Is it possible to swap genes with other people or even animals?

Question: Is it possible to swap genes with other people or even animals?
- Keywords:
  animal,
  gene,
  GM
Asked by molineux to Adam, Joanna, Louise S, Louise W, Marcus on 13 Nov 2012.
- Joanna Giles answered on 13 Nov 2012:
  
  No, not really. You can put new genes into bacteria cells, cell cultures and eggs. This will make them grow a specific protein. But we can’t really SWAP genes around.
  
  Gene therapy is one method that scientists are trying to develop to replace faulty genes in people who have genetic diseases. The idea is simple but it is proving very tricky to deliver “new” DNA (So genes) into a target cell. One day I am sure it will be possible though 🙂
- Adam Paige answered on 13 Nov 2012:
  
  You can put a gene from one animal (or person) into an egg cell (ovum) of another species, but it is not easy to get them to work properly. Genes are instructions for making proteins which then do things like make chemical reactions happen, create the structures of our cells, or make new cells. Proteins work by interacting with other proteins (kind of like a key fitting into a lock). So if you took a gene from one animal and put it into another species it would probably be the wrong shaped key for that lock. So the cell with this changed gene would not work properly and would not grow.
  
  Sometimes it can be possible though (there are mice with a jellyfish gene that make them glow green in the dark – which sounds weird but is actually a very useful tool). But most things are still too complicated for us to know how to do (even if there was a sensible reason for wanting to try) – so we won’t be breeding any elephants that can breath underwater, or cats that can fly!
- Marcus Wilson answered on 13 Nov 2012:
  
  we do it all the time in the lab, putting genes from humans or yeast into bacteria, or even from humans into cultured human cells.
  
  the real trick, which lots of people are working on right now, is finding a way to get genes into cells in the body. There has been some sucesses recently replacing faulty genes in specific tissues. In 2008 three people had their sight partially restored by gene therapy.
  
  However for gene therapy to work we have to know what genes have gone wrong in the first place. it seems like a really promising cure for rare single genes disorders but not for diseases like cancer.
- Louise Walkin answered on 19 Nov 2012:
  
  Yes, Marcus is right. You can easily insert genes from an animal and also from humans into cells but it is difficult trying to do that to an actual person.
  Cystic fibrosis is caused by a faulty gene and recent clinical trials have involved trying to get a new healthy CFTR gene into the lung tissue to replace the faulty gene using inhalers. When the gene is faulty it would be amazing to be able to just re-insert the new healthy gene. However, these treatments don’t last forever and would probably be very expensive to cystic fibrosis sufferers to be using all of the time.