BIOTECHNOLOGY
Kimberly Green
SCI215 M1_A3
Instructor Nicole Outten
April 21, 2014
Currently, there are numerous studies in process and others already in activation. Over the last 20 years, there has been great improvements in technology, in general, but more specifically in biotechnology. Biotechnology is ‘the use of living cells, bacteria, etc., to make useful products (such as crops that insects are less likely to destroy or new kinds of medicine).’(Merriam-Webster, 2014) So much is learned by the manipulation of organisms, for the greater good. Ways are known, now, how to treat various fatal diseases, such as cancers, while others, like Polio, there are vaccinations to prevent. Twenty years ago, Cancer was a definite death sentence, but today, it is, in most cases, somewhat treatable. Although, the research and studies are not complete, because scientists haven’t found a cure, the hopes are one day they will.
In Japan, chemists have found a brown seaweed, in their regular diet, which ‘contains a compound that appears in animal studies to promote weight loss by reducing fat accumulation.’(Hairston, 2006) The brown seaweed is known as wakame. The Japanese use it as flavoring in soups and salads.(Hairston, 2006) This is something more Americans need to be aware of. Can something as simple as seaweed possibly aid in weight loss?
A professor at Mississippi State University and molecular biologist, ‘James L. Smith is developing a new class of antibiotics... These new antibiotics kill bacteria by preventing cell-wall formation.’(Hairston, 2006) Lipid II is necessary for bacterial cell-wall biosynthesis. The growth zones are pinpointed, where the molecules create new cell-walls, and the antibiotics Mutacin 1140 and Nisin take the bacteria from the growth zones, which in turn kills the molecules of bacteria.(Hairston, 2006)
From the use of biotechnology, a device called the Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) was invented to assist patients with chronic pain. Electrodes, called leads, are placed inside the vertebrae and connected to a battery. A remote control is calibrated to correspond and control electrical pulses delivered to the spinal cord.(Wikipedia, 2014) They are there to block the pain. Usually, the leads are placed in the lumbar region of the spinal column. However, mine are placed about the top of the rib cage.
Scientists are learning more and more every day. They have recently found properties in Chinese medicines that could be potential drugs for the
