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Introduction to Biotechnology:Do you ever wonder where does the development of commercial products come
from? Commercial products such as your milk and cheese for your breakfast or your
prescribe medicines that you take every hour. Do you ever wonder why the foods we
eat are safer in the risk of allergy causing and why the crops are able to tolerate the
different factors that are harmful for them like changes in temperature and dangerous
substances of the soil. All the answers come from a branch of science called
Biotechnology. What is biotechnology?
Biotechnology can be derived from ancient Greek words it would be bio means
life and technemeans workmanship. So it means that biotechnology is the study and
application of technology in life sciences. There are many definitions for biotechnology.
According to Department of Food Science in North Carolina State University, they
define biotechnology as using organisms or their products for commercial purposes.
As for PAcontrol website they define it as any technological application that uses
biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify
products or processes for specific use." Even thou there are different definitions of
biotechnology, it still reach one goal, to improve and develop organisms to use it in
practical ways for the benefit of human beings.
Biotechnology involves variety branches of science like cell and molecular
biology, microbiology, genetics, physiology and biochemistry. It also integrates in areas
of engineering and computer science. It also encompasses recombinant DNA
technology for genetically manipulating organisms ranging from bacteria and fungi and
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to plants and animals. Using this kind of technology, scientists can obtain from
impossible to possible things like modifying a specific organism.
Ancient Biotechnology:
Where biotechnology does comes from? It all started ten thousand years ago,
when the people in early agrarian societies practiced and learned how to plant crops
and breed animals. They collected seeds of wild plants to cultivate them and
domesticated the wild animals that they hunted. During their harvest time, the farmer
collected seeds with most desirable traits and set them aside to be able to plant again
the next year. They also did that to their animals, wherein they bred only the most
prized. By this kind of practice of artificial selection, farmers progressively produced new
varieties of plants and animals that had desirable traits that were found in wild species
but were modified in other ways that were beneficial to humans.
The discovery of fermentation also defined the beginning of biotechnology. The
natural process involved microorganisms for the production of food and medicine. The
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method included making cheese and yogurt from milk; converting fruit juices into wine;
leavening bread; and making beer, which the Egyptians recorded as a prescription
medicine in 1600 B.C. Archeologists reveal that these early practices has were around
between 5,000 to 10,000 B.C.
Early agriculture focused on producing food. Plants and animals were selectively
bred and microorganisms were used to make food items such as beverages, cheese
and bread.
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History of Fermentation
The discovery that fruit juices fermented into wine or that milk could be converted
into cheese or yogurt, or that beer could be made by fermenting solutions of malt and
hops began the study of biotechnology. Fermentation comes from the Latin word
fervere which means to boil. It is a microbial process in which enzymes control the
transformations of organic compounds.
Bread was one of the earliest foods. Early humans probably chewed the raw
grains and only later produce flour and dough for baking. Egyptians made their early
loaves by filtering the flour through a strainer and then milled flour with water was mixed
to form a paste and after it they added salt and molded into loaves. The earliest loaves,
being unleavened were flat and dense like a pita bread and were cooked on a flat stone
over a fire or baked in a clay oven.
Around 1800 BC, the Egyptians and Babylonians learned that old, uncooked
fermented dough could be used to ferment a new batch of dough. Bakers no longer had
to depend on chance of contamination for they would remove some flour from a batch in
the mixing vessel and add to fresh flour. The resulting paste was used in the next days
dough. The Egyptians used fermentation to make bread. Egypt and Mesopotamia
exported the breads making to Greece and Rome. The Romans improved the
technology and were able to produce lighter, leavened bread using yeast and skimmed
from grain-malt wort. Grain-malt wort is a liquid prepared with malt that when fermented
produces alcohol. The Romans considered bread making as an art.
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In 1857 to 1863, Pasteurs experiment made a connection between the role of
the yeast and fermentation. Finally, between 1915 and 1920 the modern production of
bakers yeast began.
Bread making in Ancient Egypt.
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Food Biotechnology
This is the study for the improvement of the food traits and production practices
through the modern technology which enhances the quality, precision and speed of
production of specific products. Food biotechnology played an integral part in the
industry today, through this products are modified in order to produce high-quality
products which are obtained from food production and processing of raw materials
obtained around the world. Some of this includes brewing, baking and fermenting of
foods which was practiced for several thousand of years ago.
