Differentiate between basic and applied research and discuss how the two are linked in terms of genetics. What will be an ideal response?
ANSWER: Scientists do basic research in laboratory and field settings to understand how something
works or why it works the way it does. In basic research, there is no immediate goal of
solving a practical problem or making a commercial product; knowledge itself is the goal. In
turn, the results of basic research generate new ideas and more basic research. In this way, we
gain detailed information about the structure and function of cells, why animals behave in
certain ways, and how plants turn carbon dioxide into sugar. Among other things, basic
research in genetics has provided us with details about genes, how they work, and, more
importantly, what happens when they don’t work properly.
Applied research is usually done to solve a practical problem or turn a discovery into a
commercial service or product. Applied research uses basic methods such as transmission
genetics to study the way in which a trait is inherited, and it also uses biotechnology to make
products such as transgenic organisms, medicines, and nutritionally enhanced foods. In
agriculture, applied genetic research has increased crop yields, lowered the fat content of
pork, and created new forms of corn and soybeans that are resistant to herbicides and pests.
In medicine, new diagnostic tests, the synthesis of customized proteins for treating disease,
and the production of vaccines are just a few examples of applied genetic research.
You might also like to view...
Much of the world’s coal reserves were formed from the buried remains of ____, the dominant plants of the
Carboniferous period.
a. bryophytes b. seedless vascular plants c. gymnosperms d. angiosperms e. gymnosperms and angiosperms
In fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) there is a dominant allele for red eyes and a recessive allele for white eyes. These alleles are located on the X chromosome. If a heterozygous red-eyed female is mated with a white-eyed male, what percentage of the offspring are expected to be white-eyed females? (Enter the number only without the percent sign. For example, enter 100% as 100 and enter 12.5% as 12.5)
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
Gene probes can be labeled for detection with
A. fluorescent dyes. B. enzymes. C. radioisotopes. D. All of these choices are correct.
The cribriform foramina, through which the fibers of cranial nerve I pass, are located in the ________ bone on the floor of the skull.
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).