There is an increasing demand for genetic engineers in India as well
as abroad. Genetic engineers are mainly absorbed in medical and pharmaceutical
industries, the agricultural sector, and the research and development
departments of the government and private sectors. They can also take
up teaching as an option.
Genetic engineering involves developing hybrid varieties of plants,
making a plant disease resistant by transferring genes from a plant that
already has the characteristic, introducing Genetically Modified foods
by changing the colour, size, texture of the produce of plants such as
fruits and vegetables. GE in humans can be to correct severe hereditary
defects by introducing normal genes into cells in place of missing or
defective ones.
A team headed by Ian Wilmut and his colleagues at the Roslin Institute
in Edinburgh, Scotland made history when they produced a lamp named Dolly,
an exact genetic copy or clone of a sheep. This landmark discovery of
the regeneration of an exact replica of a whole animal by transferring
nuclei from the cells of that animal to unfertilized eggs of another animal,
without the help of a male counterpart, has given researches a wide area
open to be discovered. With this discovery, genetic engineering has become
globally recognized.
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Remuneration
Genetic Engineers with a postgraduate degree can earn between 5000 Rs
to 8000Rs / month whereas those with doctoral degrees can earn up to 10,000Rs/
month as a starting salary.
