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Genetic Engineering

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Genetic Engineering
Genetic Engineering, Solving World Problems
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Research Paper for ENGL 135
Professor Krivokuca DeVry University
April 24, 2013

Genetic Engineering, Solving World Problems
Can you imagine a four year old girl; her name is Elli, being awakened from the sounds and pains of her grumbling stomach? Her cries are answered as her mother comes in, picks her up and tries to sooth and comfort her. However, what this four year old girl needs, her mother cannot provide—food. It has been several days since their last meal. Her mother prays that she will be able to find some food today, a whole meal or just some discarded scraps out of someone’s trash bin to quill Elli’s hunger. Even if her mother does find some food to feed her, she may not be able to keep it down as she contracted Escherichia coli (E. Coli) from the polluted water she has been drinking (World Health Organization, 2013). Elli just celebrated her fourth birthday (if you can call it a celebration) as she weighed in at eighteen pounds, far below the normal weight of a four year old girl—30 pounds, according to MD-Health (2013). All her rib bones and tiny muscles are readily visible, and some say she looks like a walking skeleton that just swallowed a soccer ball. Elli’s stomach started bloating just three days ago as her body slowly dies from the lack of food. Her eyes, big as quarters, emptily stare out into the world she has known only for a short time. Soon, without food and clean drinking water, her body will shut down as she passes away. This is not a far-fetched story, but one that can be seen in every corner of this world. Millions of people die each year from starvation and polluted drinking water, but these world problems can be solved if scientists were given the green light by society to genetically engineer plants and animals.
Problems
Starvation, “suffering or death caused by hunger,” as defined by Oxford dictionaries (2013) kills millions of children and



References: Aquatell (2013). Only 1% of Earth 's Water is Drinkable. Retrieved April 4, 2013 from Aquatell web site: http://www.aquatell.com/water-tips/only-1-earths-water-drinkable Bijman, J. (1994), "Plant Genetic Systems." Biotechnology and Development Monitor, No. 19, p. 19-20. Choi, Charles, Q. (2007, October 15). Genetically Engineered Plants Could Clean Humanity 's Messes. Retrieved April 8, 2013 from LiveScience web site: http://www.livescience.com/1959-genetically-engineered-plants-clean-humanity-messes.html Dogtime (2013) http://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/rhodesian-ridgeback#history EPA (2012) Kunzig, Robert (2011, January). Population 7 Billion. Published 2011 by National Geographic, January 2011 Lazaroff, Cat (2002, October 7). Engineered Plants Soak Up Arsenic. Retrieved April 4, 2013 from Environment News Service web site: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2002/2002-10-07-06.html MD-Health (2013, April 24). Height and Weight Chart for Children. Retrieved March 31, 2013 from MD-Health.com web site: http://www.md-health.com/Weight-Chart-For-Kids.html Monsato (2013) Oxford dictionaries (2013). Starvation. Retrieved March 20, 2013 from Oxforddictionaries.com web site: http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/starvation?q=starvation PBS.org (2011) Pollan, M. (2006). Omnivore 's Dilemma . The Penguin Press. Ruben, Ken (2012). What are the sources of water pollution? Retrieved on March 30, 2013 from University of Hawaii web site: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/ASK/waterpol3.html Sheng Jian JI, Feng LIU, Er Qiu LI and Yu Xian ZHU (2002). Cell Research (2002) 12, 143–150. doi:10.1038/sj.cr.7290120 Steenhuysen, Julie (2007, October 15) United States Census Bureau (2012). World Population. Retrieved March 28, 2013 from United States Census Bureau’s web site: http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/worldpop/table_history.php and http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/worldpop/table_population.php USGS (2013, March 6) Walsh, Bryan (2013, January 11). The Pacific Bluefin Tuna Is Going, Going… Retrieved April 7, 2013 from Time web site: http://science.time.com/2013/01/11/the-pacific-bluefin-tuna-is-almost-gone/ World Health Organization (2013)

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