Biotechnology and Society Flashcards

Flashcards about Biotechnology and Society

Biotechnology

The use of recombinant DNA and molecular biology to produce commodities or services.

Five Services of Biotechnology

1. Make pharmaceutical products in genetically altered plants and animals

2. Treat disease with stem cells

3. Produce new varieties of crop plants

4. Generate animal models of human diseases

5. Prepare DNA profiles used in forensics and other fields

Recombinant DNA technology

Used to introduce human genes into other cells (e.g., bacteria, genetically modified animals and plants) to produce human proteins safely and efficiently.

Stem cells

Unspecialized cells that renew by cell division and can differentiate into other cell types.

Embryonic stem cells

Form during the blastocyst stage and comprise the inner cell mass of an embryo; they are pluripotent and can differentiate into all cell types.

Adult stem cells

Can be recovered from certain adult tissues and from umbilical-cord blood; they divide to replace damaged or dead body cells and are multipotent, differentiating into only some cell types.

Induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) Cells

Created by transfer of certain genes into the nucleus of a somatic cell (usually skin); the somatic cell is reprogrammed to become a stem cell.

Transgenic plants (GMOs)

Genes transferred into crop plants using biotechnology to create a specific trait.

Artificial selection

Selecting plants for favorable traits

Short tandem repeats (STRs)

Short, repeated sequences, 2 to 9 bp in length, used in DNA profiling; variation lies in the number of repeats at each STR location.

DNA profiles/DNA fingerprints

Reveal variations in the DNA sequences between different individuals.

CODIS panel

Standardized set of 13 STRs used by law enforcement and government agencies in preparing DNA profiles.

Pluripotent

Can differentiate into all cell types

Multipotent

Can differentiate into only some cell types

Transgenic Crop Plants Benefits

Pest resistance (Bt crops) and Herbicide tolerance

Transgenic Animals as Models of Human Diseases

1. Display symptoms similar to those observed in humans

2. Allows study of the early stages of disease development

3. Provides an animal model for drug testing

Pharmaceutical Products from Recombinant DNA Technology

Insulin, Burn treatment, and Dozens of Human Proteins