Allergic Response

This video provides a basic overview of the body's response to a new allergen. There is a lot of confusion surrounding the risks associated with genetically engineered products...but there are only 2 risks: 1. The new protein could be a toxin or 2. the new protein could be an allergen. It is easy to test for toxicity because all people, in general, react the same to a toxin...so the mechanism is easier to investigate. Allergic reactions, however, are specific to individuals and effect less than 1% of the population. Thus, it takes more investigation to determine if a new protein may be an allergen. Understanding the body's response to allergens can give us the background knowledge to understand testing that is done to reduce the risk of introducing new allergens through genetic engineering.