Transgenics
What is transgenics?
Transgenics is a branch of genetic engineering focused on animals, organisms, or cells with genomes that have been altered by the introduction of one or more foreign DNA sequences from another species.
Transgenics is the reason behind many scientific discoveries. For example, scientists learned from transgenics that DNA is the molecule carrying the genetic code and that oncogenes can cause cancer. Transgenics has also been used to understand normal physiological processes such as blood cell production and metabolism.
One strategy employed in transgenics is “gene knockout,” where a gene of interest is deactivated to study what happens when it is missing. This allows researchers to understand the gene’s normal function better.
How do transgenics improve healthcare?
Transgenics are at the forefront of many scientific discoveries. In addition to helping the scientific community better understand the human body and its physiological processes, transgenic animals have been used to model human diseases and develop new treatments.
Most importantly, transgenics help scientists better understand the genome or an organism’s genetic makeup. Through transgenics, they can understand what genes are responsible for which processes and actions, which can provide more information about various diseases and offer possible avenues for treatment.