• Question: is there any way to change certain genes

    Asked by to Alan, Deepak, Francesca, Lilly, Nick on 18 Mar 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Francesca Day

      Francesca Day answered on 18 Mar 2014:

      Yes, for example it’s possible to add or alter genes in plants. This can have advantages such as making them produce more vitamins or making them resistant to pesticides.

    • Photo: Alan Fitzsimmons

      Alan Fitzsimmons answered on 18 Mar 2014:

      Yes, that’s what genetic scientists do. But scientists can’t always predict exactly what will happen when they change a gene, or switch it on or off. So they are very careful to perform experiments and see exactly what effect it has.

    • Photo: Lilian Hunt

      Lilian Hunt answered on 19 Mar 2014:

      Yes. We often do this in plants or some small animals (like flies) to work out what the gene does and how mutations in it affect it. There are lots of ways to genetically modify things which normally involve adding the version of the gene we want into the cells of the organism somehow removing their natural version.

    • Photo: Nick Wright

      Nick Wright answered on 21 Mar 2014:

      Yes, we can change certain genes in plants or animals by swapping them out and putting new genes in. But we have to be very careful when we do it because genes are really complicated and we don’t know what all of them do. It would be bad if we removed a gene that had a really important job to do, or if we added a gene that did something we didn’t want. So be careful if you’re planning to change anyone’s genes!

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