crisscrossing Science Episode 032: What We Knows about GMOs

In this episode, Chris Gaiser (professor of biology at Linfield College) and Mike Crosser (professor of physics at Linfield College) discuss genetically modified organisms, specifically with two examples in plants: Roundup Ready® crops and Golden rice. It turns out that every living organism uses the same genetic language for making proteins. This means that it is possible to transfer instructions from one organism into another and make both produce the same proteins. This trick has been used in a handful of crops for varying purposes. Crosser and Gaiser discuss how this process is done, as well as some pros and cons to the practice.