"Well, there’s just one problem: Dinos are not like strawberries. In the case of GMO crops, we’re talking about isolating one gene that codes for one specific trait. In the case of Jurassic World, we’re talking about traits that involve hundreds of genes. Take camouflage, the trait that (spoiler alert!) so surprises the Indominus rex’s trainers. Blending in with your surroundings requires tweaks to neural genes, skin genes, hormonal genes, and temperature sensitivity genes. “It’s likely a whole suite of genes,” says Beth Shapiro, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California at Santa Cruz and author of How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction.
In other words, it’s not a simple matter of genetic cutting and pasting. “When genomes evolve, they don’t do so in isolation,” says Shapiro. “They do so in the background of the entire genome.”"
So, well, I didn't like Jurassic World. Like, I enjoyed the experience of watching it - but I didn't enjoy the thing itself. None of the characters had any kind of memorable personality (or memorable names... except for I think Larry?, the control room guy, who has a great scene involving an awkward hug), there was an absurd level of product placement, and it only passed the Bechdel Test because some of the female dinosaurs talk to each other (although, it's been pointed out, they were probably talking about a man).
But, honestly, the most annoying thing for me was the not-subtle shade it tries to throw at GMOs. Watching it, I realized where a lot of the fear comes from - it's because most geneticists in media are in the role of the evil scientist with an experiment that either goes massively out of control, or is intentionally created to do something evil. In addition, biology and genetics are massively mis-represented to make it seem as though a lot more is possible and feasible. If genetics, or available genetic tools, worked anything like they do in the movies then there would be a lot of reasons to stop all genetics research for a second and work out some careful screening procedures. But they don't, and it's frustrating that so many people only have access to these false portrayals - and that these false perceptions are the only basis they have to make judgments about things like GMOs
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