In the past practices, food biotechnology showed promising benefits in the
industry such as increase in food and fiber production, reducing pesticide pollution,
improving food, and providing new pharmaceuticals and bio-fuels for the future. Also
through this technology, the industry is goaled towards higher nutritional value of food,
improved traditional and complex new processes, and lower energy consumption, and
better waste management, complex utilization of raw materials and improvement of
food-grade microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast and fungi.
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Genetically-modified Foods:
The truth is that we have been eating genetically modified (GM) foods for a
decade. This includes crackers, breakfast cereals, and cooking oils. Almost everything
that contains soy or cornincluding the nearly ubiquitous high fructose corn syruphas
been genetically modified.
The first Genetically-Modified food produced was the Flavr Savr tomato in 1994.
It was publicized for its flavor and long shelf life. Interestingly, the Flavr Savr tomato did
not contain an alien gene; rather, a gene normally present in the tomato was blocked so
that a normal protein involved in ripening was not produced giving the tomato a longer
shelf life and, theoretically, better flavor. The tomatoes that were produces released in
the market in 1994 without any special labeling. But even it possessed good qualities it
failed to attract consumers.
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In February 1996, J. Sainsbury and Safeway Stores in the United Kingdom
introduced Europe's first genetically-modified food product. A variant of the Flavr Savr
was used by Zeneca to produce tomato paste which was sold in Europe during the
summer of 1996. Following GM crops included insect resistant cotton and herbicide-
tolerant soybeans both of which were commercially available in 1996. Here are the top
10 common genetically modified foods:
Cotton - Resistant to certain pesticides - considered a
food because the oil can be consumed. The introduction
of genetically engineered cotton plants has had an
unexpectedly effect on Chinese agriculture. The so-called
Bt cotton plants that produce a chemical that kills the
cotton bollworm have not only reduced the incidence of
the pest in cotton fields, but also in neighboring fields of corn, soybeans, and other
crops.
Tomatoes - Made for a longer shelf life and to prevent a substance that causes
tomatoes to rot and degrade.
Papaya - The ring spot virus was a big problem for the Hawaiian papaya industry for
many years, until the 1980s, when they began to experiment with genetically modified
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versions that were resistant to the virus. It was the addition of the "viral capsid" protein
that created the effect of an immune response.
Rice - rice is being experimented on to make it more resistant to pests. And since rice is
the staple food for more than half of the world's population, it's a pretty big deal to keep
the rice crops of the world healthy as an important part of preventing starvation.
Potato - three-quarters of all the potatoes grown in Europe are used for something
other than your dinner plate. Many of the other potatoes are fed to livestock, and the
rest are for the alcohol and starch industries. That's a lot of vodka and dry cleaned
shirts.
Corn - One of the more famous types of GM corn, Bt-corn, was developed to produce a
poison that wards off the European corn borer. However, a Cornell study found that the
corn killed or damaged monarch butterfly larvae that feed on corn pollen-covered
milkweed.
Soy - In 2007, more than half of the world's soy was made up of genetically modified
strains. Soy is modified for a variety of purposes. Common modifications include
increasing its resistance to insects and fungus, as well as enriching its vitamins or fat
and protein content so it can be used for animal feed. Soy is also integral to creating
chemicals for use in pharmaceuticals.
Milk - One of the most controversial GM foods is rBGH, or recombinant bovine growth
hormone. The hormone, which is synthesized from genetically modified bacteria,
produces higher milk yields by keeping milk-producing cells alive in cows for longer than
http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/fat.htmhttp://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/cellular-microscopic/cell.htmhttp://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/cellular-microscopic/cell.htmhttp://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/fat.htm7/30/2019 Introduction to Biotechnology Final
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normal. Though there's no official difference between rBGH milk and regular milk, critics
point out that rBGH cows are more prone to disease, which means higher
concentrations of bovine antibiotics filtering down into the milk supply.
Canola Oil - also known as rapeseed oil is one of the most heavily used genetically
modified crops. In Western Canada, 80 percent of canola crops are transgenic. In this
case, rapeseed is modified to be more resistant to certain herbicides. This results in
easier weed control, lower pesticide use and larger crops. However, there are also
concerns that GM rapeseed could transfer its resistance to the pests around it, which
would result in the pesticides being useless.
Aspartame - is an artificial sweetenerthat's about 200 times as potent as sugar.
Although it's technically an artificial substance and doesn't occur in nature, aspartame is
the result of a combination of two natural amino acids. Two different species of bacteria
produce these acids, and in some cases, one of the bacteria is modified in order to
boost the yield.
