The Future and Scope of Biotechnology - Research Paper Example

Biotechnology Biotechnology can be defined as a term that characterizes the use of living organisms in technology, industry, medicine and agriculture. Biotechnology can be used to produce foods and medicines, to remove waste materials and to develop renewable sources of energy. In general, biotechnology draws on gene technology to make more efficient resources for human day-to-day and professional living (Florida Education Initiative, 2001). All living things are comprised of cells, and there are a wide variety of cells, but what makes them similar is that they are all developed from protein building blocks called genes. Genes form clusters deep within the nucleus of the cell, thee clusters are called chromosomes. In turn, clusters of chromosomes make up strands of DNA. It is the DNA of an organism which gives the cells directions as to how they are to develop and replicate themselves. For example, in a person DNA provides instructions about height and eye color (Meyers, 1995). Interestingly, 50% of human genes are identical to that of a cabbage. Genes randomly mix during reproduction for humans, other animals and plants (Meyers, 1995). Selective breeding has been used for hundreds of years with all forms of living organisms to create particular strains of characteristics, such as features in pets, or resilience in plants. Many present day crops, such as apples and corn, are much larger than they were hundreds of years ago, due to selective breeding (Valis, 1998). However, extra genes usually accompany the selected gene due to random error. Gene technology is an attempt to provide more accurate gene selection, and so more predictable outcomes. Additionally, genes can be crossed that would not normally occur, such as a blue gene from petunias used in carnations to create a novel purple variety. Genes can also be switched ‘off’ for unwanted traits instead of moving them. Biotechnology offers many avenues for increased safety, enhanced food quantity and quality, and better health and quality of life for humans and other animals. Developments in the Field Ancient Egyptians (2500-2000 BC), used selective breeding to ferment their wine, and for raising dough during bread-making. In the upper parts of the Nile delta, Egyptians selectively bred geese and cattle to meet nutritional requirements of the time (DuPont, 2006). Columbus (1492) introduced corn and potatoes from the Americas to European farmers, who cross-bred the vegetable with their own varieties to produce types that would grow in the Continental conditions. In 1864, French chemist Louis Pasteur developed the process of pasteurization, which eliminated harmful microorganisms and allowed milk to be transported safely over long distances. And then in 1865, Gregor Mendel, a botanist and monk, investigated the principles of heredity by observing selective the cross breeding of garden peas, with regard to their color, height and pod size. He was able to show that these traits are attributed to the passing on of genes. His research went unrealized until the early 1900s. In the early part of the 20th century, an agricultural scientist, Henry Wallace (1926), applied principles of hybridization (i.e., cross breeding) to develop new and higher yielding plant varieties (DuPont, 2006). Hybridization became the precursor to what is known today as biotechnology: combining genes from two or more species to produce an “improved” or novel species or variety of life form. However, hybridization was still an imprecise process due to chance and random error, and it took years to control for desirable traits. In the 1950s British scientist Rosalind Franklins DNA research extended understanding of what DNA was, and was the basis for the realization of the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Cricks in 1953. This deeper understanding of DNA was critical to the development of biotechnology. Scientists were now better able to express desirable traits by taking DNA from one organism and placing it in another. It was apparent from these early stages of the vast potential that biotechnology could offer, in terms of medicine, agriculture and technology (DuPont, 2006). In 1973, the researchers Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer began to apply medical biotechnology with people who were insulin dependant diabetes. Pieces of human DNA were used to isolate the gene for insulin; this was combined with bacteria which reproduced larger quantities of insulin for diabetics, vastly improving the safety and availability of insulin for many people. From the 1980s to the present day biotechnology made rapid advances in the areas of food, medicine and agriculture. FDA approval was provided in 1994 for FavrSavr®, a tomato that stayed fresher for longer and was reported to be more flavorsome (DuPont, 2006). Next followed genetically modified soybean and corn crops. The Current State of Affairs In the present times, researchers are seeking to use biotechnology to develop foods that they believe will be of better nutritional value for humans and other animals, better medicines, better medical technologies, and better agricultural and pastoral faming techniques, just to name a few areas (Niemeyer, 2001). For example, it has been realized that biotechnology can contribute to enhancing the concentration levels of vitamins in foods, and to improving the ratio of fats to other substances within a food. Allergens can be removed, as well as potential toxins that naturally occur in many plants or animals. Additionally, constituents that aid in the prevention of chronic diseases such as heart disease, or particular forms of cancer, can be inserted into foods. Through empirical investigation of the genetic patterns of fungi, viruses and bacteria that can infect humans, other animals and plants, causes of diseases can be better understood, and drugs that more accurately target specific diseases (Niemeyer, 2001). Current research is advancing the treatment of HIV and AIDS, as well as other viruses that target