Biotechnology
Although the name is modern, biotechnology existed long before there was a word for it. Many principles
and some techniques, like fermentation used to produce wine and bread, are ancient. Even agriculture can be
seen as a form of biotechnology because humans took plants and animals from the wild and transformed
them into highly productive ones.
Nowadays, researchers can pick a gene from a living being and insert it into another one of a different
species. This leads to changes that are extremely rare in nature or with conventional breeding.
Biotechnology has changed from an art into a modern science and there are now thousands of microbes used
to make food. The modern biotechnology was born in the 70s, when scientists learn to alter the genetic code
through genetic engineering, that permitted numerous innovations. With genetically modified bacteria is now
possible to produce human insulin.
The human genome project started in 1990 was an international project coordinated by the US National
institute of health (NIH) with the goal to identify all the genes and combinations of genes in human DNA.
Biotechnology is used in many fields:
In medicine it’s mainly used to produce antibiotics and vaccines.
It’s useful for the environment because it helps to protect endangered species and to control pest animals, to
improve plants characteristics and for cleaning oil spills and sewage in oceans.
Genetic engineering
Since Mendel’s experiments on the identification of DNA we started to know why we are like we are. The
DNA contains genes that are passed in equal parts from our parents and those compose little by little our
genetic code, called the genome. Genes encode proteins, the building blocks of our body, and they determine
our physical characteristics like hair color or the susceptibility to certain diseases. The DNA is located in
chromosomes in the cell’s nucleuses and form a complex network to perform vital tasks. Genetic engineering
is the ability to manipulate the genes of a living being to specifically produce a new organism with wanted
characteristics like plants that repel bugs or single race animals. It’s very efficient when compare to traditional
breeding methods because it enables us to identify the genes responsible for particular aspects, and transfer
those genes into a different living thing. Cross-species transfer are possible but this requires considerable
caution because it can alter a species.
Birth of gene technology
In 1953 Francis Crick and James Watson announced the structure of DNA and they realized that It’s made
of basis and it can copy itself. Scientists began to sequence the genetic code and show that all living beings
use the same essential DNA. They discovered that because genes are chemically the same, they are read the
same and thus they are interchangeable. Gene exchanges occur rarely in nature. In 1973, Dr Stanley Cohen
and Dr Herbert Boyer performed the first gene cloning, known as recombinant DNA technique, where they
used enzymes to cut pieces of DNA containing different antibiotic resistance from a bacteria, and then joined
them to make a new plasmid resistant to both antibiotics.
Techniques of modern gene technology
•Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) produces large amounts of a specific DNA fragment supplying
DNA, for the insertion into another organism. Copies of the original DNA can be made.
•Gel electrophoresis can separate large biological molecules, including proteins and fragments of DNA.
It helps to identify genes or proteins based on their size by moving them in an electric field in a gel at
different speeds.