Photos of Genetically-modified foods:
http://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/medication/question88.htmhttp://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/artificial-sweetener.htmhttp://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/artificial-sweetener.htmhttp://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/medication/question88.htm7/30/2019 Introduction to Biotechnology Final
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Are genetically-modified foods safe?
A lot of food that we eat today contains genetically modified ingredients and we
lack knowledge about this. Genetically modified foods could really provide alternatives
to help increase food production. However, there is a growing wave of concern from
citizens, farmers and scientists also who question, are Genetically-modified foods
safe?" This is where the problem lies.
The numbers of ethical concerns over genetically modified (GM) foods and these
have all affected public support of the products. These concerns range from the
environment to risks to our food web or issues concerning disease, allergies and
contamination.
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A key ethical concern about GM foods is a possibility to trigger allergies or
disease in humans. How? By extracting a gene from an allergenic organism and placed
into another one that could lead to an allergic reaction. Another fear in allergies is that
new allergies could occur from the mixing of genes from two organisms. This could also
be applied in diseases. New disease may occur in humans who consume the GM food.
With some GM crops having antibiotic-resistant marker genes, there is also the worry
that these genes could be passed on to microbes that cause disease and health
problems in humans. With widespread antibiotic resistance currently already occurring,
any new resistance could prove disastrous.
Another fear with regards to GM crops is about damage to the environment.
Unfortunately, the technology is still new enough that there is much we do not know
about the effect of GM crop production on the environment. Long-term studies take
decades to complete and most studies of GM crop production involve short-term effects
of the technology. Another fear is that if these crops do negative impact to the
environment that may cause spread in an out-of-control rage and we may not be able to
stop the damaging effects.
Genetically-modified foods can also affect the food web. Example if an animal
consume a GM crop that has been engineered to produce a pesticide, the animal may
become ill and worst die. In one North American study, caterpillars of the monarch
group were killed when they fed on pollen from GM corn crops.
Foods that were genetically-modified may result in a losing a valuable nutrient or
element that could prevent disease. An engineer might extract a gene that causes what
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they consider to be an undesirable trait, but this particular trait may actually prove to
have a valuable role in preventing a disease such as cancer, for example.
There are ethical concerns about GM foods but if we avoid them on moral or
ethical grounds there is much bigger moral or ethical problem: global starvation. These
factors, such as the lower number of people globally employed in agriculture, will trigger
a perfect storm which could see millions go hungry, or rather millions more go hungry.
Then what are we supposed to do if we are torn between problems? There are
still many issues, concern and questions that are needed to find out about Genetically-
modified food. But in the near future, through the perseverance of scientist to improve
daily lives, all these ethical concerns and issues will lead to an answer. Like the
scientific method, GM foods are open to question, but it is in our own interest to not
cover ourselves in our ambiguous beliefs and not to just believe anecdotes or popular
wisdom when the advice of experts is available.
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Book Sources:
Barnuan, Susan R., Introduction to Biotechnology (California: Thomson Learning
Inc., 2005)
Digumarti Bhaskara Rao, Harshita and K.R.S. Sambasina Rao, AdvancedBoitechnology (New Delhi, India: Discovery Publishing House, 1999)
Buttel, F. H., and R.M. Goodman, Eds. "Of Frankenfoods and Golden Rice: Risks,
Rewards, and Realities of Genetically Modified Foods." Madison: Wisconsin
Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. 2001.
Lawrence Busch and John R. Lloyd, What Can Nanotechnology Learn from
Biotechnology? (Burlington, USA: Elsevier Inc.,2008)
Internet Sources:
Shah, Anup. Genetically Engineered Food
(http://www.globalissues.org/issue/188/genetically-engineered-food ). September
2002.
Butcher, Mavis. Genetically Modified Food GM Foods List and Information
(http://www.disabled-world.com/fitness/gm-foods.php#ixzz1pCR0e1rm ). September
2009
Emilie Sennenbogen and Gallagher Flinn. 10 common Genetically Modified Foods(http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/5-common-genetically-modified-foods10.htm ).
2012
Hedley, Steven. GM Food and its Ethical Problems (http://philosophy-
compass.com/2011/01/26/gm-food-and-its-ethical-problems/ ). January 2011
Murnagham, Ian. Ethical Concern and GM Foods
(http://www.geneticallymodifiedfoods.co.uk/ethical-concerns-gm-foods.html ).
December 2010
Ann Murphy and Judi Perella. Overview and Brief History of Biotechnology
(http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/bi/1993/intro.html ). 1993
Emerson, Peter. History of Biotechnology (http://ezinearticles.com/?History-of-
Biotechnology&id=354562). November 2006
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