Biotechnology Archive
DNA technology has many practical uses. Because every individual has a unique DNA sequence, DNA samples can be used for identification. The legal system is now using DNA evidence to determine guilt or innocence. The application of DNA technology began …
Paramecium is a well-known ciliated protozoan. Many strains of Paramecium carry symbiotic bacteria ( Caedibacter ), known as kappa particles , that grow and divide inside the larger, eukaryotic, Paramecium cell. Those strains of Paramecium with kappa particles are known …
INTRODUCTION Biological warfare involves not only choosing a disease agent and perhaps modifying it genetically, but also manufacturing and storage, weaponization, and delivery. Accusations of using biological warfare or developing biowarfare agents are often made as propaganda ploys in the …
Several insects can now be genetically modified. The fruit fly Drosophila has been investigated at the molecular level for a long time and, not surprisingly, methods exist for introducing novel genetic material into these flies. P elements are transposons …
The three diseases that kill most people are acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), tuberculosis, and malaria. Each year, malaria infects some 300 to 500 million people and kills around 2 million, mostly African children. The Plasmodium parasite is transmitted by mosquitoes—as …
The somatotropin gene from cows has been cloned and expressed in bacteria thus allowing the production of large amounts of the hormone, which is known as rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin) . The rBST is used in the dairy industry to …
Gene libraries are used to find new genes, to sequence entire genomes, and to compare genes from different organisms. Gene libraries are made when the entire DNA from one particular organism is digested into fragments using restriction enzymes, and then …
Transgenic animals, mostly mice, are of great value in the genetic analysis of inherited diseases and cancer. Here we are interested not so much in adding a cloned transgene as in discovering the function of genes already present. The general …
NEW AND IMPROVED ANIMALS For thousands of years people have improved crop plants and domestic animals by selective breeding, mostly at a trial-and-error level. Woollier sheep and smarter sheep dogs have both been improved through many generations of selective breeding. …
Another issue with transgenic plants is the effect they may have on nontarget organisms , that is, any plants or animals inadvertently exposed to the transgenic crop or insecticide. An article in the journal Nature suggested that Monarch butterflies were …