Genetic Engineering Essays (510 words) - Molecular Biology

Genetic Engineering Essays (510 words) - Molecular Biology Genetic Engineering Imagine a world full of mini Hitlers seeking world domination, killing millions as their solution to establish a superior race or bunch or 2 headed humans eating a pig with 6 legs. These scenarios may sound like something out a science fiction novel, but this is the kind of things that people think about when they hear the words genetic engineering Genetic engineering is now an important part of this world. It is used to cure diseases, develop food that grows faster and food thats healthier. Without genetic engineering it will not be possible to feed the 10 billion humans expected by the year 2030. Only by using this new technology can we increase the food production enough so that it is possible to feed this growing world. This can be done by producing plant varieties that is more precisely adapted to local conditions. This also helps poor farmers by reducing their expenses such as pesticides. In developing worlds there are over 100 million children with vitamin A deficiency causing huge problems such as blindness. These people eat mainly rice and rice has no vitamin A. Right now the only way they can get enough vitamin A is by costly supplements that doesnt reach everyone. So scientists are genetically engineering rice so that it contains vitamin A, and this rice seed could be distributed to the poorest areas of the world, a brilliant and simple idea. So how can consumers living in developed world benefit from plant biotechnology? Using modern biotechnology scientists have already produced food with improved flavour, food that is better for health and food with better qualities. Examples of these are apples and sweet corns that are insect resistant, frost resistant strawberries and seedless grapes. One of the main reasons why people oppose genetic engineering is that they think biotechnology is an imprecise science and so it will likely to result in unanticipated outcomes and dangerous surprises. But did you know that people have been cross breeding plants and animals for thousands of years? And every time they do this they are randomly recombining up to 40,000 genes. If using biotech scientists are just moving 1 or 2 specific genes, and the effects can be monitored and tested more easily. So in comparison genetic engineering is a lot safer than traditional cross breeding. Another important aspect of genetic engineering is its medical purposes. For example cystic fibrosis maybe cured if a gene can somehow enter the cells that line that lungs, it will begin producing the critical proteins that CF patients lack. Scientists are working on this right now and some patients receiving this treatment have already been able to produce this protein in small quantities. Genetic engineering and the knowledge about the effects of DNA variation among individuals can lead to revolutionary new ways to treat and even prevent thousands of disorders that affect us. Learning about non-human organisms DNA can also help us understand their natural capabilities which can be applied towards solving challenges in health care, energy sources, agriculture, and environmental cleanup

The History of the Water Wheel

The History of the Water Wheel The water wheel is an ancient device that uses flowing or falling water to create power by means of paddles mounted around a wheel. The force of the water moves the paddles, and the consequent rotation of the wheel is transmitted to machinery via the shaft of the wheel. The first reference to a water wheel dates back to around 4000 B.C. Vitruvius, an engineer who died in 14 AD, is later credited with creating and using a vertical water wheel during Roman times. They were used for crop irrigation, for grinding grains, and to supply drinking water to villages. In later years, they drove sawmills, pumps, forge bellows, tilt-hammers, trip hammers and to power textile mills. They were probably the first method of creating mechanical energy to replace that of humans and animals. Types of Water Wheels There are three main kinds of water wheels. One is the horizontal water wheel. Water flows from an aqueduct and the forward action of the water turns the wheel. Another is the overshot vertical water wheel in which water flows from an aqueduct and the gravity of the water turns the wheel. Finally, the undershot vertical water wheel is placed in a stream and is turned by the rivers motion. The First Water Wheels The simplest and probably the earliest water wheel was a vertical wheel with paddles against which the force of a stream acted. The horizontal wheel came next. It was used for driving a millstone through a vertical shaft attached directly to the wheel. The geared mill driven by a vertical water wheel with a horizontal shaft was the last in use. The first water wheels can be described as grindstones mounted atop vertical shafts whose vaned or paddled lower ends dipped into a swift stream. The wheel was horizontal. As early as the first century, the horizontal water wheel – which was terribly inefficient in transferring the power of the current to the milling mechanism – was replaced by water wheels of the vertical design. Water wheels were most often used to power different types of mills. A water wheel and mill combination is called a watermill. An early horizontal-wheeled watermill used for grinding grain in Greece was the called Norse Mill. In Syria, watermills were called noriahs.† They were used for running mills to process cotton into cloth. Lorenzo Dow Adkins of Perry Township, Ohio received a patent for his spiral bucket water wheel in 1939. The Hydraulic Turbine The hydraulic turbine is a modern invention based on the same principles as the water wheel. It’s a rotary engine that uses the flow of fluid, either gas or liquid, to turn a shaft that drives machinery. Hydraulic turbines are used in hydroelectric power stations. Flowing or falling water strikes a series of blades or buckets attached around a shaft. The shaft then rotates and the motion drives the rotor of an electric generator.