Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

To: exDemMom

All of the diabetics have to realize that the insulin that they take is produced by genetically engineered bacteria. They don’t make it from pig pancreases anymore.


22 posted on 03/09/2015 6:36:49 PM PDT by artichokegrower
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies ]


To: artichokegrower

I had the fortune of having one of the early genetic engineering pioneers for a professor in class, who told us about the early days of modern genetic engineering.

In order to modify DNA, we use natural enzymes extracted primarily from bacteria. There are hundreds of those enzymes now, and we can use them very precisely to modify DNA exactly how we want. But the bulk of those enzymes had not been found in the early days. Because of that, even though insulin is a small protein, making its gene so that it could be produced by bacteria was a major endeavor.


24 posted on 03/09/2015 7:59:21 PM PDT by exDemMom (Current visual of the hole the US continues to dig itself into: http://www.usdebtclock.org/)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson