More Examples of how Biotechnology affects our lives…
They say pets and their owners begin to look
alike after a while.
Whether or not that’s true, you and your
pet can share similar health ailments like arthritis, diabetes and
various infections.
Biotechnology
drugs now slow or halt the progression of these painful and even fatal
diseases for both humans and our domestic animal friends.
Got beer?
Yeast
and sugar are two primary ingredients necessary to create this
pastime beverage. The beer you drink may look and taste
the same as it has for years, but in recent years the essential
yeasts and sugars used to produce this drink have been genetically
modified
to be bacteria resistant, resulting in more effective production.
This process has also been used to develop low-carbohydrate, low-calorie
beers.
Cheese please!
An enzyme is a protein that regulates the speed
of chemical reactions in many foods such as cheese. Through biotechnology,
enzymes have been genetically modified to be able to resist the negative
effects of heat and acids that can render them inactive and ruin
the cheese-making process. Also, did you know that natural rennin,
the
enzyme that is used to curdle milk for cheese-making, is obtained
from the gastric
juices of calf stomachs?
Vegetarian cheese-eaters will be happy to
know that the gene for this enzyme was copied and inserted into
yeast cells
to produce chymosin, an artificial [i.e., non-animal?] rennin substitute.
Most people are aware that crime scene investigators (CSIs) use human
DNA to match genetic characteristics of criminals to crime scene evidence.
But forestry law enforcement agents have used tree
DNA to match piles of illegally harvested stolen wood to their original
tree stumps left
at the crime scene. Also, in the world of bioterrorism, biotechnologists
have genetically modified mustard plants so that they can be used
to warn of the presence of chemical warfare agents or animal pathogens
such as anthrax.
