnologies in Canada spliced spider genes into the cells of lactating goats. The goats began to manufacture silk along with their milk and secrete tiny silk strands from their body by the bucketful. By extracting polymer strands from the milk and weaving them into thread, the scientists can create a light, tough, flexible material that could be used in such applications as military uniforms, medical microsutures, and tennis racket strings.2

• In the 28 May 2009 issue of Nature, Japanese scientists report success in creating transgenic marmosets 1

1)http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/T/TransgenicAnimals.html

2)http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/margawati.html

3)http://www.lhup.edu/smarvel/Seminar/FALL_2003/Malawskey/trans.html