Genetic engineering is the process of manually adding new DNA to an organism. The goal is to add one or more new traits that are not already found in that organism. Examples of genetically engineered organisms currently on the market include plants with resistance to some insects, plants that can tolerate herbicides, and crops with modified oil content. How is genetic engineering done?
Genetic engineering works by physically removing a gene from one organism and inserting it into another, giving it the ability to express the trait encoded by that gene. It is like taking a single recipe out of a cookbook and placing it into another cookbook. First, find an organism that naturally contains the desired trait. The DNA is extracted from that organism. This is like taking out the entire cookbook. The one desired gene (recipe) must be located and copied from thousands of genes that were extracted.