Canis lupus familiaris is now more physically diverse than ever. Scientists still have no idea how dogs today bear little or no resemblance to wolves, their ancestors. Somewhere along the way, wolves lost their characteristics. Most modern dogs would not be able to survive on their own in the wild. They not only lost survival traits, but also lost aesthetic traits. For example, the pug looks nothing like a wolf. Their bodies have shrunk and their teeth are smaller. Along with dogs, most other animals do not resemble the same species as their ancestors. This is because we have come up with techniques to modify animals into the way we want them to be and I think this is an amazing gift that we humans have. In the book Frankenstein's Cat by Emily Anthes, we talk a lot about the ways in which we have modified animals and how biotechnology influences the way we live. With the technology we have today we can create new organisms in a matter of a day. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The technology also helps make artificial limbs for animals that might be injured. Of course, there will always be a person or group of people opposed to or concerned about species alteration. There are some people who believe that biotechnology goes against the laws of nature and believe that it is not right because we don't know if animals want this to happen to them. There is actually an industry for scientists that allows them to purchase disease-ridden laboratory animals to study in order to learn more about diseases in humans. Biotechnology can do multiple things for animals. Yes, it can make them sick but, with certain techniques, it can also help them survive. People can now begin to dream of a future in which we can create the animal that meets all our needs, one that is perfect for us, because the public is having greater access to biotechnology. Every day, scientists are coming up with new ways to change how biotechnology works and how we can use it in the future. I have found that the process of genetic engineering has developed a lot over the years. Scientists have found a way to create animals that glow. Zebrafish - Danio rerio - native to South Asia are normally colored with black and white stripes. Fish of this species now swim in pet store tanks covered in bright colors. I find it interesting how these fish are not simply themselves, but have the DNA of sea anemones or sea corals. DNA causes zebrafish to fluoresce under black or blue light. Because of the glowing effect, the fish are branded as GloFish, otherwise known as "America's first genetically modified pets." Every time I go to a pet shop I am fascinated by how vivid and beautiful they are. I find it strange how many people were against GloFish. This was primarily the reaction of animal rights activists. They feared that modifying fish with such genes would harm them. Many pet shops did not want to carry the fish for this reason. Subsequently, after much debate, the fish were finally approved and are now being sold in pet stores across America because Blake and Crockett, the owners of GloFish, proved that genetic modification of the fish was not harmful to them. Aqua Bounty, another genetically engineered fish companymodified, has created a new life for Atlantic salmon. I thought it would be difficult for scientists at this company to take eelgrass promoters and link them to Chinook salmon growth hormones to create a new growth hormone for Atlantic salmon. This caused Atlantic salmon to grow faster in colder temperatures than normal. Turns out, I learned that doing it wasn't the hard part. Getting the fish approved by the FDA for use in the world's food supply was the hardest part. From what I've seen, approval was difficult because they ultimately became the first genetically modified animals used for human consumption. One technique that I think biotech should be most proud of is pharming. This is the technique that modifies genetics to turn farm animals into a “machine” that produces medicine. ATryn goats are an example of animals used for this purpose. These goats were designed to produce the medicine in their milk that humans need because some cannot produce it themselves. ATryn is a drug that can be used to prevent the formation of blood clots that can kill someone. After the goats nursed, the scientists only needed to take the milk and extract the proteins that make up the medicine, then it was ready for human consumption. I think the biotechnology industry should be proud of this achievement because farm animals could save human lives. Cloning is becoming the newest way to save animals from extinction. I think cloning is something that will always improve because, at the moment, even clones are not exactly the same as their “genetic twin”. A horrible example of this is a bull called Second Chance. He is the clone of a bull named Chance. Even though Second Chance had the exact same DNA as Chance, they weren't exactly the same. SC attacked its owner, Ralph Fisher, several times, injuring him. This is something that Chance, the original bull, would not have done to Fisher. I think scientists need to be especially careful when creating clones because something like this could happen in nature when an animal is released from a facility like ACRES. ACRES stands for Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species and is located in New Orleans. This is a place I would love to visit one day as they try to help endangered species. I find the only bad thing is that they do it by cloning animals. However, from what I've read, those who cloned didn't act like SCI, they think the way scientists track animals now is an amazing process. The Craighead brothers, John and Frank, were the first to use radio transmitters to track bears as they traveled through the wilderness of Yellowstone National Park. Using these devices helps scientists interact even more with wildlife. I think marine biologists made progress in this technology because they couldn't just use regular radio transmitters because they can't work underwater. So, they developed another solution for tracking marine animals. They called the new solution “archive tags.” I think these tags are fascinating because they can hold so much information in such a small area. Biologists use these tags on bluefin tuna to track every detail. When fishermen catch a tuna displaying these labels, they can receive a lot of money simply by calling the Tuna Research and Conservation Center (TRCC) and letting them know they caught one. These tags can bealso used to monitor environmental changes, such as global warming, that can threaten life in the ocean. I would love to see these tags and see how they work in person because it's amazing that they can receive and store so much information. Winter, a bottlenose dolphin is now a celebrity icon. There are many things based on his story, from books to films, which are called Dolphin Tale. I find Winter's story sad but courageous. She got her tail stuck in a crab trap while swimming in the ocean. After she was washed ashore, a fisherman saw her and called a wildlife rescue team. When the team got there, they loaded her onto a stretcher and took her to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. I think this was the best place they took her because they helped her so much. She had a number of cuts and scrapes from the trap wrapping her tail too tightly. This prevented her from swimming properly on her own, so her tail was eventually cut off. Winter adapted to not having a tail, but the way she did it wasn't right. He started swimming like a fish instead of a dolphin. This started to cause strain on his spine, so his caretakers had to come up with a plan. I think they called the best person to do this job because he never abandoned it. His name was Kevin Carroll and with him was a prosthetist named Dan Strzempka, together they changed Winter's life. They came up with a number of ways to create a prosthetic tail for the dolphin. I found their final manner amazing. It was a gel, otherwise known as “dolphin gel,” that was soft, sticky, and strong enough to protect her while staying put during her daily therapies. I found that her trainers were very patient with her as they had to gradually put the contraption on her so that she could get used to it. Eventually, after much practice, he started swimming like a normal dolphin again. I heard about Winter's story before reading this book. The movie Dolphin Tale is one of my favorites. She was not only an inspiration to me, but to everyone else who heard about her story because she never gave up, no matter how difficult the process was! Now “Winter Gel” is sold to prosthetists all over the world! I think vets should use prosthetics a lot more because they could really help animals live healthier and happier lives, just like Winter. Insects-cyborgs are becoming a new way to "annoy" people. Because insects are such streamlined creatures, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the US military have programs that try to create insects used for espionage. I think it's crazy to even think about it, much less try it! I wouldn't even think of using insects for this type of research because they are such small creatures. I just don't understand where they find a place to put everything, but the military is trying anyway. Scientists didn't know much about insect life, so the other thing they had to figure out besides trying to fit equipment to them was how to hack their bodies to control them. They decided on the flower beetle, Mecynorrhina torquata, because it is a larger insect than the others. They controlled him by threading wires through holes drilled into his exoskeleton and connecting them to his brain. Other wires were connected to the basal muscles, which modulate the thrust of the wings, to control the direction in which it would fly. By connecting all these wires to an electronics package on the back they were able to control it without any problems. Before reading the end of how they accomplished this task, in.