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In this video from our course on molecular genetics, learn all about animal cloning.
GMOs. Now that’s a scary word. Or is it? Guess it’s time to ask ourselves: WWMST? ...For those of us who don’t constantly ask ourselves “wh...
What Would Mary Shelley Think of GMOs? 1343 Views
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Description:
GMOs. Now that’s a scary word. Or is it? Guess it’s time to ask ourselves: WWMST? ...For those of us who don’t constantly ask ourselves “what would Mary Shelley do,” there’s this video.
Transcript
- 00:03
Mary Shelley: What Would She Think of GMOs, a la Shmoop
- 00:08
The term genetically modified organism conjures up an image of a giant stalk of franken-corn
- 00:14
stalking farms for human flesh.
- 00:19
And that might be exactly what we’d have on our hands if Mary Shelley wrote a story
- 00:23
about them.
Full Transcript
- 00:24
After all, her doctor Frankenstein stitched a bunch of human body parts together and brought
- 00:28
them to life. In reality, a GMO is, well, an organism whose
- 00:33
genetics have been… modified.
- 00:35
It may be to increase its resistance to disease…
- 00:39
…think: implanting insect DNA into a banana…
- 00:42
…or to increase its output…
- 00:44
…think: making a tomato bigger than ever before.
- 00:48
So far, no one has done anything drastic, like… splice together a Brussels sprout
- 00:53
and a badger…
- 00:55
…but what would Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein… aka that book about the horrors
- 01:00
of science…
- 01:02
…think of genetically modified organisms? Well, she’d probably think we’d need to
- 01:08
research the heck out of them first.
- 01:10
Frankenstein wasn’t just about a creating a monster… or a monster’s wife with a
- 01:13
crazy dye job…
- 01:15
It was about questioning the limits of scientific inquiry.
- 01:21
Where does science end and ethical dilemma begin?
- 01:24
Who are we to be playing God?
- 01:27
After questioning the science behind GMOs, Shelley would probably decide we needed to
- 01:31
ban them immediately.
- 01:34
As we read in Frankenstein, she likes to take these dilemmas to their most horrific extremes.
- 01:39
We saw Shelley’s Frankenstein kill a child…
- 01:43
What if genetically modified hormones in milk turned children into… giant cows?
- 01:51
Or what if genetically modified peas got together and…. stampeded across the country?
- 01:55
However, using GMO’s allows us to produce food in greater quantities…
- 02:00
Would Shelley have considered the possibility that they might be used to wipe out hunger?
- 02:04
A Brussels badger, if subdued, could feed a family of four for at least two days.
- 02:09
So, if scientists donned their WWMSD armbands… What Would Mary Shelley Do about GMOs?
- 02:15
Would she want to conduct extensive research?
- 02:17
Or ban them immediately?
- 02:20
Or use them to feed the world? Shmoop amongst yourselves.
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