Tag: introduction to genetic engineering and production of insulin

Genetic engineering is the process of modifying the genetic makeup of an organism. In this, specific genes from one organism are transferred into the chromosome of another organism. Two bacteria commonly employed in genetic engineering are Escherichia and Agrobacterium. Escherichia is widely used in because it is easy and inexpensive to grow. It is easy to manipulate the genome of Escherichia. Agrobacterium is used because of its ability to transfer genes to plants and fungi due to presence of Ti plasmid.

The Western blot is a widely used analytical technique used to detect specific proteins in a sample of tissue homogenate or extract.
HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus
AIDS- Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome.

Ross Granville Harrison was an American biologist and anatomist credited as the first to work successfully with artificial tissue culture.

To produce Dolly, sheep a cloned animal where the fin Dorset mammary cell nucleus is injected into the Scottish Blackface ewe oocyte with the help of electricity. The new fused cell is them implanted into a surrogate mother, another Scottish Blackface ewe which develops sheep a clone of fin Dorset sheep. Thus, the correct answer is option B.

Hargobind Khorana is famous for his work on the genetic code and the synthesis of the first artificial gene.

Synthetic human insulin was the first biochemical product which is produced commercially by recombinant DNA technology. Before that insulin was extracted from the pig which mimics like human insulin. Currently, millions of diabetics worldwide use synthetic insulin to regulate their blood sugar levels. Synthetic insulin is made in both bacteria and yeast.

Scaling up is the process of expanding a process from small scale to a larger scale. So, here scaling up is defined as the conversion of a laboratory scale plant into a manufacturing unit.

Recombinant DNA technology was pioneered by Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer in 1973.

Nanotechnology is the science and technology of building electronic circuits and devices from single atoms and molecules. Nanotechnology is used to describe many types of research where the characteristic dimensions are less than about 1,000 nanometers. Nanotechnology deals with the molecular make-up and organization of structures. By building materials from the nano-scale up, nanotechnology is able to project the unusual material functionality found at the nanoscale to a useful, applicable measure. Nanotechnology provides new and improved methods for making almost every manufactured products - better transportation, faster computers, energy developments and medical breakthroughs.

Biotechnology is the branch of science which deals with the application of biological techniques for human welfare. It involves the modification of genes by the enzymatic action which leads to the production of some biological entity like antibodies, vaccines etc which benefits the mankind by improving health. The vaccines, antibodies, hormones, etc are the pharmaceutical products which help to prevent the transmission of diseases. The plants and the organisms can be genetically modified. The modified plants are resistant to the pests and diseases. The modified organisms can be useful in the production of useful products in the industry.