Nowadays, we are being constantly fed with the prophecy that biotechnology is the next revolutionary "wave" replacing information technology, which had changed the way we lived in the past 50 years. The past decade has seen scientists making significant breakthroughs in this field to initiate the current biotechnological hype. Scientists from all around the world are working desperately at sub-atomic level to uncover yet another mysteries unknown to man, to date. One defining achievement was the cloning of a sheep named "Dolly" by Dr. Ian Wilmut of Roslin Institute in 1996. This historic success debunked all previous biology myths, which termed cloning as nothing but a fantasy. Now, it ...view middle of the document...
Recombinant-DNA techniques in conjunction with the development of a technique for producing monoclonal antibodies (antibodies produced by single clones of antibody-producing cells) have made an evident impact on medical diagnosis and Oncology. Yet another feat of genetic engineering is the development of biological control, which does not involve any toxicity problem for human beings, nor does it make the insect resistant to the means of control. Instead even better results than insecticides are achieved by biological control since through genetic engineering scientists have developed strains of bacteria, which are being used as bio-pesticides.Being able to identify people by small differences in their DNA has allowed both police and scientists to do some detective work. Police can call on forensic scientists to prepare a DNA fingerprint from cells found at a crime scene to help them prove a suspect innocent or guilty. Not just this but in fact scientists have used DNA evidence to trace the spread of humans from Africa, where they first evolved, around the world. They have also used DNA evidence to examine ancient remains including human mummies and fossilized animals. At the present time, scientists are able, with some difficulty, to make perfect copies, or clones, of mammals such as sheep. It is already possible to make herds of identical animals genetically engineered to produce drugs. Scientists can even modify the faulty genes to benefit the organism. For example, if a person has a gene that codes for a certain disease, scientists can insert healthy copies of that gene to heal the patient. With tissue engineering, familiar problems like the rejection of foreign tissue by the body, ...
