Biotechnology

Science, Technology and Society

What is Biotechnology?
• It is the manipulation of living
organisms or parts of living
organisms to make products
useful to humans
• It deals with the manipulation
of the genes of organisms to
alter their behaviour,
characteristics, or value
• Cell and gene technology used
to produce new characteristics
in plants and animals
What is Biotechnology?
 Timeline of Biotechnology
Science, Technology and Society
Timeline of Biotechnology

8000 B.C.E 4000 B.C.E

Domestication of Egyptians master the
plants and animal art of wine making
 Timeline of Biotechnology

2000 B.C.E 2000 B.C.E

Egyptians used yeast Egyptians and Sumerians learned
brewing and cheese making
to make bread
 Timeline of Biotechnology

500 B.C.E 300 B.C.E

Mouldy soybean curds Greeks develop
used to treat boils grafting techniques
Timeline of Biotechnology

100 C.E 1663

Powdered Robert Hooke
chrysanthemums described the cell
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1675 1797
Anton van Leeuwenhoek Edward Jenner created
discovers protozoa and bacteria
the cowpox vaccine
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1802 1830
“Biology” first appears Proteins are
discovered
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1855 1857
Escherichia coli is discovered Fermentation and
by Theodor Escherich
Germ Theory
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1859 1861
Charles Darwin published the
Theory of Evolution by Natural
Louis Pasteur develops
Selection pasteurisation
Timeline of Biotechnology

1865 1888
Gregor Mendel and Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried
Waldeyer discovered the
Laws of Inheritance chromosome
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1915 1919
Bacteriophages were “Biotechnology” was
discovered introduced by Károly Ereky
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1922 1927
Dr. Frederick Banting and Herman Muller - radiation
Charles Best discovered insulin causes defects in chromosomes
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1928 1944
Alexander Fleming and Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod and
Maclyn McCarty proved that the
antibiotic penicillin DNA carries the genetic information
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1953 1966
Watson, Crick and Wilkins The genetic code for
described the 3d Model of DNA
DNA is cracked
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1971 1973
The first complete Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer
perfected genetic engineering
synthesis of gene occurs techniques
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1975 1982
George Kohler and Cesar Milstein First FDA approved human
developed the technology to
produce monoclonal antibodies
insulin was produced
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1981 1983
First transgenic Polymerase Chain Reaction
(PCR) technique by Kary Mullis
animals are produced
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1986 1986
First recombinant First anti cancer drug :
vaccine : Hepatitis B Interferon
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1987 1994
GMO : Virus-resistant First GMO product
tomatoes was sold in the U.S.
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1997 1998
The first cloned animal Human Embryonic Stem
from an adult cell : Dolly Cell Lines are established
 Timeline of Biotechnology

1999 2002
The Human Genome Draft version of THGP
Project is launched is published
Timeline of Biotechnology

2003 2004
Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) virus is First cloned pet
sequenced
 Timeline of Biotechnology

2006 2010
Recombinant vaccine against Malaria-resistant
Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
mosquitoes
Recent Breakthroughs

Improved Targeted
Nutritional Cancer
Quality of Food Therapies

Gene Therapy CRISPR

Types of Biotechnology
Microbial Biotechnology
Bioremediation

Agricultural Biotechnology
Aquatic Biotechnology

Animal Biotechnology
Medical Biotechnology

Forensic 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
 Agricultural Biotechnology
• Plants more environmentally friendly that yield
more per acre (genetically engineered)
• Resistance to diseases and insects
• Foods with higher protein or vitamin content
• Drugs developed and grown as plant products
• These better plants ultimately reduce
production costs to help feed the growing
world population
 Animal Biotechnology
• Animals as a source of medically valuable proteins
• Antibodies
• Transgenic animals
• Animals as important models in basic research
• Gene "knockout" experiments
• Design and testing of drugs and genetic therapies
• Animal cloning
 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
 Bioremediation
• The use of biotechnology to process and degrade
a variety of natural and manmade substances
• Particularly those that contribute to
environmental pollution
• Example – stimulated growth of bacteria that
degrade components in crude oil
• 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska
• 2010 Deep Water Horizon spill
 Bioremediation
• Bioremediation – adding nutrients to
stimulate growth of bacteria to clean up oil spill
• Alcanivorax borkumensis
 Aquatic Biotechnology
• Aquaculture
• Raising finfish or shellfish in controlled conditions
for use as food sources
• 50% of all fish consumed by humans
worldwide
• Genetic engineering
• Disease-resistant strains of oysters
• Vaccines against viruses that infect salmon and
other finfish
• Transgenic salmon that overproduce growth
hormone
• Bioprospecting
• 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
 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
Pros and Cons
 Pros

It can improve health and It creates flexibility within

reduce hunger simultaneously the food chain
 Pros

It offers medical It allows us to preserve

advancement opportunities resources
 Pros

It helps us minimise waste It can reduce infectious

products disease rates
Cons

It creates an all-or- It is a field of research

nothing approach with many unknowns
Cons

It can be used for It could ruin croplands

destruction