Find an article about biotechnology and post the URL here with a short summary in your own words and why you found it interesting.
Some places to look are sciencedaily.com or
(General onefile or omnifile are good places to start)
Note: this is a public site which means that it can be read outside of LCC. Please keep this in mind and use appropriate language.
Enter your submission as a reply to this post.
I have to approve all new users to this site, so the first time you use this, you will not see your article appear until after it is approved.
You can get up to 10 points extra credit for doing this. This can be valuable, especially if you did poorly on the last exam.
Note: The total number of extra credit points possible in this class is 25. Some people are close to 20 extra credit points. You can find the total in D2l.
https://jasbsci.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40104-018-0296-3
THIS WAS AN INTERESTING WEBSITE BECAUSE NOT ONLY DID IT TALK ABOUT BIOTECHNOLOGY, BUT IT TALKED ABOUT COWS! WHO DOESN’T LIKE COWS?!?! AND HOW COWS CAN BE USED WITH BIOTECHNOLOGY. THIS ARTICLE WAS QUITE INTERESTING BECAUSE IT GAVE THE WHOLE RUN DOWN OF THE EXPERIMENT AND I ENJOYED READING THAT. IT INCLUDED THE METHOD, DATA, A BACKGROUND, AND IT WAS VERY IN DEPTH. AND IT WAS ALSO EASY TO FOLLOW
A summary for this website…
Cows were given IU vitamin A, which resulted in the cows having an increased growth rate. Vitamin A plays a huge, critical role in an animals growth and development. This growth study done on cows a the Washington State University Beef Center and Cattle Feeding Laboratory. Random cows were selected during spring calving, separated into 3 groups and each group was given a different amount of IU vitamin A at birth and at the age of 1 month. This test also included PCR!
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181119160236.htm
I found this article on freeze-frame microscopy and how it discovered how the molecule transcription factor IID’s structure changes as it binds to DNA and brings in other proteins.
I found this article to be interesting since we just covered this type of information. I think it is really neat that this huge macromolecule has officially been captured in freeze-frame images, after the long endeavor of being caught in it’s tracks. It is a super bulky molecule with “floppy” appendages which causes it to be difficult to catch on camera lacking much detail… until now!
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180410084233.htm
This article is about the implantation of electrodes into the brain of a man that was paralyzed from the shoulders down. After the surgery he was able to have sensation in his limbs. I think this is interesting because it is just the beginning for this technology. They are hoping to learn about how the location of the implant can affect the transmitters result in stimulation of stimulate somatosensory brain areas which could be better for specific sensations. They would also like to use the technology with prosthetics.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181009102511.htm
The article posted discusses the possibility of genetically modified viruses being used as a form of biological warfare. Genetically modified viruses are normally used for agricultural purpose. The way it works is a genetically modifying virus is put into one of the plants and in turn, bugs that normally fly around on the plants will absorb the virus and transfer it to other plants causing it to affect them as well. as changing the chromosomes of plants so that they can grow in drought like conditions.
The article mentions that organizations like DARPA are testing plants to use them in warfare type settings. With these viruses the military could have them placed in plants or soil causing them to have abnormal growth or to even contain harmful strains that could be harmful to consumers. This has scientists very concerned as there are laws made by the Biological Warfare convention, a convention made up of over 180 countries that ban this type of testing. They worry other countries will notice DARPA’s testing in the US and may start tests of their own.
I find this all interesting as I become amazed at the different forms of warfare that exist. This one is especially unique too as it could have an effect on an entire country’s food supply, causing awful results. Other than the warfare aspect though, I find this interesting as there are many beneficial ways that these genetically modified viruses can be used. By putting one in a plant and allowing insects to transfer it to other plants this could help aid the growth of crops in areas where it is hard for them to grow. It could also help adapt crops that meet unexpected changes in conditions so that they do not die out.
Anyone who has done any amount of research into feral cats in America knows that they have become a huge problem for existing ecosystems- overhunting of songbirds probably being the most predominant concern. Not to mention that thousands of these unvaccinated animals roam heavily populated cities, possibly carrying disease such as rabies.
This article outlines Meister-Weisbarth’s and Boyle’s research into developing an oral contraceptive for feral cats, which could be implemented into the bait. This is possible through a genetically modified gene for salmonella, that instead of getting the cat sick, works to block sperm cells from entering eggs in feral feline populations. This means lower rates of reproduction which will eventually lead to smaller overall populations of feral cats. This innovation would greatly decrease the issues that feral cats can cause to the ecosystems in which they choose to make their home.
