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What are GM foods? - Assessing the risks and benefits
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| Submitted: Wed Oct 08 2003
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WHAT IS GM FOODS? GM is an abbreviation for 'genetic modification'. GM is the transference of genes from one species into an unrelated species; it allows genes to be crossed between organisms that could never breed naturally, making new types of plants that are used in foods. Scientists now understand that DNA, a molecule containing genes that instruct a plant how to grow, can be read like magnetic tape. With this discovery, scientists have been able to add in new instructions into the plant, with the final product being a genetically modified food. A gene from a fish, for example, has been put into a tomato so it remains fresh for longer, with the tomato becoming a GM food. TECHNIQUES OF GENETIC MODIFICATION One of the most successful ways to move genes into host organisms is to use 'agrobacterium', a soil-dwelling bacterium, as a go-between to introduce genetic information into more than 100...
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