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Persuasive Essay On Genetic Engineering

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One example of genetic engineering that I found to be truly fascinating were genetically engineered bananas that carry the Hepatitis B vaccine within them. Growing up, I recognized that vaccines were something that everyone was supposed to receive, and as time went on I began to understand why. However, growing up I also absolutely loathed shots, and as a result, vaccines were my worst nightmare! Yet, after doing much research and learning that vaccines are now being incorporated into foods was a true moment of relief. With this form of genetic engineering on the rise, it means that no one will ever have to go through unnecessary pain, such as vaccine shots ever again. In addition, as my research went on, I learned that bananas are not the only food to be genetically engineered to contain the vaccine; however, they are the best candidate. I learned that the bananas are genetically engineered by taking a changed form of the HBV’s genetic material and injecting it into a banana seed, and as the plant grows, the plant’s cells produce the virus’s proteins, but not the infectious ones (Moss 2017). As a result, when consumed, our immune systems develop antibodies to attack the virus whenever it enters our bodies. To elaborate, the exact methodology behind producing a genetically modified banana is done by taking only one gene from the HBV and transferring it into the banana sapling, and then as the banana plant grows, the gene encoding specific proteins is reproduced thousands of

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