Sunday, December 5, 2010
Genetic Engineering
Genetic engineering, recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation (GM) and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct manipulation of an organism's genes.Genetic engineering is different from traditional breeding, where the organism's genes are manipulated indirectly. Genetic engineering uses the techniques of molecular cloning and transformation to alter the structure and characteristics of genes directly. Genetic engineering techniques have found success in numerous applications. Some examples are in improving crop technology (not a medical application per se; see BioSystems Engineering), the manufacture of synthetic human insulin through the use of modified bacteria, the manufacture of erythropoietin in hamster ovary cells, and the production of new types of experimental mice such as the oncomouse (cancer mouse) for research.
Tissue engineering
Tissue engineering is a major segment of Biotechnology.
One of the goals of tissue engineering is to create artificial organs (via biological material) for patients that need organ transplants. Biomedical engineers are currently researching methods of creating such organs. Researchers have grown solid jawbones and tracheas from human stem cells towards this end. Several artificial urinary bladders actually have been grown in laboratories and transplanted successfully into human patients. Bioartificial organs, which use both synthetic and biological components, are also a focus area in research, such as with hepatic assist devices that use liver cells within an artificial bioreactor construct.Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals
Biotechnology (see also relatedly bioengineering) can be a somewhat ambiguous term, sometimes loosely used interchangeably with BME in general; however, it more typically denotes specific products which use "biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof Even some complex "medical devices" (see below) can reasonably be deemed "biotechnology" depending on the degree to which such elements are central to their principle of operation. Biologics/Biopharmaceuticals (e.g., vaccines, stored blood product), genetic engineering, and various agricultural applications are some major classes of biotechnology.
Pharmaceuticals are related to biotechnology in two indirect ways: 1) certain major types (e.g. biologics) fall under both categories, and 2) together they essentially comprise the "non-medical-device" set of BME applications. (The "Device - Bio/Chemical" spectrum is an imperfect dichotomy, but one regulators often use, at least as a starting point.)
Monday, May 5, 2008
Genetics
Genetics, a discipline of biology, is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. Knowledge of the inheritance of characteristics has been implicitly used since prehis
toric times for improving crop plants and animals through selective breeding. However, the modern science of genetics, which seeks to understand the mechanisms of inheritance, only began with the work of Gregor Mendel in the mid-nineteenth century.Although he did not know the physical basis for heredity, Mendel observed that inheritance is fundamentally a discrete process where specific traits are inherited in an independent manner—these basic units of inheritance are now called genes.
DNA, the molecular basis for inheritance. Each strand of DNA is a chain of nucleotides, matching each other in the center to form what look like rungs on a twisted ladder.
Genes correspond to regions within DNA, a molecule composed of a chain of four different types of nucleotides—the sequence of these nucleotides is the genetic information organisms inherit. DNA naturally occurs in a double stranded form, with nucleotides on each strand complementary to each other. Each strand can act as a template for synthesis of a new partner strand—this is the physical mechanism for the copying and inheritance of genetic information.
The sequence of nucleotides in DNA is used by cells to produce specific sequences of amino acids, creating proteins—a correspondence known as the genetic code. This sequence of amino acids in a protein determines how it folds into a three-dimensional structure; this structure is, in turn, responsible for the protein's function. Proteins carry out almost all the functions needed for cells to live and reproduce. A change to DNA sequence can change a protein's structure and behavior, and this can have dramatic consequences in the cell and on the organism as a whole.
toric times for improving crop plants and animals through selective breeding. However, the modern science of genetics, which seeks to understand the mechanisms of inheritance, only began with the work of Gregor Mendel in the mid-nineteenth century.Although he did not know the physical basis for heredity, Mendel observed that inheritance is fundamentally a discrete process where specific traits are inherited in an independent manner—these basic units of inheritance are now called genes.DNA, the molecular basis for inheritance. Each strand of DNA is a chain of nucleotides, matching each other in the center to form what look like rungs on a twisted ladder.
Genes correspond to regions within DNA, a molecule composed of a chain of four different types of nucleotides—the sequence of these nucleotides is the genetic information organisms inherit. DNA naturally occurs in a double stranded form, with nucleotides on each strand complementary to each other. Each strand can act as a template for synthesis of a new partner strand—this is the physical mechanism for the copying and inheritance of genetic information.
The sequence of nucleotides in DNA is used by cells to produce specific sequences of amino acids, creating proteins—a correspondence known as the genetic code. This sequence of amino acids in a protein determines how it folds into a three-dimensional structure; this structure is, in turn, responsible for the protein's function. Proteins carry out almost all the functions needed for cells to live and reproduce. A change to DNA sequence can change a protein's structure and behavior, and this can have dramatic consequences in the cell and on the organism as a whole.
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