Brief History of :

Biotechnology. Biotechnology is not limited to medical/health applications (unlike

Biomedical Engineering, which includes much biotechnology). Although not normally thought
of as biotechnology, agriculture clearly fits the broad definition of "using a biotechnological
system to make products" such that the cultivation of plants may be viewed as the earliest
biotechnological enterprise. Agriculture has been theorized to have become the dominant way of
producing food since the Neolithic Revolution. The processes and methods of agriculture have
been refined by other mechanical and biological sciences since its inception. Through early
biotechnology, farmers were able to select the best suited and crops having the highest yield to
produce enough food to support a growing population. Other uses of biotechnology were
required as crops and fields became increasingly large and difficult to maintain. Specific
organisms and organism by-products were used to fertilize, restore nitrogen, and control pests.
Throughout the use of agriculture, farmers have inadvertently altered the genetics of their crops
through introducing them to new environments and breeding them with other plants—one of the
first forms of biotechnology. Cultures such as those in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and India developed
the process of brewing beer. It is still done by the same basic method of using malted grains
(containing enzymes) to convert starch from grains into sugar and then adding specific yeasts to
produce beer. In this process the carbohydrates in the grains were broken down into alcohols
such as ethanol. Ancient Indians also used the juices of the plant Ephedra vulgaris and used to
call it Soma. Later other cultures produced the process of Lactic acid fermentation which
allowed the fermentation and preservation of other forms of food. Fermentation was also used in
this time period to produce leavened bread. Although the process of fermentation was not fully
understood until Pasteur’s work in 1857, it is still the first use of biotechnology to convert a food
source into another form.

Genetic Engineering. Humans have altered the genomes of species for thousands of years
through artificial selection and more recently mutagenesis. Genetic engineering as the direct
manipulation of DNA by humans outside breeding and mutations has only existed since the
1970s. The term "genetic engineering" was first coined by Jack Williamson in his science fiction
novel Dragon's Island, published in 1951, one year before DNA's role in heredity was confirmed
by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase, and two years before James Watson and Francis Crick
showed that the DNA molecule has a double-helix structure. In 1972 Paul Berg created the
first recombinant DNA molecules by combined DNA from the monkey virus SV40 with that of
the lambda virus.[10] In 1973 Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen created the first transgenic
organism by inserting antibiotic resistance genes into the plasmid of an E. coli bacterium. A year
later Rudolf Jaenisch created a transgenic mouse by introducing foreign DNA into its embryo,
making it the world’s first transgenic animal.] In 1976 Genentech, the first genetic engineering
company, was founded by Herbert Boyer and Robert Swanson and a year later and the company
produced the human protein (somatostatin) in E.coli. Genentech announced the production of
genetically engineered human insulin in 1978. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court in the Diamond
v. Chakrabarty case, ruled that genetically altered life could be patented. The insulin produced by
bacteria, branded humulin, was approved for release by the Food and Drug Administration in
1982. The first field trials of genetically engineered plants occurred in France and the USA in
1986, tobacco plants were engineered to be resitant to herbicides. The People’s Republic of
China was the first country to commercialized transgenic plants, introducing a virus-resistant
tobacco in 1992.[18] In 1994 Calgene attained approval to commercially released the Flavr Savr
tomato, a tomato engineered to have a longer shelf life. In 1994, the European Union approved
tobacco engineered to be resistant to the herbicide bromoxynil, making it the first commercially
genetically engineered crop marketed in Europe.

Technical Aspect of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

2.1 how do they work

Genetic Engineering. It involves the use of recombinant DNA techniques, but does not include
traditional animal and plant breeding or mutagenesis. Any organism that is generated using these
techniques is considered to be a genetically modified organism. The first organisms genetically
engineered were bacteria in 1973 and then mice in 1974. Insulin producing bacteria were
commercialized in 1982 and genetically modified food has been sold since 1994. Producing
genetically modified organisms is a multi-step process. It first involves the isolating and copying
the genetic material of interest. A construct is built containing all the genetic elements for correct
expression. This construct is then inserted into the host organism, either by using a vector or
directly through injection, in a process called transformation. Successfully transformed
organisms are then grown and the presence of the new genetic material is tested for.

