The question of how life can originate from a lifeless chemical soup has puzzled scientist ever since the origin of species. It not possible to determine how life started; however, this has not stopped scientist from trying finding answers. The theory of evolution states that the current organism evolved from earlier life forms. At a molecular level, development reshaped some of the enzymes to help finalize the chemical process like changing food into energy in human and other life forms (Erbas-Cakmak et al., 2018). Research suggests that life-changing at a molecular level involves molecules forming copies of themselves (autocatalysis) and molecules arranging themselves in higher-order structures (self-organization) (Erbas-Cakmak et al., 2018). From research, scientists were able to identify specific mutants found in the first set of replicators that were the source of generating the second set of replicators.
Biodiversity is the variability among living organism from all sources (Haider, Patel, Bhattacharje & Bassa, 2015). It is the foundation of ecosystem services that is important to humans living (Haider, Patel, Bhattacharje, & Bassa, 2015). In general, it includes all the managed or unmanaged ecosystem. Biodiversity is essential to both human-managed ecosystems and natural ecosystem. Therefore, the decision humans make that affects biodiversity impacts their wellbeing as well. Biodiversity is important in every place since it is ubiquitous on the earth’s surface and in water bodies.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Several species have been seen to evolve due to different situations such as climates. Some of the species that are changing include the lizard having extra sticky feet, the owls changing color and the fish that migrate earlier before climate change. The native green lizards that are found on trunks and branches of trees in Florida faced high competition from the brown lizards. Due to competition and limited resources, the native green lizards moved to the treetops. Having thinner and smoother limbs, the lizards had to adapt to the changes in the environment. So as to cling better to the trees, their toepads developed to a bigger size and their scales became stickier. Changes in climate have also forced the tawny owl to adapt in order to survive. The bird has been seen to come in two colors, pale grey and brown. Brown owls have been seen to be dominant compared to the grey colored owl due to the change in the climate. The brown color enables them to hide from predators since their brown color camouflages with the bare branches. As the brown owls continue to survive, the brown genes are, therefore, passed through generations. There is a recent record of the behavioral shift of the pink salmon due to the changes in climate. The rise in water temperature has forced the fish to migrate from the ocean to rivers to spawn two weeks earlier, compared to their migration 40 years ago.
Gene therapy involves introducing genes into existing cells for prevention or cure of certain diseases. Three examples of gene therapy include gene augmentation therapy, gene inhibition therapy, and the killing of specific cells. Gene augmentation therapy is used in treating diseases caused by mutations that end gene production of functioning product such as protein. Gene inhibition therapy is used in treating infectious diseases, cancer, and even inherited diseases that are brought about by inappropriate gene activity. The killing of specific cells is used for diseases like cancer that can be treated by killing certain groups of cells. Cloning, on the other hand, is the production of gene identical to the living organism (Keefer, 2015). Example of cloning in animals have been seen through dolly the sheep, cumulina the mouse and Mira the Goat. Dolly, the sheep, is the most famous of all the animals. Dolly, the sheep, was artificially cloned in 1996 and lived to the age of six. Cumulina, the mouse, was cloned in Hawaii 1997. She was the first mouse who was successfully cloned. She lived to the age of two years seven months. Finally, Mira the Goat is also an example of a cloned ruminant. She was cloned in the US in 1998 in a lab as predecessors of livestock engineering for the pharmaceutical industry.
References
Erbas-Cakmak, S., Kolemen, S., Sedgwick, A. C., Gunnlaugsson, T., James, T. D., Yoon, J., & Akkaya, E. U. (2018). Molecular logic gates: the past, present and future. Chemical Society Reviews, 47 (7), 2228-2248.
Haider, M., Patel, M., Bhattacharje, P., & Bassa, M. (2015). The Impacts of Biotechnology on Biodiversity in Global Health: A Case Study on Avian Influenza in Bangladesh. International Journal of Public Health, 4 (2), 102-112.
Keefer, C. L. (2015). Artificial cloning of domestic animals . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112 (29), 8874-8878.
