GENETIC ENGINEERING

Genetic engineering, recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation , and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct manipulation of an organism's genes.Genetic engineering is different from traditional breeding, where the organism's genes are manipulated indirectly. Genetic engineering uses the techniques of molecular cloning and transformation to alter the structure and characteristics of genes directly. Genetic engineering techniques have been applied to various industries, principally medicine and agriculture, with some success. Examples include production of synthetic human insulin using modified bacteria, production of erythropoietin in hamster ovary cells, the production of new types of experimental mice such as the oncomouse (cancer mouse) for research purposes, and the production of new strains of crop plants with beneficial qualities.

The term "genetic engineering" was coined by Jack Williamson in his science fiction novel Dragon's Island, published in 1951, one year before DNA's role in heredity was confirmed by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase, and two years before James Watson and Francis Crick showed that the DNA molecule has a double-helix structure.