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Killing
The Goose
A strike
at India's biggest carmaker punctures its plans to retain primacy and
retrieve the ground lost to competitors in recent times
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Home |
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PROS
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CONS
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- Designer
rice, modified to contain nutrients, could eliminate nutritional
deficiencies.
- Genes
that can be modified allow rice to grow in adverse conditions.
Thus, higher production can be assured.
- High-yielding,
pest-resistant strains of rice can be produced to meet increasing
demands.
- Using
modified rice can be economically more viable for the farmer—and
also for the consumer.
- Rice
sequencing technology can be transferred to other cereals like
wheat, rye, barley and maize.
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- Genetic
engineering is a brand new technology, so long-term health effects
are not known.
- Since
this involves living things, any potential threat might be difficult
to contain and lead to ecological changes.
- Genetic
engineering technology is expensive, requiring sophisticated computers
and equipment.
- Sufficiently
stringent tests—which may not be in place in poor countries—are
required to ensure the safe production of such crops.
- Genetically
modified foods may not solve all problems—insects and microbes
that counter resistance may evolve.
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THE QUEST
To design rice varieties that suit all Indian conditions. The first step
is to decipher the grain’s instructions for life—called the genome.
THE METHOD
1. The rice genome—all its DNA—is
squashed into 12 chromosomes. Unravelled, the DNA can stretch to several
metres of genes.
2.
DNA has four key molecules (bases)—A, C, T and G. The order of the bases
decides the specific genes.
3.
To find the order of the bases the DNA is randomly fragmented and attached
to stabilising “carriers”.
4.
When the entire base order is known, genes of interest can be marked in
the chromosome and manipulated to suit needs.
5.
DNA strands are tagged with laser-visible dye. A sequencing machine then
reads the order of the bases.
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DESPATCHES |
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With
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in Despatches.
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