Biotechnology

1. Biotechnology

2. What Is Biotechnology? • Biotechnology– using living organisms, or the products of living organisms, for human benefit to make a product or solve a problem

3. Types of Biotechnology • Microbial Biotechnology • Agricultural Biotechnology • Animal Biotechnology • Forensic Biotechnology • Bioremediation • Aquatic Biotechnology • Medical Biotechnology • Regulatory Biotechnology

4. Microbial Biotechnology • Microbial Biotechnology – manipulation of microorganisms such as yeast and bacteria • Create better enzymes • More efficient decontamination processes for industrial waste product removal • Used to clone and produce large amounts of important proteins used in human medicine Vibrio cholera

5. Agricultural Biotechnology • Agricultural Biotechnology • Genetically engineered, pest-resistant plants • Foods with higher protein or vitamin content • Drugs developed and grown as plant products

6. Animal Biotechnology • Animal Biotechnology • Animals as a source of medically valuable proteins • Antibodies • Animals as important models in basic research • Gene “knockout” experiments • Design and testing of drugs and genetic therapies • Animal cloning • Source of transplant organs http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1949073.stm

7. Forensic Biotechnology • Forensic Biotechnology • DNA fingerprinting • Inclusion or exclusion of a person from suspicion • Paternity cases • Identification of human remains • Endangered species • Tracking and confirmation of the spread of disease

8. Bioremediation • Bioremediation • The use of biotechnology to process and degrade a variety of natural and manmade substances • Particularly those that contribute to pollution • For example, bacteria that degrade components in crude oil • 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska • 2010 Gulf oil spill

9. Aquatic Biotechnology • Aquatic Biotechnology • Aquaculture – raising finfish or shellfish in controlled conditions for use as food sources • 30% of all fish consumed by humans worldwide • Genetic engineering • Disease-resistant strains of oysters • Vaccines against viruses that infect salmon and other finfish • Rich and valuable sources of new genes, proteins and metabolic processes with important applications for human benefits • Marine plankton and snails found to be rich sources of antitumor and anticancer molecules

10. Medical Biotechnology • Medical Biotechnology • Involved with the whole spectrum of human medicine • Preventive medicine • Diagnosis of health and illness • Treatment of human diseases • New information from Human Genome Project • Gene therapy • Stem cell technologies

11. Regulatory Biotechnology • Regulatory Biotechnology • Quality Assurance (QA) • All activities involved in regulating the final quality of a product • Quality Control (QC) • Part of QA process that involves lab testing and monitoring of processes and applications to ensure consistent product standards

12. Human Genome Project • Completed in 2003, the Human Genome Project (HGP) was a 13-year project coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institute of Health. • The project originally was planned to last 15 years, but rapid technological advances accelerated the completion date to 2003. • Goals: • Identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA • Determine the sequence of the 3 billion base pairs that make up human DNA

13. Thanks to the Human Genome Project Scientists have been able to: • Seek genes associated with genetic conditions. • Try to treat less the symptoms of illness and look more for the fundamental causes of disease. • Look at ways to develop more rapid and specific diagnostic tests for possible earlier treatment of diseases. • Seek for possibilities of making new drugs that are better, and in the future, try to replace defective genes through gene therapy.