Introduction to Biotechnology Overview

Introduction to Biotechnology

• Biotechnology is the application of living organisms or their products to make a product or solve a problem. It uses living organisms or their products for human benefit.

• It's a combination of "bios" (life) and "technology". It's essentially the study of tools from living things.

Course Outline

• Introduction: What is biotechnology, its origins, and evolution through time.

• Major Current Challenges: The current and developing problems within biotechnology and bionanotechnology.

• Types of Biotechnologies: Definitions for green, white, and red biotechnology.

• Products: Standard products and industrial fields associated with biotechnology.

• Innovations: Challenges encountered when developing biotechnological innovations.

Origins of Biotechnology (History)

• The use of microorganisms for food preservation (e.g., fermented foods) started biotechnology in the Neolithic period.

• Other examples of early biotechnology include dried fish and leather tanning.

Evolution of Biotechnologies over Time

• Traditional/Ancient (First Generation): Before 1800. Includes plant culture, animal breeding, and fermented foods/drinks.

• Conventional (Second Generation): From 1920, uses living organisms and enzymes to create products. This generation relies on theoretical knowledge to improve applications. Animal, microbial, plant, and viral origins are used.

• Modern (Third Generation): Emerged from 1970 onward, including use of genetically engineered cells to make proteins. Using molecular biology and genetics advances, techniques like cloning and recombinant DNA emerged.

• Historical Milestones: Specific dates include 6000 years ago for fermentation, 1322 for artificial insemination, 1928 for penicillin discovery, 1953 for DNA double helix description, 1973 for DNA fragment joining, 1997 for Dolly the sheep's cloning, 1998 for human genome map draft, 1983 for first transgenic plant, 1919 for the term, "biotechnology" use and numerous other dates for specific advancements.

Major Current Challenges

• Human Genome Project: Research into human genes and factors regulating them.

• Pharmacogenomics: Personalized medicine, with optimization of drugs based on patient genomic profiles.

• Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs): Variations in DNA causing genetic diseases and the need for scientific research for diagnosis.

Gene Therapy

• Gene therapy corrects or prevents disease by modifying and replacing genes.

• It can treat inherited diseases like hemophilia and sickle cell disease and acquired ones like leukemia.

Regenerative Medicine

• Aims to restore tissue function and replace cells or rebuild organs.

• Cell therapy involves using cells from a patient or another source.

• Tissue engineering utilizes scaffolds, cells, and growth factors to cultivate and regenerate tissues.

• Organ transplantation is part of the area and non-living tissues (like heart valves) are also utilized for regenerative medicine.

The Proteome

• The proteome is all expressed proteins in a cell, tissue, or organism.

Metabolome

• Comprehensive collection of all low-molecular-weight molecules in a cell that are involved in metabolic reactions, including glucose, cholesterol, and ATP.

• Useful for understanding diseases and drug effectiveness. Metabolomics has applications in cancer treatment.