| In recent years a new farming
revolution has begun, one that involves the {{U}}(61) {{/U}} of life at
a fundamental level--the gene. The study of genetics has {{U}}(62)
{{/U}} a new industry called biotechnology. As the name suggests, It
{{U}}(63) {{/U}} biology and modern technology through such techniques
as genetic engineering. Some of the new biotech companies specialize in
agriculture and are working feverishly to {{U}}(64) {{/U}} seeds that
give a high yield, that {{U}}(65) {{/U}} diseases, drought and frost,
and that reduce the need for {{U}}(66) {{/U}} chemicals. If such goals
could be achieved, it would be most {{U}}(67) {{/U}}. But some have
raised concerns about genetically engineered crops. In nature, genetic diversity is created within certain {{U}}(68) {{/U}}. A rose can be crossed with a different kind of rose, but a rose will never cross with a potato. Genetic engineering, {{U}}(69) {{/U}} usually involves taking genes from one species and inserting them into another {{U}}(70) {{/U}} to transfer a desired characteristic. This could mean, for example, selecting a gene which leads to the production of a chemical with anti-freeze {{U}}(71) {{/U}} from an artic fish, and inserting it into a potato or strawberry to make it frost-resistant. {{U}}(72) {{/U}}, then, biotechnology allows humans to {{U}}(73) {{/U}} the genetic wails that separate species. Like the green revolution, {{U}}(74) {{/U}} some call the gene revolution contributes to the problem of genetic uniformity--some say even more so {{U}}(75) {{/U}} geneticists can employ techniques such as cloning and {{U}}(76) {{/U}} culture (培养), processes that produce perfectly {{U}}(77) {{/U}} copies. Concerns about the erosion of biodiversity, therefore, remain. Genetically altered plants, however, raise new {{U}}(78) {{/U}}, such as the effects that they may have on us and the environment. "We are flying blindly into a new {{U}}(79) {{/U}} of agricultural biotechnology with high hopes, few constraints, and little idea of the potential {{U}}(80) {{/U}} " said science writer Jeremy Rifkin. |