User:Aysenurbozkurt9/sandbox

1.Health risks
The following are potential health risks related to the consumption of GMOs:

a) Unexpected gene interactions
The expected outcomes of the transferred gene construct may differ due to gene interactions. Animal feeds that contain GM crop has shown some minor effects on weight according to some studies, which are most likely to be related to the specific gene addition to the GM crop or it could be a result of the genetic transformation process too. It is shown that these changes with crops can potentially break the metabolism and cause some changes.

b) Cancer risks
GM crops have higher pesticide residues compared the non-GM ones. Because some pesticides' main component is glyphosate, it can cause increases in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Also, the US National Academy of Sciences conclusion in 1996 that pesticide residues on US foods would cause millions of preventable fatal cancer cases over the following 75 years can not be ignored.

c) Allergenic potential
A particular gene that has been added to a GM crop possibly can create new allergens, and constant exposure to a particular protein allergen may have resulted in developing new allergies. Even though it is not related directly to the use of GM technology, since there's no allergy test to predict allergenicity it is highly possible that the new proteins or their interactions with usual proteins could produce new allergies.

d) Horizontal gene transfer (HGT)
Horizontal gene transfer is any process by which an organism acquires genetic material from a second organism without descending from it. In contrast, the vertical transfer is when an organism acquires genetic material from its ancestors (i.e., its parents). HGT is the transfer of DNA between cells of the same generation. Humans and animals have been in contact with "foreign DNA". In humans, DNA has absorbed through food daily through fragments of plant and animal genes and bacterial DNA. Because some diseases like AIDS, Ebola, and Mad Cow are genetically passaged to humans from animals there’s an issue that GMOs with engineered genes might create new viral strains.

e) Antibiotic resistance
Theoretically, antibiotic resistance can occur by consuming genetically modified plants. Genes can be transferred to bacteria in the human gastrointestinal tract and develop resistance to that specific antibiotic. Considering this risk factor, more research is needed.