Transgenic Mice in Spotlight Following US President Misstatement on ‘Transgender Mice’ Funding | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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Transgenic Mice in Spotlight Following US President Misstatement on ‘Transgender Mice’ Funding

Posted 24 Mar 2025

2 min read

Transgenic refers to an organism or cell whose genome (entire set of DNA instructions found in a cell) has been altered by the introduction of one or more foreign DNA sequences from another species.

About Transgenic Organisms 

  • Concept: Transgenic organisms express new traits or proteins not native to their species, with 'trans' meaning from 'one to another' and 'genetic' referring to genes.
  • Transgenic Mouse: key model for studying biological processes due to its physiological, anatomical, and genomic similarities with humans.
  • Purpose & Applications
    • Understanding Normal Physiological Processes: E.g., Transgenic mice created to study metabolism & blood cell production. 
    • Modeling Human Diseases: E.g., Transgenic pigs, used to model human diseases like Alzheimer's.
    • Developing New Treatments: E.g., Transgenic zebrafish, accelerate drug testing & therapy development.
    • Production of Therapeutic Proteins: E.g., Transgenic goats developed to produce human antithrombin (a blood-clotting protein).
    • Disease Resistance Crops: E.g., Bt Cotton is genetically modified to be resistant to bollworms.
  • Challenges
    • Regulation in India: ‘Rules, 1989’ under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), etc.
    • Ethical Concerns: Related to animal welfare, and unintended consequences due to genetic modification.
  • Environmental Risks:  Potential for Transgenic organisms to disrupt ecosystems.
  • Tags :
  • Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
  • Genome
  • Transgender Mice
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