the genes. Compared to the introduction of antibiotics, which revolutionized the treatment of infections due to bacteria, the advances of biotechnology have revolutionized the diagnoses and treatment of inherited illnesses and many diseases. At present, scientists are advancing their knowledge of reading human and other animal DNA, enabling them to compare genetic characteristics, and to perhaps map out individual “genetic profiles” so that a wider range of predispositions and genetic standards can be understood, and used to enhance human, other animal and plant physiology/biology and interaction with the environment (Niemeyer, 2001). There is the potential for such maps/profiles to be uploaded on microchip/microchips, and stored across time. This raises several ethical, philosophical issues, but also expands the abilities and environments that humans, other animals and plants to interact with, and develop within. Environmental and agricultural introductions of biotechnology have tended to focus on the ecological effects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that are released into the environment, rather than just inserted into living organisms (Vasil, 1998). Potential ecological implications (fire proof forests vs. vaccination resistant bacteria) contribute to designs of research techniques and materials/apparatus that aid in the evaluation of environmental changes. Such plans and developments feed into decision-making processes of regulators and monitors to plan guidelines. There are also scientific and technical applications of biotechnology. With rapid advances in IT and communications, as well as the social and other life sciences, greater inter-collaborations and multidiscipline approaches are becoming the norm (Roco & Bainbridge, 2001). Cutting edge research is exploring gene technology, and the use of techniques and methods used in biotechnology, like gel electrophoresis, or polymerase chain reaction. Where&What is Future The future of biotechnology appears to be orientated toward the biological systems on which much of a rapidly globalizing Earth relies upon for its economy, environment and psychosocial-cultural dimensions (DuPont, 2006). Biotechnology as an industry is blossoming into an awesome display of creativity, integration of disciplines and expressive forms, so that it could be considered a form of art. Nations that can compete at the level of gene technology will have a strategic advantage in the marketplace. Globally, in 2003, producers of GM products planted over 67 million hectares of land (DuPont, 2006). With regards to healthcare, genetic testing of wanting-to-fall-pregnant couples and other individuals wanting to better manage their health; enhances health and social care delivery in new and novel ways. In 2004 it was reported that scientists had “complete maps” of human chromosomes 9 and 10, having identified 1, 965 genes. The more of a map that is understood, the more likely, and the wider scope for, the testing of a range of genetic markers is made possible. The realization that a complete genetic profile could be stored across time, providing immortality in some form, has presented intriguingly novel moral and philosophical questions (American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Institution of Civil Society [AAASICS], 2005). Especially as many religious groups are presently unable to incorporate such potential into their belief systems. There is the sought after testing for heightened susceptibility to breast cancer, as it may be linked to a combination of genes. For women who may be carriers of the genes, education and knowledge could prepare them for better lifestyle decisions. However, there is the concern that such a breakthrough would also be a forerunner for genetic selection of entire human beings/fetuses. Female embryos identified as carrying the gene could theoretically be aborted, to “save the child/woman and family from a tragic illness”. Again, several important moral and philosophical implications exist. Forty years of life, for any person, can be full with joys, sorrows, heartache, wonder, humor and tenderness. In turn, people with a genetic susceptibility to diabetes, other cancers, Down syndrome and more (them all?) could be informed of lifestyle changes as a preventative rather than a still remaining reactive response to management of illnesses and diseases. Cloning has also been mentioned on the biotechnological horizon as an avenue of health, immortality, optimum food crops and pastures, and environment; overall quality of life (AAASICS, 2005). However, attitudes toward cloning and GM foods have presented safety, nutritional and ethical concerns. In some cases they directly challenge how humans, in a general Western perspective, conceive of themselves, the world in which they live, and the lives they live within it. References American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Institution of Civil Society [AAASICS] (2005) Stem cell and research and applications. Retrieved January 4th, 2007, from http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0742513777&id=mlVh3ysN4ZwC&pg=PA583&lpg=PA583&ots=3L4MopuT7N&dq=Biology+and+Biotechnology:+Science,+Applications+and+Issues&sig=rxjbRiHG4J16KqrGDVzvGn-JY_I#PPA583,M1 DuPont.com (2006). Biotechnology. Retrieved January 5, 2006 from http://www2.dupont.com/Biotechnology/en_US/intro/history.html Meyers, R. (1995). Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. Vancouver: Wiley and Co. Niemeyer, C. M. (2001). Nanoparticles, Proteins, and Nucleic Acids: Biotechnology Meets Materials Science. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 40(22), 4128 – 4158. Roco, C. W. & Bainbrige, T. (2001). Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance. London: Springer. The Florida Education Initiative (2001). Biotechnology in the USA. Retrieved January 4th, 2007 from http://agbiotech.ifas.ufl.edu/usa.html Vasil, I. K. (1998). Agriculture: Biotechnology and food security for the 21st century: A real- world perspective. Nature Biotechnology, 16, 399-400. Read More