Transgenesis and Genetic Modifications
Genetic modification of organisms has been occurring through human manipulation since the beginning of agriculture. Humans selectively bred crops and livestock to propagate desirable traits in a process termed artificial selection. The original grass that gave rise to domesticated corn called teosinte hardly resembles what we think of when imagining modern maize.
Artificial selection takes multiple generations over a long period of time. With the advent of recombinant DNA and biotechnology, scientists can now genetically modify organisms through introduction of foreign genes to provide desirable characteristics within one generation.
