1. Genetic Engineering

6. Tools of Molecular Biology- Where does the new DNA come from? How is it removed from the source organism? How do scientists make this gene ready to insert into another organism?

7. Transforming Bacterial Cells What is a plasmid? What is the function of a plasmid? Transforming Plant Cells How is the gene transferred into the new plant?

8. Cloning What is a clone? Put the process (332) into your own words.

9. In the book “The Hunger Games,” the Capitol produced genetically enhanced birds called jabberjays to spy on rebels. Unexpectedly, these birds bred with mockingbirds, creating a new hybrid bird called the mockingjay. The Capitol did not intend for this to happen, and the bird became a symbol of rebellion.

10. What lessons can we draw about genetic engineering from these examples? Could a scenario like this, where a genetically engineered organism hybridizes with a wild animal or plant, happen in the real world? Why or why not?

11. Raise your hand if you think a scenario like the one depicted in “The Hunger Games” could happen in the real world.

12. “What conditions would be required for a genetically engineered organism to hybridize with a wild animal or plant? What steps could be put in place to keep this from happening?”

13. What is a genetically modified organism? What is a jabberjay? A mockingjay? What roles do these organisms play in the book series “The Hunger Games”? What is the value of creating genetically modified organisms? What are some of the concerns surrounding G.M.O.’s? What predictions can you make for what might happen if the tools of biotechnology spread to everyone, and lead to “an explosion of diversity of new living creatures”?