Bio last exam (GMOS and Climate Change

What’s a GMO?

a genetically modified organism 

What makes GMO’s?

Sexual reproduction makes GMOs

Bacteria-natural mutations make GMOS

GMO’s are often associated with what introduced modifications?

Human introduced modifications

GMO’s broken down into definition

Organisms in which the DNA has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination

GMO’s are a result of….

genetic engineering (Modifying genetic material)

3 types of GMO’s

1. Transgenic GMO

2. Cisgenic GMO

3. Intragenic GMO

Transgenic GMO’s

the prefix “trans” means “across”

DNA of a target species is modified by inserting a gene or a portion of a gene, from a different species (such as bacterium)

Cisgenic GMO’s

The prefix “cis”- means “the same”

DNA of same species is modified to alter the physical characteristics of the target organsim

Intragenic GMO’s

The prefix “intra” means “within”

pieces of the organisms own DNA is rearranged to improve a characteristic (protien from one gene is inserted into another gene)

GMO’s first started where?

In the lab in 1972, when scientists inserted genetic information into bacteria E.coli

Humans have been genetically modifying organisms for thousands of years with…

Selective breeding

think dogs

Selective Breeding

humans identify some form of natural variation in the trait of a species, and then breed indivusals with similar characteristics to produce offspring that all posses the trait of interest,

Traits such as fruit color, size, the size of a dog, or a specific type of seed

First ever GMO’s (1970’s)

recombinant dna created by Paul Berg combined genes from two viruses

1972- Antibiotic resistant Bacteria

1st genetically modified organizm

herbert Boyer and stanbley cohen inserted an antibiotic resistant gene into E.Coli bacteria

Also inserted genes from a frog into bacteria, creating the first what GMO?

Transgenic GMO

1978-human insulin gene into bacteria for production of?

Insulin

1983- 1sr GMO plant (Tobacco) 

199- Flavr-Savr-Tomato (first GMO approved for human consumption

Today GMO crops dominante the agricultural world

Why do we need GMO’s?

Increases in population and industrial and technological development has placed strenuous demands on the planets finite resources

Challenges for GMO’s:

-climate change

-pest control

-human population

Climate change altered what two things?

1 the temperature 

2 affects precipitation patterns

Scientists are working on crops that resist the influence of climate change examples are….

wheat plants with increased CO2

Rice modified to stand higher salt levels

Drough-resistant corn and soybeans

Pest Management Challeneges

Originality pests are controlled with chemical insecticides: this could lean to harming humans and plants.

Why have GMO Bt crop plants been developed?

To contain a gene that produces an endotoxin from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis

The Bt crop produces the toxin, which kills insects but its not harmful to the plants or humans

Population increases creates some severe challenges in the area of food and biotechnology products for example…

medicine

Scientists agree that climate change is…

occurring

is climate change and global warming warming the same thing?

No, the terms are related but NOT interchangeable

Climate:

average weather patterns in a given area over a long time

2 characteristics of climate:

1. temperature

2. rainfall (precipitation)

Weather:

Shorter atmospheric conditions in a. limited geographic area

What influences climate?

Temperature and rainfall (AVERAGE)

this are influenced by incoming solar radiation (the amount of energy given to the earth by the sun striking it)

How do our seasons come?

from a 23 degree tilt on Earths axis

temperature and rainfall are influenced by topography

topography is landscape features (mountain ranges) and Rain shadow effect 

and bodies of water (wind currents and ocean currents)

rain shadow effect

phenomenon where an area on the leeward side of a mountain range receives significantly less rainfall than the windward side. This occurs because moist air rises over the mountains, cools, and loses moisture as precipitation, leaving the leeward side dry and often arid.

Biosphere

sum of all locations that organisms live on Earth

The biosphere includes all of the orhganisms on Earth,

together with the physical enviorments in which they live

Organisms are more strongly influenced by ______ then any other features of their enviorment

CLIMATE

Climate determines the type of organisms that occupy what?

each region

Changes in climate of one region impacts

climates of other regions on Earth

extreme precipitation and heat waves are correlated with climate change, while others such as tornadoes and hurricanes…

are still being researched

Climate is changing and that change is largely due to….

global warming

The most significant influence on climate change comes from greenhouse gases

greenhouse gases

Greenhouse gases retain _____ in the lower atmosphere

heat 

greenhouse effect

sun strikes the earht

some is reflected back to space

majority is absorbed into oceans and gradually relapsed back into the atmosphere

water vapor and carbon dioxide traps some of the energy and re-releases it slowly back into atmosphere.

Let sunlight in and trap heat

Carbon Dioxide is one of the most important ___

greenhoues gases due to ability to absorb infrared energy

insures in CO2 is attributed to human activities like…

fossil fuels, agricultural practices, and deforestation

what are fossil fuels?

*oil, coal, and natural gases

Fossil fuels are remains of organic material- like plants and animals that are submerged over long period of time

that are subjected to the heat and pressure of Earth’s crust

MAJOR source of energy

Methane is another greenhouse gas

rare, unstable, retain and releases 30x more heat than CO2

Other green house gases

water vapor- natural processes associated with the water cycle

Nitrous oxides- agricultural practices such as the use of fertilizers and the burning go fossil fuels

Ozone- natural processes and the interaction of solar energy with pollutants in the lower atmosphere

Chlorofllucciarbons (CFC’s)- compounds used in refridgenments and to make sparay propleliants

Evidence from he ocean for climate change?

