What sort of environmental problem is associated with the Rust Belt Rust Belt which are the industrial sites are areas of high contamination A time where there were abandoned factories population and industrial loss poverty vacant property Creating climate change and has poor air quality steel production and coal plants have released particulates like sulfate into atmosphere Attenuation Toxic waste you leave it and hope it goes away Bioremediation Use of organisms to decontaminate an environment by utilizing contaminants as a carbon source non specific degradation redox reactions bisortion and accumulation Types Use of bioreactors Landfarming Common methods Bioaugmentation adding things to the environment Biostimulation add sugars and starch to soil to build up biomass Where are Fungi found They are found everywhere o In Extreme environments o Decaying organic matter http waterquality montana edu docs methane Donlan shtml What are the different Approaches of Bioremediation Natural Attenuation o Leave it alone and hope it goes away o May take a long time o Place the problem somewhere else Landfill Incineration o Burn it What is the Plastisphere Bacteria develops there Dig into plastic and develop there to break down plastics Dumped into the ocean Term used to refer to ecosystems that have evolved to live in human made plastic environments What is PAH fossil fuel burning An aromatic hydrocarbon that pollutes the environment and results from What is Pleutrotus ostreatus and how does it work Work is done by enzymes its able to break down pollutants because of enzymes What is a genetically Modified Organism GMO Genes from 2 different organisms are combined DEF An organism whose natural genetic material has been altered with genetic engineering What is Recombinant DNA Technology DNA from different sources are combined into one molecule to create a new set of genes What occurs during Recombinant DNA Technology GMO works agrobacterium tumefaciens bacterial DNA has DNA containing gene for desired trait inserted into it we know the gene that codes for that trait Be able to describe two important uses of recombinant DNA technology 1 Bacterial produced recombinant human insulin a Has replaced insulin obtained from animal sources ex pigs for the treatment of insulin dependent diabetes 2 Recombinant blood clotting protein What is a transgenic Organism A living organism that contains DNA from different species Describe the 2 Processes used to create transgenic organisms 1 Use bacterium that gets inserted into DNA of organism which gets inserted in the plant for a new trait 2 Bacterial or something else combining 2 different organism genes creating a new gene and its being inserted What is RoundUp It is a herbicide o Containing glyphosate A bacterial naturally contains the gene for a protein synthesizing enzyme not inhabited by glyphosate For crops a gene is inserted into soybeans corn cotton Crops are NOT killed by RoundUp What is Glyphosate o Kills plants by stopping the synthesis of 3 essential amino acids which make proteins How can glyphosate be rendered ineffective Water interferes with RoundUp Ca Mg or Na can for a complex with the glyphosate molecule and when this happens the molecule is ineffective in the plant because the glyphosate molecule is unable to bind to EPSP synthase o Ability of RoundUp to kill plants is reduced when water is used What types of Transgenic RoundUp ready crops are there and what advantage do they have over normal crops What is Bacillus Thuringiensis what does it produce BT Crops o Produces a protein that binds to the gut of insect larva and kills them o Gene is removed from BT and inserted into crops corn cotton etc o Crop expresses the bacterial gene makes protein that s responsible for larvae toxicity o When Larva eats the plant it dies What does the transgenic plant do with its newly acquired bacterial gene It makes protein What capability does this give the plant that it doesn t have before Is the amount of acreage planted with GM crops increasing decreasing or staying the same Globally acreage of GM crops increased from 4 3 million in 1996 to 109 million in 2000 What is a Non Target Organism IT goes everywhere even though it is targeting one specific thing How could BT crops affect non target organisms BT crops could kill them o Ex Laboratory study showed that pollen from BT corn caused high mortality rates in monarch butterfly caterpillars o Fear is that if BT corn pollen is blown onto milkweed plants that the caterpillars eat and they would eat the pollen and perish o Bee colony deaths in brazil were linked to BT corn Why are some crops becoming resistant to herbicides 9 common weeds have developed resistance to glyphosate active ingredient in RoundUp herbicide What is the response of Farmers to Herbicide Resistance As a result farmers are applying even more herbicide to crops more RoundUp in environment What effects do herbicides have on frogs and human placental and embryonic cells RoundUp herbicide is lethal to frogs and human placental and embryonic cells quality What does a Corporate Controlled System Value One company Monsanto controls majority of US crops used in most cereals vegetable oils etc The corporate system has created a food system that values quantity over What are some specific food safety concerns associated with corporate controlled food systems Food safety is becoming big concern o Filthy conditions in factory farms o Contamination E Coli mad cow disease o Circumventing local regulations herbicides that are banned in USA are used on foreign crops and imported into USA How could genetically modified Organisms cause an increase in Human Allergies Many children have developed life threatening allergies to peanuts and other foods Possibility that introducing a gene into a plant may create a new allergen or cause an allergic reaction in susceptible individuals Be able to describe how genetic contamination could occur between GMO and organic crops Farmers are concerned that GM crop polled could cross pollinate their crops What potential impacts on human health would GMO genetic contaminations have http www responsibletechnology org 10 Reasons to Avoid GMOs Stem Cells A cell that has the ability to continuously divide and develop into various other kinds of cells tissues Embryonic Stem Cells They are derived from extra blastocysts Blastocysts embryo that has advanced to the 5 or 6 day stage where it has divided many more times into more