– scientists were also concerned of the safety aspects that may have not yet been considered.
To overcome this, the US National Institute of Health drew up a set of guidelines to govern genetic engineering experiments.
Effects on Society
Rich and Poor
Biotechnology can be used to produce artificial sweeteners by cloning the gene for the sugar protein into microorganisms. The production on artificial sweeteners has saved the US $1.3 billion in sugar imports. Reduced demand has devastated the sugar market. The price of raw sugar has fallen disastrously threatening the survival of millions of cane farmers in the developing world.
inoculating fields with blue-green algae, which increases the production of rice in the same area.
Importers of rice such as India or Indonesia are becoming self-sufficient or net exporters. Countries such as Thailand and Pakistan who were originally net exporters of crops are now losing their traditional markets, as the market price has fallen dramatically.
Exploiting the Sick
Firms making biological drugs have been criticised for taking advantage of the sick. The cost of a ten year course of the cloned Human Growth Hormone, produced by recombinant DNA technology, for a child suffering from dwarfism, can be between $10 000 to $15 000 a year.
Drug companies justify their prices on the basis that the new treatments are safer and more expensive in both time and money, compared to the earlier method of treatment, which involved extracting the Human Growth Hormone from the Thymus Gland of corpses.
Biotechnology and Agriculture
Plants and Crops
Growing plants is the world’s, largest and most important form of biotechnology.
Traditionally plant breeders had to rely on the natural reproduction of plants by selecting, crossing and back breeding crops. This process took many months and even years for the entire breeding cycle to complete. As well as being time consuming, it was also very limited, as genetic mixes could only be interbred.
Now, with modern genetic processes, genes no longer need to be sorted and mixed randomly. Genetic engineers can take specific genes from a variety of sources and eliminate any unfavourable genes with adverse effects. This method is much quicker and precise than the traditional way of breeding new plant varieties.
Improving Livestock
Preventing infectious disease in agricultural animals is the main focus in animal healthcare. This is done by the development of vaccines. A vaccine can be produced in a number of ways.
- The antigen (the part of the infectious microorganism that stimulates an immune response) can be separated from the pathogen (the part that causes disease) and injected into the animal.
- The genetic code for the antigen can be transferred into a harmless organism and used as a vaccine. Known as Subunit Vaccines, they may be used to treat the infectious diseases’ of pigs, sheep, cattle, horses, cats, dogs, mice, rats, chickens, ducks and varieties of fish.
Biotechnology and Healthcare
Inner Healing
Traditionally, medicines have been extracted from microorganisms, plants or animals.
Using genetic engineering, Biotechnologists can reproduce a variety of proteins found inside the body, to study or use as drugs. By replicating the genetic code of the natural protein in the body, it can be produced in amounts large enough to be used as treatments for illnesses.
The protein Interleukin-2 can be genetically engineered using Biotechnology. This protein acts on transfused blood cells to stimulate the patient’s immune response to the disease. The patient’s blood cells are grown until they are aggressive enough to kill tumour cells and then reinjected into the patient. This form of treatment however makes the patient very ill.
Chromosome 1
DNA from a single
micro-dissected copy of the human chromosome 15
Gene Therapy
A patient’s cells can be taken from blood or bone marrow, treated in various ways and then replaced. Genetic engineering can be applied to the DNA of the cells in order to treat genetic diseases. This technique is called Somatic Cell Gene Therapy. Somatic cells are non-reproductive cells such as those of our skin, brain, bone marrow and blood. One of the difficulties of this however, is that people who undergo treatment still risk passing on the defect to their children. If gene therapy was extended to germline, or reproductive cells, this might enable defects to be cured and not inherited.
A gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy product developed for the treatment of Ovine Adenovirus malignant tumours.
The choice
Biotechnology is one of the world fastest growing, scientific research areas. The areas in which it could potentially improve our way of life and influence our global evolution will be great. For its rewards to be reaped, we as a society need to be conscious of all the choices that are made about areas such as the ones discussed in this report, to ensure that we are not only exploring new horizons and finding better ways of doing things, but also protecting the rights of people and their lives. Biotechnology will only influence society in a positive way if it is used correctly. Some people see it as compromising the sanctuary of life however others believe it to be a saviour, having the potential to cure diseases and save the lives of thousands. The way it is used will inevitably be in the hands of our society so it is up to us to make the choice; to except what is done, or question its ethics. As long as Biotechnology is used correctly it will help society, not hinder it.
One of the patients
that may be helped
by the use of biotechnology to produce
sub-unit vaccines.