Biotechnology. It is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living things in
engineering, technology, medicine, and other useful applications. Modern use similar term
includes genetic engineering as well as cell- and tissue culture technologies. The concept
encompasses a wide range of procedures (and history) for modifying living organisms according
to human purposes - going back to domestication of animals, cultivation of plants, and
"improvements" to these through breeding programs that employ artificial selection and
hybridization. By comparison to biotechnology, bioengineering is generally thought of as a
related field with its emphasis more on higher systems approaches (not necessarily altering or
using biological materials directly) for interfacing with and utilizing living things. The United
Nations Convention on Biological Diversity defines biotechnology as:[1]

"Any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives
thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use."

2.2 applications

Genetic Engineering

Medicine. In medicine genetic engineering has been used to mass produce insulin, human
growth hormones, follistim (for treating infertility), human albumin, monoclonal
antibodies, antihemophilic factors, vaccines and many other drugs. Vaccination
generally involves injecting weak live, killed or inactivated forms of viruses or their
toxins into the person being immunized[33] Genetically engineered viruses are being
 developed that can still confer immunity, but lack the infectious sequences. Mouse
hybridomas, cells fused together to create monoclonal antibodies, have been humanised
through genetic engineering to create human monoclonal antibodies. Genetic engineering
is used to create animal models of human diseases. Genetically modified mice are the
most common genetically engineered animal model. They have been used to study and
model cancer (the oncomouse), obesity, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, substance
abuse, anxiety, aging and Parkinson disease. Potential cures can be tested against these
mouse models. Genetically modified pigs have been bred with the aim of increasing the
success of pig to human organ transplantation.

Research. Human cells in which some proteins are fused with green fluorescent protein to
allow them to be visualised. Genetic engineering is an important tool for natural
scientists. Genes and other genetic information from a wide range of organisms are
transformed into bacteria for storage and modification, creating genetically modified
bacteria in the process. Bacteria are cheap, easy to grow, clonal, multiply quickly,
relatively easy to transform and can be stored at -80°C almost indefinitely. Once a gene is
isolated it can be stored inside the bacteria providing an unlimited supply for research.
Organisms are genetically engineered to discover the functions of certain genes. This
could be the effect on the phenotype of the organism, where the gene is expressed or
what other genes it interacts with. These experiments generally involve loss of function,
gain of function, tracking and expression.

Industrial. By engineering genes into bacterial plasmids it is possible to create a biological

factory that can produce proteins and enzymes. Some genes do not work well in bacteria
so yeast (a eukaryote) can also be used.[45] Bacteria and yeast factories have been used to
produce medicine (like insulin, human growth hormones and vaccines), supplements
(such as tryptophan), aid in the production of food (chymosin in cheese making) and
fuel.[46] Other applications involving genetically engineered bacteria been investigated
involve making the bacteria perform tasks outside their natural cycle, such as cleaning up
oil spills, carbon and other toxic waste.

Agriculture. Bt-toxins present in peanut leaves (bottom image) protect it from extensive
damage caused by European corn borer larvae (top image). One of the best-known and
controversial applications of genetic engineering is the creation of genetically modified
foods. There are three generations of genetically modified crops. First generation crops
have been commercialized and most provide protection from insects and/or resistance to
herbicides. There are also fungal and virus resistant crops developed or in development.
They have been developed to make the insect and weed management of crops easier and
can indirectly increase crop yield. The second generation of genetically modified crops
being developed aim to directly improve yield by improving salt, cold or drought
tolerance and to increase the nutritional value of the crops. The third generation consists
of pharmaceutical crops, crops that contain edible vaccines and other drugs.] Some
3. social implications

3.1 advantages and disadvantages

 Biotechnology is essentially the use of technology to make biological processes benifit

mankind. Advantages include:

• The design of diagnostic kits

• The creation of genome analysis tools through bioinformatics
• Genetic engineering techniques to improve food crops
• Molecular biology method to help understand the nature of diseases
• Finding targets for drugs
• Molecular breeding methods to help improve livestock
• Creation of genetically modified foods to feed the ever growing world population
• Use of DNA fingerprinting in the court of law
• Use of the PCR reaction to clone DNA and make millions of identical copies
• Use of stem cells to treat diseases
• Diagnosing genetic disorders

The disadvantages include ethical and moral issues surrounding cloning and the effect this has on
society.

