Chapters HOSA Biotechnology

What are the oldest forms of biotechnology?

Selective breeding and fermentation

What sort of skills do researchers need to have in the biotechnology industry?

Mathematics,computer skills and laboratory techniques from biology,chemistry, and physics fields

Biotechnologies work

1)Commercial companies
2)universities and global agencies
3)private companies

What do each of these companies do?

Commercial companies: produce pharmaceuticals(relating to the drugs developed for medical use),agricultural,industrial products,medical instruments,etc.
Universities/Global Agency companies: emphasis on research
Private companies: focus on both

Goal of biotechnology companies

create and sell products that benefit society
-produce and sell commercial products
-these products MUST generate enough product for the company to function and to fund research on new ideas/innovations(R&D) and gain valuable employees

What are the two types of jobs at a biotechnology company?

1)Scientific: can conduct basic research and apply science to product development/maufacturing
2)Nonscientific:support research to ensure success of product in the market

Name main four categories of biotechnology

1) industrial/enviornmental
2) medical/pharmecutical
3)agricultural
4) diagnostic research

What must “for profit” biotech companies do?

must provide a product/service that results in profit

Another mane for nonprofit biotech companies

“Pure science” research

What do university and government researchers do to affor research?

Apply for grants

What is the product of research?

Data

Where will this data be shared?

Shared with others through scientific journal articles or at scientific meetings

Why is this data important?

- Data this way is important as it adds to the scientific communities’ foundation of information and are available to the public good.
- Results can be used to further research and provide information for the development of new products

Definition of scientific method

Collective term for the techniques that scientific researchers use to provide data and gather evidence to answer specific scientific questions

Name the steps of the Scientific Method and what each on includes.

Who uses biotechnology?

-Researchers at US government laboratories(NIH and CDC)
-University researchers
-Scientists that work in small departments of large organizations where biotech is not the main focus

Example of third type of person interested in biotech(Scientists)

Example: many forensic scientists work in police departments. Here they use biotech lab procedures such as DNA fingerprinting to analyze evidence from a crime scene.
Example 2:Ecologists may use similar techniques to identify plant/animal breeding partners to control the parentage for protected/endangered species.
Example 3:Wildlife biologists and customs agents identify illegally transported/poached animals through biotech techniques( DNA fingerprinting)

Trend with biotechnology companies

Growing dramatically along with the industry

What kinds of jobs do these companies require?

Scientific and nonscientific support staff

In what ways have scientists increased the quality of life through biotech?

-The creation of antibiotics such as penicillin and its many variants
-identification and use of plant extracts has resulted in many medical/ndustrial products

What is the “snowball” effect?

As the methods of manipulating living things have become more complicated the number and variety of biological products have dramatically increased

What do GMOs contain and do?

These GMOs contain DNA from another organism and produce new proteins required by the “new” DNA.

What do recombinant plasmids do?

contain both bacterial and human DNA

What is the first GMO to produce a human protein?

E.coli which produced a human growth hormone called somatostatin

What is the first genetically engineered products to be sold?

Human tissue plasminogen activator( blood-clot-dissolving enzyme used directly after heart attack to clear blocked blood vessels) also known as t-PA

How is human t-PA produced on a massive scale? Pt.2(more descriptive_

How is human t-PA produced on a massive scale? (Overview)

Human body produces small amounts of t-PA enzyme so scientists genetically engineered mammalian cells using a CHO(Chinese hamster ovary) to produce more t-PA for therapeutic purposes

What is the impact of genetic engineering?

Has resulted in the creation and prominence of the new biotechnology industry, as several companies have been launched which specialize in several types of biotech products
Examples:molecules in vaccines,proteins in pregnancy tests,etc

What has the Human Genome Project done?

opened doors to further understanding the function of the human genetic code

Examples of further work in Human Genome Project

identifying all the genes, determining these gene’s functions,etc

Importance of this further work

-Assigning functions and understanding how/when genes are translated into specific traits allows for research work for many future generations of research/manufacturing scientists
-Applying this new knowledge will lead to development of products for the improvement of human health

Why do companies tend to specialize in a group of similar products?

-Companies tend to do this because the manufacturing processes are the same among these similar products and majority of reagents(chemicals),cells, and equipment are the same
-Furthermore focusing on one product area is economical and saves several steps in research and development and manufacturing

Where do new ideas for biotech products come from?

-Research teams regularly discuss their work which leads to discussions and new product ideas
-Scientists may envision new products as they conduct their regular literature reviews when they attend professional meetings
-Sometimes these ideas can come in the most random places and times

What is the product pipeline?

The average(10-15 years) for a company to move a pharmecutical product though all these steps

What does the size of a company determine?

Amount of products in a biotech comapnie’s pipeline

Diagram below of the pipeline procedure

*Several companies consider it a success to even have a single product in the market a year

What happens in the product development plan?

