Selective breeding, genetic engineering and gene editing

Question 1

What does CRISPR-Cas9 allow scientists to do?

• A. remove all mutations from a population
• B. read a person's thoughts
• C. make copies of whole animals
• D. cut DNA at a chosen place to edit a gene precisely

Question 2

Evaluate this claim: “GM crops are unsafe to eat.” Which response is best supported by evidence?

• A. Nobody has ever tested GM food.
• B. Large reviews of studies have found approved GM foods as safe as conventional foods, but each new crop is tested separately.
• C. All GM crops are identical, so one test proves everything.
• D. A website says so, so it must be true.

Question 3

Farmers breed only the cows that give the most milk, generation after generation. What is this called?

• A. selective breeding (artificial selection)
• B. natural selection
• C. genetic engineering
• D. cloning

Question 4

Evaluate this claim: “Insect-resistant GM crops mean farmers never need to manage pests again.” Which response is best supported by evidence?

• A. They can reduce insecticide spraying, but insects can evolve resistance, so careful management is still needed.
• B. Insects cannot evolve.
• C. The crops kill every animal that touches them.
• D. Pests disappear forever after one season.

Question 5

Golden rice was genetically modified to make a substance the body turns into vitamin A. What problem does it aim to reduce?

• A. antibiotic resistance
• B. obesity
• C. vitamin A deficiency, which can cause blindness
• D. lack of protein

Question 6

Evaluate this claim: “Selective breeding is new and unnatural.” Which response is best supported by evidence?

• A. It only works on bacteria.
• B. Humans have selectively bred crops and animals for thousands of years; for example, maize was bred from a wild grass called teosinte.
• C. It was invented in the last ten years.
• D. It uses CRISPR to cut DNA.

Question 7

Farmers breed only the cows that give the most milk, generation after generation. What is this called?

• A. cloning
• B. genetic engineering
• C. natural selection
• D. selective breeding (artificial selection)

Question 8

Evaluate this claim: “Gene therapy can cure every inherited disease.” Which response is best supported by evidence?

• A. It has never helped anyone.
• B. It changes the genes of every person on Earth.
• C. It only works on plants.
• D. Some gene therapies are approved for specific conditions, but many diseases are still being researched.

Question 9

Golden rice was genetically modified to make a substance the body turns into vitamin A. What problem does it aim to reduce?

• A. lack of protein
• B. antibiotic resistance
• C. obesity
• D. vitamin A deficiency, which can cause blindness

Question 10

Evaluate this claim: “Selective breeding is new and unnatural.” Which response is best supported by evidence?

• A. Humans have selectively bred crops and animals for thousands of years; for example, maize was bred from a wild grass called teosinte.
• B. It only works on bacteria.
• C. It uses CRISPR to cut DNA.
• D. It was invented in the last ten years.

Question 11

A problem with selective breeding is…

• A. inbreeding, which reduces variation and can increase inherited disorders
• B. it uses radioactive materials
• C. it is always too fast
• D. it creates new species every year