Biotechnology Kline FHS

What can biotechnology do? Reunite families? Identify a criminal? Find your baby daddy? Clone your pet that died? Make new vaccines? Make a monkey that glows? Make corn resistant to drought and pests? Cure cancer? Map the human genome?

In the news - Genetically Modified Organisms (Food) – Should your foods be labeled???????? Advantages Pest resistant Herbicide tolerant Disease resistant Cold tolerant Drought tolerant Nutrition Pharmaceuticals Disadvantages Unintended harm to other organisms Reduced effectiveness of pesticides Gene transfer to non target species (“superweeds”) Increased allergies Unknown affects on human health Economic concerns

In the news - Stem Cell Research What are they? Blank copies of cells that are not specialized What can we use them for? To grow new organs/tissues, Replace dead/damaged cells Where do we get stem cells? Most stem cells come from leftover embryos at infertility clinics Why aren’t we using them in the US? There are still moral debates on whether or not stem cells can be harvested ethically

Gel electrophoresis Gel electrophoresis is used to separate DNA fragments based on size Forensic scientists can use this to identify a victim or suspect Can be used to identify paternity Can be used to reunite families atch?v=AkBUriMK9u8 atch?v=AkBUriMK9u8

Can you predict the father’s DNA markers? This is called DNA fingerprinting.

PCR – Polymerase chain reaction Scientists use PCR to make billions of copies of DNA. So what happens when you’ve got a sample of DNA from a crime scene that is so small that its not enough to test? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a DNA copy machine????? Well, there kind of is! A4C2OPwg A4C2OPwg

Genetic engineering Genetic engineering is the changing of an organism’s DNA to give the organism new traits. This is possible because all living organisms share the same genetic code (A,T,G,C) h?v=k7-ofCWJiUg h?v=k7-ofCWJiUg

Cloning A clone is a genetically identical copy of a gene or of an organism.

Cloning If your beloved dog died, would you clone him if you could? This couple did. They spent $155,000 to have their dog Lancelot cloned. Say hello to Lancelot Encore! show/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/t/couple- spend-clone-dead-dog/ show/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/t/couple- spend-clone-dead-dog/ How does cloning work? g/whatiscloning/ g/whatiscloning/

Using Plasmid Vectors for Cloning

Recombinant DNA Recombinant DNA is DNA that contains genes from more than one organism. Recombinant DNA being used to treat diseases Scientists can produce hormones by plugging human DNA into bacterial DNA Can scientists use the HIV virus to cure cancer????? a-breakthrough-against-leukemia-using-altered- t-cells.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 a-breakthrough-against-leukemia-using-altered- t-cells.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Transgenic Organism Transgenic organism – scientists splice one or more genes from one organism and insert into another’s genome. Can a glowing monkey help us cure Huntington’s disease? / htm / htm

Gene knockout Gene knockout mice have had a gene purposely “turned off.” Useful for studying gene function and genetic diseases because a research can observe specific changes in gene expression and traits.

Gene sequencing Gene sequencing determines the order of DNA nucleotides in genes or in genomes. Genomes of plants can be studies to find ways to improve crop yield. Genomes of rats and mice are very similar to humans. As a result they can be used to study human diseases and gene function.

Human genome project The two main goals of the genome project: To map and sequence all of the DNA base pairs of a human chromosomes To identify all of the genes within the sequence Project was finished in 2003

Bioinformatics Uses computer databases to organize and analyze biological data, such as genes and proteins.

DNA Microarrays DNA microarrays are tool that allow scientist to study many genes, and their expression, at once.

Proteomics The study and comparison of all the proteins that result from an organism’s genome. Could be used to study shared evolutionary history among organisms or a protein involved in a human disease like cancer or heart disease.

Genetic Screening Genetic screening is the process of testing DNA to determine a person’s risk of having or passing on a genetic disorder. There are tests for about 900 genetic disorders.

Gene therapy Gene therapy is the replacement of a defective or missing gene, or the addition of a new gene, into a person’s genome to treat a disease. Scientists can take bone marrow stem cells and “infect” them with a virus that has been genetically engineered with the new gene. The stem cells can be put back in the bone marrow to make health blood cells.