Biotechnology
has contributed numerous innovations in the field of medicine. The discovery of
technologies to modify and fix mutant genes and knowledge of our species'
genetic makeup and the genetic foundation of heritable disorders has provided
approaches to cure illnesses. Biotechnology in agriculture can improve crop
output and quality by increasing resistance to disease, pests, and
environmental stress.
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Genetic Diagnosis and Gene Therapy
Genetic diagnosis via genetic testing is the practice of testing for
potential genetic abnormalities before delivering therapy. In rare situations,
family members may be urged to undertake genetic testing if a hereditary
condition is present in the family. Mutations in the BRCA genes, for example,
may raise the risk of breast and ovarian cancer in women, as well as various
other malignancies in both men and women. These mutations can be detected in a
woman with breast cancer. If one of the high-risk variants is discovered, her
female relatives may want to get tested for that mutation or be extra cautious
for malignancies. In families with certain severe disorders, genetic testing
for babies (or embryos with in vitro fertilization) is also available to assess
the presence or absence of disease-causing genes.
Gene therapy is a type of genetic engineering that might
one day be used to treat hereditary illnesses. Its most basic form entails
inserting a non-mutated gene at a random spot in the genome to treat a disease
by replacing a protein that may be missing in these people due to a genetic
mutation.
Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project (HGP) is a scientific research project supervised by the
National Institutes of Health and the United States Department of Energy. It
was widely regarded as one of the most remarkable feats of exploration in human
history. It was established in 1990 to discover the nucleotide base pair
sequence that makes up human DNA. The researchers declared in April 2003 that
they had finished a preliminary sequencing of the whole human genome.
Researchers have begun to comprehend the blueprint for constructing a
human through the HGP's efforts. Researchers have pinpoint genes that
cause illnesses as they understand more about the roles of genes and proteins.
Production of Vaccines, Antibiotics, and
Hormones
To boost the immune system, traditional
vaccination procedures employ weakened or inactive versions of germs or
viruses. Modern approaches clone specific genes from microorganisms onto
vectors and mass-produce certain chemicals in bacteria in vast quantities to
boost the immune system. After then, the material is employed as a vaccine. Genes
cloned from the virus have been utilized to battle the virus's continually
changing strains in some circumstances, such as the H1N1 flu vaccine.
Antibiotics are naturally generated by microbes
such as fungus and kill bacteria; penicillin is possibly the best-known
example. Antibiotics are mass-produced by growing and manipulating fungal cells
on a considerable scale. To increase the yields of the antibiotic chemical, the
fungal cells are usually genetically manipulated.
Human growth hormone (HGH) is also utilized to
treat childhood development problems. The HGH gene was cloned from a cDNA
(complementary DNA) library and cloned into a bacterial vector before being
introduced into E. coli cells.
CRISPR-Cas9
CRISPR is for Clustered Regularly Interspersed
Short Palindromic Repeats, and it is a novel gene-editing technique that has
been lauded as a game-changing tool in medical research. HIV research is one of
its numerous applications. Cas9, a protein that works like a pair of molecular
scissors and can cut DNA, is used in this technique. Advances like CRISPR-Cas9
genome editing might lead to a cure for some ailments. Germline editing has the
potential to heal illnesses with long-term intergenerational effects (e.g.,
cystic fibrosis). Somatic genome editing has the potential to regulate and even
cure illnesses. Consider genome editing to eliminate the PCSK9 gene in the
adult liver, the primary location of cholesterol manufacturing, with the
potential to prevent hypercholesterolemia for the rest of one's life.
Additional Milestone of Biotechnology
- Stem Cell Research
- Targeted Cancer Therapies
- 3D visualization and augmented reality for
surgery
- HPV vaccine
- Face Transplants
- 3D Printed Organs
- Nerve Regeneration
- Brain Signals to Audible Speech
Conclusion
Digital technology and big data are two of the
most significant advancements. Massive volumes of real-time health data are
being created and recorded, which will be crucial in creating a learning health
system. The capacity to combine and analyze data from many sources will help us
better understand illness patterns and health factors, particularly
socioeconomic determinants of health.
Indeed, biotechnology has many innovations and
opportunities to offer in the field of medicine. Science and technological
advancements frequently pose social and ethical issues for society. For
example, societies must evaluate how to regulate the use and adoption of
developing technologies and guarantee that risks and benefits are distributed
fairly and equally. Currently, "evidence-based" medicine frequently
depends on study findings based on data that may lack gender, ethnicity, and
age diversity. AI alone will not be able to overcome these prejudices.
Furthermore, certain future technologies will
need civilizations taking into account the consequences on society structures
(such as families), belief systems (such as religion), and cultural norms
(e.g., attitudes about sexuality, race, and disability). Consider attitudes
regarding disability: Because medical and technical advances enable the
treatment or even cure of sickness and disability, it will be critical to
guarantee that people with disabilities may continue participating fully in
society, even if they opt-out of new genetic treatments. Such situations may
have real-world ramifications for society and government policy. For instance,
reduced birth abnormalities may result in less public support for meeting the
requirements of persons with disabilities. Similarly, the possibility of using
genome editing technology for improvement raises worries about increasing
existing societal imbalances or pressuring people to utilize technologies they
would not pick otherwise.
Biotechnology would not have reached this far without
the failures as part of the research process. In the next blog, we will be dealing
with the recorded fiasco in the making of biotechnological innovations and how
this affected medicine and society.