Company management reviews whether it is worth the investment of the company’s resources such as money,time,etc

Criteria used to develop a plant for potential product

-Each product is regularly reviewed with this plan and during this review if each answer is satisfactory the company will began to produce the product

-It a product DOES NOT mean the criteria it may be pulled from the pipeline and it can also be found out early during the R&D stage

Why are products specifically pulled from a pipeline?

Testing shows they are not effective

Example of product that ended

- Example: Auriculin(therapeutic drug developed for acute kidney failure)
- hopes for it to lead to a dialysis-free life for patients with diseased kidneys
- Development for this drug was stopped five years into the pipeline which caused Scios Inc. to lose the investment into that product because the drug did not make it all the way from the pipeline to the market
- However, despite these setbacks many pharmaceuticals are approved each year

What thing do all biotech products have?

Regulations used during their production

Who writes and oversees guidelines during the production of drugs,chemicals,etc?

Certain agencies(FDA,EPA,USDA)

What guidelines do these government agencies use when approving pharmaceuticals?

-Safety and effectiveness must be demonstrated; extensive testing occurs to make sure of this
-Documentation and other types of testing may increase the time it takes for a product to go through the pipeline

What problems do customers have with government testing?

The government testing takes too long to test these pharmaceuticals and that the risks to speeding testing procedures are outweighed by the chance of helping very sick patients.

Describe The reality of scientific methodology used in a research facility

In reality there is no scientific method that ever researcher follows and there is instead several practices that most scientists use when conducting experimental research

What is the importance of these several practices scientists use when conducting research?

They allow scientists to produce unbiased reproducible data(scientific information)
Understanding these concepts is important for anyone to who wants to work as a scientist on a team in research or in a development lab

Scientific Methodology process review

Example of Scientific Methodology Process(Hypothesis)

Example of Scientific Methodology Process(Experiment
Plan)

Examples of Scientific Methodology Process(Experiment Conduction)

-Make sure to collect and organize data into charts,graphs,tables,etc
-Final copies are produced using a spreadsheet program
-If practical original samples are kept as evidence of the experiment and results

Examples of Scientific Methodology(Conclusion)
-not clearly stated

*It is not uncommon for data to not support a hypothesis or expectation.
This can be due to experimental errors or simply saying the wrong answer(If all the procedures are done correctly the hypothesis is rejected and a new one may be formed)

Best formatting way to write a conclusion for an experiment

Using…
1) REE( Results with Evidence and Explanation)
2) PE(Possible Errors)
3) PA(PRactical Application)

Explain 1st part of an experimental conclusion in more depth

REE(Results with Evidence and Explanation)
- give answer to the purpose question(results) with numerical data as evidence
- For most experiments average data are the best results
- Give specific examples

Explain 2nd part of an experimental conclusion in more

PE(Possible Errors)
- identify the source of design errors that would lead to false/misleading data and explain the possible consequences from such errors
- At least two possible experimental errors
- Once errors are identified; recommendation to improve the experiment to minimize these sources of errors are given
- GOAL: design experiments that have the most reproducible and reliable data

Explain third part of an experiment conclusion in more depth

PA(Practical Applications)
-value of the experiment’s results in short/long term
-The next experiments are often slight modifications of the previous one

What should the final version of a experiment conclusion include?

-Analysis of the experiment
-Results should reflect uses of the new information
-Should be proofread and witnessed by another peer

What should scientists do when they complete their experiment?

It should be shared with other scientists through publications or presentations at different evensuch such as at an annual conference

Scientist publish their work….

through journals( online and printed)
*Formal conclusions for the notebook/reports are published in scientific journals are written on a computer

What have many biotech companies focused their efforts on?

production protein products

What are many young companies beginning to see?

profit as their products enter the market place

What happens to the initial investment money(venture capital) that goes into a biotech company?

-As the initial investment money(venture capital) is recouped and profits are made the companies can hire more staff for even more research and development

What do most laboratory positions require education wise?

They require a 4-year college degree. Example includes a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in biochemistry, molecular biology,genetics, or biology.

How do colleges help these students?

They give out 2 year training programs and internships along with giving students hands one experiences with lab materials.

What are the education requriements for nonscientific positions at biotech companies?

- must have interest and knowledge about biotechnology
- Experiments in labs can be beneficial and can increase employment opportunities

Categories of biotechnology jobs in scientific positions

Scientific Positions:
• research and development
• manufacturing and production
• clinical research
• quality control

Categories of biotechnology jobs in nonscientific positions

Nonscientific Positions:
• information systems
• marketing and sales
• regulatory affairs
• administration/legal affairs

What are good morals?

The ability to distinguish from right and wrong and to make decisions based on knowledge is considered good morals.