 Genetic engineering -
Advantages:
• Genetic engineering could add vitamins to plants
• Produce crops with bigger yields
• Make plants or animals disease resistant
• Enable crops to grow in poor soils or drought
• Provide genes that improve health or overcome a disorder

Disadvantages:

• Crops that naturally contain vitamins could be grown

• Growing more food does not necessarily solve the problem of global hunger, better
farming practice, ownership of land or better profit for farmers and improved distribution
will feed the hungry
• Multinational companies may charge more for seeds and poor countries will not have
access anyway
• Unknown consequences of changing genes in one plant may have a bad effect on other
crops

3.2 promises and problems

• Biotechnology has expanded greatly during the last two decades. This expansion is due to
worldwide investment in basic biomedical research. The new knowledge generated by
 this investment has led to a bounty of potential applications for improvement of health,
which are being explored for commercial purposes by the biotechnology industry. Private
investment is thus ever present in development of these biotechnological products. All
these factors raise important questions, including increasing concerns about intellectual
property and conflict of interest. As this expansion continues, the established processes of
peer review should be strengthened.

PROMISES (Genetic Engineering)

• Completion of a chicken genetic map.

• Manipulation of Growth Characteristics in Poultry.
• Disease Resistance in Poultry.
• Miscellaneous Prospects.
• Conservation of Genetic Resources of Stocks of Domestic Poultry.

PROBLEMS

• As noted above, the inaccessibility of the newly fertilized egg presents an obstacle to the
direct injection of DNA into the avian embryo to produce germline transformations. This
obstacle has challenged researchers to develop methods to penetrate to the avian interior
and win the battle against the birds and their progeny. Following are a number of other
technical and practical problems identified by the genetic engineers of avian species.
• Only a proportion of the blastodermal cells that are injected into the inner cell mass of
recipient embryos are precursors of the germline.
• The developmental capabilities of cells contained within an unincubated blastoderm are
poorly understood.
• Chicken growth hormone "has not shown the dramatic effectiveness of the corresponding
recombinant hormones in increasing milk output of cows or lean meat in hogs.
• "Problems with transgenic farm animals abound," including undesirable "side effects":
high death rate, short life span, biological weakness, and pathology syndromes.
• Blastodermal cells "are compromised as they are frozen and thawed."
• Other problems cited by genetic engineers include "long laborious breeding programs,
and an uncertain future with regulatory agencies, animal rights advocates, and
consumers."

