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Introduction one of the newest, yet controversial fields in science today is biotechnology. Biotechnology began in the 1970s after the development of genetic engineering that allowed scientists to modify the genetic material of living cells. Genetic engineering is the manipulation of DNA molecules to produce modified plants, animals, or other organisms. DNA is the part of a cell that controls the genetic information of an animal or plant. DNA is a double-stranded molecule that is present in every cell of an organism. The genetic information is contained in individual units or sections of DNA called genes. The genes that are passed from parent to offspring determine the traits that the offspring will have. Scientists are now able to isolate the gene or genes for the traits they want in one animal or plant and move them into another. The movement of a gene from one organism to another, is called Recombinant DNA technology. This technology is advancing at a very rapid pace.

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