Article: https://www.scitechnol.com/peer-review/an-alternative-approach-to-solving-the-opioid-epidemic-expanding-the-use-of-nonpharmacologic-techniques-for-acute-and-chronic-pain-iDqb.php?article_id=7118
Further information attained from: https://celasers.com/medical/mls-laser-therapy/
This article describes the serious epidemic present in our society of prescription opioid dependence. In the recent months regulation of prescription opioids have increased dramatically. I work at a family medicine practice, so I see first hand the changes being made from a primary care stance. Specific schedule drugs are being completely eliminated from the artillery of a family doctor. The authors of this article discuss a study using High Intensity Laser Treatment (HILT) in place of opioids post-surgery. HILT expedites the healing process in cells. The study results showed that HILT is a successful alternative treatment to opioids for acute and chronic pain. Using Biotechnology is crucial for innovative medicine. By altering cells at injured sites of the body to repair themselves more efficiently will greatly improve treatment plans for patients dealing with a variety of disease, including chronic pain.
The article posted is one of my favorite topics, “global warming.” I was interested in this article, because it talks about future solutions to slow the process, and cool the earth. Some environmental professors from the university of Rutgers decided to come up with a method for cooling the earth. Professors Alan Robock, Lili Xia, & post Doc Brian Zambri, were all involved in this study.
The method that these professors came up with, was to cool the earth by spraying a “Sulfuric Acid” cloud in the upper atmosphere. They had an idea of using airplanes to produce this cloud, but by doing so, they would have to continuously fly to maintain the cloud, because it would only last about a year if stopped. The idea is said to develop in a decade or two.
The scientist used a global scenario to study this theory, by using moderate cooling through geoengineering, and studied all of the impacts it would have on land and ocean, from suddenly stopping, which was their biggest concern. Planes would have to spray 5 million tons of (So2 ) into the upper atmosphere, from 2020 to 2070. Studies have shown it will lower global temps by 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degree F), close to the same level of global warming since the industrial revolution.
The function of Cas genes has been referred to as “cut and paste” DNA editing. Cas proteins seek out the targets that corresponds with the Cas DNA sequence and remove them. The desired sequence is placed near the “cut” and the repair enzymes insert and complete the sequence. In single gene disorders, the Cas protein could be applied to remove and correct the mutation that afflicts the organism. Huntington disease, Cystic Fibrosis, and Sickle cell anemia, inherited disorders, would no longer be a threat to humans with CRISPR sequenced proteins. The application of this biotechnology could potentially change treatment of cancer. The article points out that scientists are understanding its workings better and predict the effects of each CRISPR-Cas9 edit in a cell. These are important discoveries as the applications go far beyond conventional therapies and genetic editing.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140304102436.htm
I found this article interesting because it discusses a new, faster, smaller, and cheaper form of using gel electrophoresis. This is done by using a conducting polymer instead of platinum electrodes. Thus ending cross contamination between gels being run in the same sequence.
https://www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/Tissue-Nanotransfection-Methodology.aspx
This article discusses Tissue Nanotransfection Therapy (TNT) and was incredibly interesting because it has potential to be a major medical advancement for all of the developing nations.
TNT allows researchers to combine nanotechnology and genetics offering a pathway by which the human race can regrow and possibly repair/replace tissue damage within the human body. TNT is carried out by a small nano-tech chip with synthetic DNA/RNA contained within it’s multiple needle like projections that are meant to be placed in contact with the skin. A small electric shock lasting less than a second delivers the synthetically created DNA/RNA via an electrophorectic mechanism through the tiny needles into targeted skin cells.
The DNA/RNA injected into the skin cells consist of a combination of reprogramming factors that assist the differentiated cell in changing it’s genomic expression to that which was selected for by the researcher. As a consequence, skin cells begin to morph and change in their expression to be endothelial or even neuronal tissue. Physiological expression of these cells actually adapt and change from that of an epithelial cell to that of a neuron, lung cell, or whatever tissue the reprogramming factors were chosen for.
This method of reprogramming is somewhat similar to the gene delivery systems utilizing virus’ we discussed in class except that it requires far less technology, is easier to implement, doesn’t carry the risk of viral side effects, and is much more direct in terms of delivery; while virus’ will travel and infect different tissue at will, TNT will only reprogram targeted cells.
TNT has been utilized to speed the healing of an injured mouse leg by reprogramming epithelial cells into endothelial cells that ultimately underwent anastomosis with the already existing endothelial cells of the mouse’s circulatory system to encourage the delivery of healing factors/immune factors to prevent infection and encourage healing.
If TNT can pass human clinical trials it very well may prove as a means for halting degenerative disorders and/or even the degenerative process of aging itself!
This article is about DNA Barcoding of shark products and the effectiveness of using 3 different barcoding primer sets and also showing how many of these products contain actual shark DNA or not.
They used various techniques to isolate the DNA and they found out
” Near-threatened, vulnerable and/or endangered species were detected in 23 products.
Mislabeling or potential mislabeling was detected in six of the products.”
This is very interesting due to the fact that so many species of shark endangered and the over fishing.