Research/Source analysis task on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) Research Paper

/Source analysis task on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Agriculture - Research Paper Example Presently advanced crop technology is being assisted majorly by genetic engineering. Reference: Discovering Biology by Michael Meaney - Mentor Publications http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Genetic_engineering 2. What are some genetic engineering techniques used in agriculture? The simplest and natural technique of genetic engineering is cross breeding. It has been in practice since ancient times. Some of the modern techniques used in agriculture are as follows: The bacterium method: Plants naturally contain a transformation mechanism in the form of a bacterium. In this mechanism the contact of this bacterium with a cell results in its integration into the chromosomes. Scientist exploit this natural tendency to create resistances like antibiotics. This is done by replacing the acting plasmid of bacterium with a marker gene. The gene gun method: This method does not depend on the natural working of bacterium. The DNA is introduced into the cell by DNA coated micro sized bullets . This method is used commonly since several years and its is found to be applicable over all species of crops virtually. Over the last several years, use of the "gene gun" has become a very common method to transform plants, and has been shown to be applicable to virtually all species investigated. For example, transformation of rice by this method is now routine. This is a very important development as rice is the most important crop in the world in terms of the number of people critically dependent on it for a major part of their diet. The electroporation: In this method the DNA is introduced inside the cell through the holes punctured by a jolt of electricity in protoplasts. This method is not very popular. Reference(s): http://photoscience.la.asu.edu/photosyn/courses/BIO_343/lecture/geneng.html. 3. What are some of the aims of using GMOs in agriculture? Some of the main aims of applying the GMOs in agriculture are increase in the volume of crops to fight the food crisis in the world (the high yielding genetically modified seeds are largely in use to serve the purpose), the improvement in the nutritional value of crops by introducing new genetically engineered varieties, curbing and reducing the use of pesticides by producing disease resistant safe crops. Additional aims include the preservation of environment by saving the water supplies from pesticides and by allowing the beneficial biological growths. References: http://www.greenfacts.org/en/gmo/index.htm 4. What are some crops to which genetic engineering techniques have been applied and what techniques have been applied to these crops? The gene gun method has proved to be highly useful in generation of genetically improved corn and rice. The induced mutation or bacterium method greatly assists in the introduction and production of several genetically engineered crops like banana, sugar cane, barley and wheat etc. There are 2300 officially released genetically engineered crop varieties listed in the da tabase maintained by FAO/IAEA. References: http://www-infocris.iaea.org/MVD http://photoscience.la.asu.edu/photosyn/courses/BIO_343/lecture/geneng.html. 5. How widespread and economically important has the use of GMOs on agriculture been up to the present? GMOs are used extensively all around the world. Their widespread use can be assessed by the fact that the ‘

Imagine you are a business owner; discuss debt financing, types of Assignment

Imagine you are a business owner; discuss debt financing, types of risk, beta, and investments - Assignment Example This would give you a better idea to stock only as much as you would need. For a small business the ratios can do wonders as it utilizes current cash flows to determine how much cash would be flowing in the future. Most importantly for a small business like mine the financial ratios help to identify the weaknesses and the strengths of the business. This way the retailer can have a better understanding on how to play his cards in order to make his business flourish. A few ratios that tend to be important to a small business would be income ratios, liquidity ratios, and profitability ratios. Though what seems important for a small business enterprise will not be as important for a larger business enterprise. Thus larger business corporations have to consider retailers and wholesalers, for them it’s the ratio is of total assets and total liabilities. They have manufactures and a number of other liabilities and ratios that need to be accounted for while the workings of a small business are fairly simple. Another important factor in managing small businesses that is debt financing. Most small businesses do not require large investments and so they use debt financing. Debt financing is all about taking a loan from the bank to finance the newly found business practice. Debt financing surely has its upsides and downsides. We shall discuss the upside first; debt financing allows you to have full control over your business practices unlike having a partner. Another one would be the tax benefits involved (Bragg, 2011). Another important factor would be that the amount due is fixed and so can be managed over the months’ time because it is easier to generate the amount with a target in mind. Last but not least no amount of profit generated is up for sharing. Where theres an upside theyre bound to be a downside as well. The debt financing brings along with the