Milestones of Biotechnology

8000 BCE

Development of agriculture: Early plant growing and selective breeding

7000 BCE

Fermentation: Used microbes for food and drinks

6000 BCE

Yogurt and cheese production: Bacteria fermented milk into food

4500 BCE

Leavened bread using yeast: Yeast made bread rise

3000 BCE

Selective breeding: Farmers improved crops and animals

500 BCE

Soy sauce & moldy curds as antibiotics: Fermented foods used as medicine

1500s

Fermented shrimp paste: Southeast Asian fermented condiment

1590s

Invention of the microscope: First tool to see microorganisms

1663

Discovery of living cells: Hooke saw cork cells using a microscope

1796

First vaccine (smallpox): Jenner used cowpox to prevent smallpox

1862

Pasteurization: Heating food kills harmful microbes

1865

Mendelian genetics: Mendel found basic laws of heredity

1928

Discovery of Penicillin: Fleming found mold killed bacteria

1928

Discovery of Insulin: Used to treat diabetes

1949

Erythromycin discovered by Dr. Abelardo Aguilar (Filipino): Antibiotic from soil bacteria in PH

1953

Discovery of DNA Structure: Watson and Crick described the double helix

1979

National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology: Established in the Philippines

1982

Humulin (GMO product

1983

Polymerase Chain Reaction developed: Copies DNA quickly and efficiently

1996

Cloning of Dolly the Sheep: First cloned mammal from an adult cell

2002

BI Corn introduced in the Philippines: GMO corn with pest resistance

2003

Human Genome Project: Entire human DNA mapped

2010

Scorpion venom in cabbage: GMO cabbage makes venom protein

2012

CRISPR gene editing developed: Precise DNA-editing tool

2020

COVID-19 vaccine: mRNA vaccines developed fast

2021

Golden Rice in PH: GMO rice with Vitamin A