4. present state in the Philippines

Biotechnology in the Philippines

The Philippines started its biotechnology programs in 1980 with the formal creation of
the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) at the University of
the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB). In 1995, three other biotechnology institutes were
established within the University of the Philippines System. They are located in the UP Diliman
campus to focus on industrial biotechnology, UP Manila to focus on human health
biotechnology, and UP Visayas to focus on marine biotechnology. The biotechnology institute in
UP Los Baños continues to provide leadership in agricultural, forestry, industrial, and
environmental biotechnology. Other research institutes at UPLB are also doing biotechnology
research. Among these are the Institute of Plant Breeding, Institute of Biological Sciences,
Institute of Animal Sciences, Institute of Food Science and Technology, and the College of
Forestry and Natural Resources. Outside UPLB, other research institutes and centers such as the
Philippine Rice Research Institute, Philippine Coconut Authority, Cotton Research and
Development Institute, Bureau of Plant Industry, the Bureau of Animal Industry, and the
Industrial Technology and Development Institute are also involved in biotechnology R&D.
AFMA recognized biotechnology as a major strategy to increase agricultural
productivity. The law states that AFMA will provide a budget of 4 percent of the total R&D
budget per year for biotechnology during the next 7 years. This allocation provides an annual
budget for biotechnology of almost US$20 million. Before
AFMA, the annual budget for biotechnology averaged less than US$1 million. AFMA operates
through National Research, Development and Extension (RDE) network systems of 13
commodities and five disciplines. The 13 commodity networks are rice, corn, root crops,
coconut, plantation crops, fiber crops, vegetables/ spices, ornamentals, fruit/nuts, capture
fisheries, aquaculture, livestock and poultry, and legumes.
All of these commodities include biotechnology in their RDE agenda. The five discipline-
oriented
RDE networks are fishery postharvest and marketing, soil and water resources,
agricultural and fisheries engineering, postharvest, food and nutrition, social science and policy,
and biotechnology. As a discipline, biotechnology focuses on upstream basic research, which
includes work in molecular biology. The commodity networks focus on downstream
(application) research. The main goal of biotechnology R&D under AFMA is to harness the
potential of this cutting edge technology to increase productivity of all the commodities in the
agriculture and fishery sectors. Biotechnology will therefore play a major role in the selection
and breeding of new varieties of plants and animals. It will also provide the inputs required such
as biofertilizers and
biocontrol of harmful pest and diseases. Biotechnology will also be tapped to produce genetically
improved crops with resistance to harmful pests and diseases, for accurate diagnosis and control
of diseases in plants and animals, for bioremediation of the environment, and for bioprospecting.
AFMA envisions that the benefits derived from biotechnology will reach the small farmers and
fishermen. The Philippines does not have the critical human resources required for
biotechnology R&D. As of 1999, there were about 250 scientists qualified to do high-level
biotechnology R&D. Most of the researchers are affiliated with universities, particularly UPLB.
Adequate laboratory facilities and equipment for upstream biotechnological research exist at a
number of institutions in the Philippines, including BIOTECH based at UPLB and UP Diliman,
the Institute of Biological Sciences, Institute of Plant Breeding, and Philippine Rice Research
Institute. There is a need, however, to upgrade most of the laboratories in the country.

Genetic Engineering: The hidden ingredient in Philippine food.

 "I understand that a lot of the farm products from the US like soybean and corn are
already GM and yet they are not labeled. We should at least know what we are importing
because the consumer has a right to know what he is consuming,"
- Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor0
In just a few years growing awareness of the threats from Genetically Engineered (GE)i food has
sparked a global wave of rejection by consumers, farmers and food companies in many of the
world’s largest food markets such as Europe, Japan, Brazil and North America. Supermarkets
have cleared genetically engineered food from their shelves, global food companies have
removed GE ingredients from their products and leading pig and poultry producers have
promised not to feed their animals GE feed. While international governments have maintained
bans on the planting of genetically engineered crops, nations such as Saudi Arabia, Japan, and
Brazil have turned away shipments of GE contaminated commodities. Indeed a whole new
international market in GE-free crops has developed with even its own separate listing on the
Japanese commodities exchange. New laboratory tests conducted for Greenpeace reveal that the
same genetically engineered foods being removed from markets worldwide are now turning up
in the Philippines contaminating popular everyday food items. None of this food is labeled
despite promises made by international food companies. Some of the foods are produced by the
same companies who have removed GE foods in other parts of the world. Shockingly, none of
these GE foods was subject to safety regulation by the
Philippine government. The government does not even require that companies inform consumers
about what they are eating. Instead, these potentially dangerous ingredients are being kept hidden
from public knowledge. Genetic engineering of food is an inherently risky process. Scientists do
not know the long-term effects of releasing these unpredictable foods into our environment and
our diets. Yet, genetically engineered ingredients are freely entering our food without adequate
safeguards in place and without explicit consumer consent and knowledge. In effect, the Filipino
consumer is being unwittingly forcefed genetically engineered food in a long-term experiment
whose impacts on people’s health and the environment remain largely unknown. Greenpeace
believes this is unacceptable.