Ocean acts as a Heat sink a temporary storage of heat

Heat sinks are natural

Heat sinks influences the climate of surrounding land masses

The Carbon Cycle

Natural cycle between abiotic and boitouc reservoirs and living biotic organisms

Sinks vs Sources 

amazon rainforest absorbs 1.5 billion tons of CO2

2025 drought, the Amazon trees died and kept having heat waves. 

Co2 dissolves easily into the ocean and this causes….

Ocean acidification this meaning realizing of H+ ions, reducing the ph of the ocean

Ocean acidification has many impacts on

negative impacts on shellfish

Clacier’s and Sea ice

glaciers have natural cycles in which they expand and contract, depending on the fluctuations of the local climate

a global loss of ice mass in glaciers

Sea ice loss is result of

Arctic ice cap

and 

Greenland and Antartica

Arctic ice cap, Greenland,a nd Antartica

sea ice in arctic has been decreasing, ice sheets have lost coverage.

extreme weather events causing climate change

-flodding

-severe droughts

-heat waves

-all are recognized tp be influenced by an increase in global temps

hurricanes and tornadoes are associated with…

local climate conditions

Is there a direct relationships between CO2 and global temps

yes there is. 

What is the main cause of CO2 levels being elevated?

Human activity

Scientists use the term “anthropogenic climate change”to …

describe the human-climate relationship

climate change impacts 3 things…

1) disease

2)drought and heat waves impact humans

3) habitat loss causes extintion

diseases

organisms such as mosquition, ticks, bacteria are VECTORS that spread disease

90% of the west is experiencing drought. They depend on snow and ice to melt. if given less water and increase in population…

increased demand for agriculture

The Bramble Cray/Mice was the first ______ to become extinct due to climate change

mammal

invasive species

organisms that has been introduced into places outside its natural range

-moretolerant to changes

Ex: Lion fish natural in Indonesia. expanded to Caribbean and compete with groppers and snappers

increased tempertures causes change in community structure…

ex. ocean acidification prevents shellfish to calcify their shells

climate change alters weather patterns

causes west to be drier and north to have increased precipitiation

both temp and rainfall has increased

loss of biomes falls under coral bleaching what is that?

Coral bleaching is when the algae gets peeled off of coral due to warm ocean and stress, coral requires algae to function (symbiotic organism)

Desertification

increase in temperature and decrease in precipitation leads to a desert biome

What is a carbon footprint

measured in tonnes and the calculation of th amount of carbon dioxide that is directly or indirectly released into Earth atmosphere by the actions of a specific entry

a persons carbon footprint is a measure of…

their own impact on climate change

energy humans uses contribute to YOUr carbon Footprint

(source of energy)

transportation

waste disposal or recycling

food choices contribute to YOUR carbon footprint

food like fruits and veggies contribute less carbon than red meats and dairy

Beef is expensive and require more land for cattle and contributes to greenhouse gases

Alternative energy

energy source that does NOT require the use of fossil fuels such as coal or oil

Alternative energy sources can also be referd to as

Renewable energy

most common alt energy sources are

solar energy and wind energy

Solar energy 

method is using solar panels is considered on of the most readily abalaible clean energy options

solar panels absorb sunlight and convert the suns energy into power/electricity

Wind energy

wind turbine create non-polluting but more expensive than traditional energy sources

other include nuclear and

geothermal energy

Nuclear energy

works through splitting the tightly knit nucleus of an atom, usaully using materials such as uranium

energy realized in the bond is used to create a boiling water reactor (BWR) or pressurized water (PWR) which is then used to power turbines

Not always considered “clean energy” due to environmental impacts and the radioactivity

Accidents- Chernobyl and Fukushima

Geothermal energy

taps into heat generated by the Earth

uses underground heat to generate steam to be used to produce electricity

in areas with tectonic or volcanic activity

bio fuel energy

a fuel that gains its energy through the use of already existing carbon in the atmospherere

mostly plant materials “biomass” can be regrown

hydroelectric energy

uses the kinetic energy go moving water to generate electricity

technology solutions to climate change…

preventative measures (developing “cleaner” alternative energy sources)

Finding new method to address the current consequences of climate

geoengineering

also called climate engineering is the development of technology focused on altering earths enviorment, primarily to combat climate change.

two main forms of bioengineering

•Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) focuses on removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

•Solar radiation management (SRM) technologies seek to reduce the amount of energy trapped in the atmosphere by reflecting a portion of solar energy before it reaches Earth

•including injecting aerosols (sulfer dioxide) into the stratosphere, Marine Cloud Brightening (MCB), reflective surfaces on the ground

ex like Orca or Mammoth (removes 10x that Orca does)

Genetic engineering

genetic engineering of plants allows new varieties of food to be grown in areas experiencing drought or high temperatures associated with climate change.

what are the challenges ?

Strategies work in theory

-Implementation is more difficult

-Funding is limited for large scale implementation

Convincing the public to accept “climate safe” technology is difficult

-Recommended changes are often more expensive