History of genetic engineering facts for kids

The history of genetic engineering is super interesting! It's all about how humans have changed living things over thousands of years, even before we knew about DNA.

Genetic engineering is like giving living things new instructions. It's about directly changing the genome of an organism. The genome is like the complete instruction book for how an organism grows and works. Scientists use special tools developed in the 1970s to do this.

Early Genetic Changes: Domestication

Even without modern technology, people have been changing plants and animals for a very long time. This started around 12,000 BC when humans began to domesticate animals. Domestication means taming wild animals and raising them for human use.

One way this happened was through something called artificial selection. This is when humans choose which animals or plants get to reproduce. For example, if a farmer had a cow that produced a lot of milk, they would breed that cow. Over many generations, this led to cows that produce even more milk. It's like picking the best traits and making sure they get passed on.

Many scientists believe the dog was the first animal to be domesticated. Dogs likely came from wolves that learned to live alongside humans. People probably chose the friendliest and most helpful wolves to breed, slowly turning them into the dogs we know today.

Modern Genetic Engineering Begins

The first time scientists directly changed DNA in a lab was in 1972. Two scientists, Herbert Norman Cohen and Paul Berg, were key to this. Paul Berg created the first recombinant DNA molecules. Recombinant DNA is like cutting and pasting DNA from different sources.

Soon after, in 1974, Rudolf Jaenisch created the first GM animal. This was a huge step! It showed that scientists could introduce new genes into animals.

In 1983, the first genetically engineered plant was created. It was a tobacco plant that had a gene added to it. This new gene made the plant resistant to certain antibiotics. This was an early example of how genetic engineering could change plants.

Herbert Boyer also played a big role. He helped start the very first genetic engineering company in 1976. This company helped bring genetic engineering from the lab into the real world.

How Genetic Engineering Helps Research

Genetic engineering is a powerful tool for scientists. It helps them study many things, especially diseases. By changing genes in lab animals, like mice, scientists can learn how specific genes cause diseases. For example, they can create a knockout mouse where a certain gene is turned off. Then they can study what happens when that gene is missing. This helps them understand human diseases better and find new ways to treat them.

Images for kids

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  DNA studies suggested that the dog most likely arose from a common ancestor with the grey wolf.

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  Paul Berg created the first recombinant DNA molecules in 1972.

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  In 1974 Rudolf Jaenisch created the first GM animal.

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  A laboratory mouse in which a gene affecting hair growth has been knocked out (left), is shown next to a normal lab mouse.

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  Herbert Boyer helped found the first genetic engineering company in 1976.

See also

In Spanish: Historia de la ingeniería genética para niños