Exploring Technology

Solving Real-World Problems Many issues in our world are related to biology Biologists are working to try to solve these problems We will explore some of these issues specifically and discuss what biologist are doing to combat these issues

Solving Real-World Problems Preserving our environment More than 6 billion people live on Earth Our increasing population impacts other organisms on the planet Example: Depletion of rain forests Problem: Lost species through extinction Conservation Biologists have been studying ways to preserve the environment Example: French Fries Problem: Half of the potato is discarded as waste Solution: Mix with grain to feed cattle. Also, leftover water from processing is now used in power plants

Solving Real-World Problems Improving the food supply Genetic engineering of crops Created crops resistant to herbicides Created crops with built in pesticides Created crops with increased nutritional value Example: Rice with vitamin A and iron Problem: Many people throughout the world do not have access to a balanced diet Solution: Adding genes from other plants, rice can be grown with vitamin A and iron to increase the nutritional value of this crop Concern: The long term safety of genetically engineered crops is still being studied

Solving Real-World Problems Understanding the human genome Genome: The complete genetic material contained in an individual The human genome contains 3 billion units In April 2003, the human genome map was completed It will take years to analyze the results Already being used in medical research

Fighting Disease Scientific advances in medicine cure disease and improve healing every day AIDS: A fatal immune disease caused by the HIV virus that attacks the human immune system HIV is transmitted by contact with bodily fluids from an infected person Biologists have developed a combination of drugs to slow the progression of AIDS Biologists are working to stop the spread of the virus A vaccine to stop the spread of AIDS is currently being tested

Fighting Disease Cancer: A growth defect in cells that causes a breakdown of the mechanism that controls cell growth Biologists have been doing research on cancer for over 30 years We now know how to prevent some cancers, like lung cancer Other cancers can be treated if detected in the early stages Some anti-cancer drugs have been created that stick to the proteins in cells that are responsible for excess cell division

Fighting Disease Emerging Diseases The past few years we have seen the emergence of new diseases from the other part of the world Examples: West Nile Virus- first found in US in 1999 Mad cow disease- prevalent in Europe H1N1- “Swine Flu” emerged in Mexico last spring

Fighting Disease Gene Therapy The idea of introducing “healthy” genes into people suffering from hereditary disorders Example: Cystic Fibrosis- fatal disorder of the mucus membranes Use of a virus to introduce a normal copy of the defective gene into cells of the CF patients Early attempts failed- studies are ongoing Gene therapy, or replacement of a defective gene with a normal gene are also being researched for muscular dystrophy or hemophilia patients