List reasons why biotechnologies’ may be contreversial?

-It forces people into thinking what they believe what is right or wrong
-topics such as genetically modifying goods cause many people to have strong feelings and take certain positions to support or oppose these biotechnologies
*ethical questions can’t be answered using predetermined scientific methods

Who regulates biotechnology products?

-Agencies are the ones mainly responsible for regulating biotechnology
-Examples: In the U.S., the agencies responsible with this task include the FDA, the EPA, and the USDA
-some products are regulated by more than one agency
-SPECIFICALLY: representatives of certain agencies make decisions considering ethical decisions instead of scientific ones

What does each agency govern specifically?

What do these agencies base their opinions on?

Scientific opinion+bioethics

Name One strategy for examining a biomedical issue is to clarify the value one holds using the following steps

What are organisms biotechnincians work with called?

Raw materials( may be tiny as a molecule/cell or large multicellular organisms)

What does any area of biotecnology require?

-thorough understanding of the characteristics of life and the structures that make up these organisms
-They also need to have a minimal understanding of biochemistry(chemistry of living organisms),cytology, anatomy, and physiology

What charecteristics of life does an organism need to exist?

An organism must exhibit the characteristics of life such as growth,reproduction,response to stimulus,respiration, and the production of waste products

What is the structure of organisms?

Unicellular or multicellular

What was te first bacteria that was genetically engineered to produce human insulin?

E.coli

What are the levels of biological organization?

What are cells required to do?

1)Grow and Reproduce
2)React to Enviorment/Respond to Stimuli
3)Require energy to produce new molecules(think macromolecules)
This is prominent in the research at universities and several biotechnology based companies.
Ex: Thrombopoietin which is used to treat cancer patients undergoing chemo; decreases platelet production

Organelles

-Made up of smaller units known as organelles (membrane-bound)
-Organelles ARE NOT alive as they can’t live outside of the cell; not independent
-Organelles have specific jobs within the cell

Macromolecules include….

protein,lipids,nucleic acids, carbohydrates

Macromolecules function

regulate cell activity,storage, and transport

Most common and many biotechnology products revolve around what?

Proteins

Example of biotech products that are proteins

Ex: Amylase from soil bacteria ,insulin from pancreas cells, and growth hormone from pituitary glands are currently being manufactured in genetically engineered host cells and sold by companies

What do biotechnology companies exploit?

-biological manufacturing abilities of cells by tricking them into producing particular molecules in large amounts
-these molecules then become products

What do each type of eukaryotic cells have?

- specific composition of organelles
1) membrane bound organelles(nuclei, chloroplasts,mitochondria,cytoplasm, and lysosomes)
2) Other structures: (cell walls,plasma membranes, and ribosomes)

What are cell walls composed of in plants?

Rigid cellulose fibers

What is the main component of dietary fiber which is needed for the digestive system?

Cellulose

Bacteria and fungal cells….

Also have cell walls while animal cells

Plant Cell organelles and cell diagram

Animals Cell organelles and cell diagram

What does every cell have?

-Plasma membrane that regulates the flow of materials in and out of the cell
-Made up of lipids and proteins

What are some specific membrane protein functions?

- transport molecules: moving molecules in and out of the cell
- structural molecules: maintain cell shape identification or recognition molecules
- bind with recognition or receptor protein on the membrane surface

What does an insulin molecule bind to?

insulin receptor protein on the membrane surface
-This binding procedure then leads into many cellular reactions that lead to an increase in the cell’s glucose uptake

What happens specifically due to the binding of insulin to an insulin receptor?

Receptor protein transports phosphate groups from ATP (adenosine triphosphate) molecules to other proteins within the cell which leads to an increase in glucose transport from outside(blood) to inside the muscle/fat cells

What is the relationship between chromosomes and nuclei?

Nucleus contains “instructions”(DNA) on chromosomes(long strand of DNA intertwined with protein molecules) for constructing molecules such as proteins(enzymes,pigments,antibodies,or hormones)

Where are the actual instructions for molecular construction found?

Found within the structure of the DNA( genetic code A,C,G,T)

Process of making proteins

1)The process of making proteins involves transcribing a gene of DNA into a new version of code( messenger RNA molecule or mRNA)
2) Next,, the mRNA transcript( A,C,G,U) states how amino acids will be arranged into a protein
Proteins are differentiated by their amino acid sequence
3)MRNA moves from nucleus to the surrounding cytoplasm(gel-like substance)
4)In the cytoplasm, mRNA codes is translated into a protein molecule( happens inside a ribosome)

What does the Ribosome due?

-The ribosome reads the mRNA code and assembles it into 20 different amino acids that can be arranged into a polypeptide chain
-This chain then folds into a protein

Why is there a variety amongst protein?

20 different amino acids( original DNA and mRNA sequences)