What development in science and technology would you consider as a disservice to man?
Why?
Particlecharacterization
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Demand Sensing cuts forecast error in half, decreasing inventory 10%.
Terra Technology is the most-trusted provider of innovative supply chain solutions for consumer
products companies. Terra Technology’s solutions use better mathematics and downstream data
like POS to improve supply chain performance, reducing forecast error up to 50% and inventory
up to 20%. More accurate forecasts save money, lower inventory, improve customer service and
decrease waste. Some of the world’s largest consumer packaged goods companies use Terra
Technology, including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Kraft Foods, Kimberly-Clark, ConAgra
Foods and Campbell Soup.
B. Braun Melsungen AG
Products and services for hospital, private practice and at home.
Through exchanging knowledge with its customers, B. Braun helps to improve treatments and
working procedures in hospitals and medical practices and to increase the safety of
patients, doctors and nursing staff.
Israel Diplomacy Master

• Diplomacy and conflict studies

• Counter-terrorism & homeland security service

• Research track

Reason:
we don't have control over it anymore. sometimes I just wanna go back to the stoneage.
no mobiles, no gmail - just making fires camps and chilling out. ALL THE THINGS OF OUR
WORLD ARE ON CHANGE. SO, THE ONLY WAY TO ADEQUATTE OUR KIND OF LIFE IS BY MEAN OF
C&T, AND INTTELIGENCE IN A VERY, VERY HIGH DEGREE. ALL CAN BE POSSIBLE, BUT IT IS NEED
TO STUDY, TO RESEARCH, TO TRAIN AND TO USE THE NEWS OVER OUR SPHERE OF ACTION, THE
LIFE. TO DO THIS, PRECONCEITOUS IDEAS ARE NOT PERMISSIBLE, BECAUSE THEY STOP THE
PROGRESS OF MIND, AND SOME RELIGIONS HAVE THE RESPONSABILITIES OVER THE VERY LOW
LEVEL OF LIFE OF SOME PEOPLE, A GREAT NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT DO NOT USE THE BASIC
NATALITY CONTROL TO PREVENT SUPERPOPULATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL
DESTRUCTION.THIS IS VERY IDIOT.

6. ways to minimize negative effects on society

Since the industrial revolution, society has become more and more dependent on
technology. So much so that we sometimes lack the willingness to think before we act. We
become impatient if it takes more than a few seconds to download a copy of the morning news
paper. We expect immediate responses to our email, and we expect someone to answer their cell
phone whenever and wherever we call. “Industrialization resulted in rapid and sustained
economic growth and a massive increase in consumer goods. But at the same time, for many
people it meant a thoroughly unpleasant work environment.”1
People in today’s society are always looking for ways to improve their lifestyles and in
some way help deal with their physical environment. Agriculture; Farming and cattle herding led
to the growth of large, settled human populations and increasing competition for productive
lands, touching off organized warfare. The need for transportation brought vehicles into the
market. The need for employees brought mechanical robots into society. Battles over land
brought on the need for sophisticated weapons. The agricultural system brought on a revolution.
All systems, from the simplest to the most complex, require control to keep them
operating properly. The essence of control is comparing information about what is happening
with what we want to happen and then making appropriate adjustments. Control typically
requires feedback (from sensors or other sources of information) and logical comparisons of that
information to instructions (and perhaps to other data input)—and a means for activating
changes. For example, a baking oven is a fairly simple system that compares the information
from a temperature sensor to a control setting and turns the heating element up or down to keep
the temperature within a small range. An automobile is a more complex system, made up of
subsystems for controlling engine temperature, combustion rate, direction, speed, and so forth,
and for changing them when the immediate circumstances or instructions change. Miniaturized
electronics makes possible logical control in a great variety of technical systems. Almost all but
the simplest household appliances used today include microprocessors to control their
performance.
As controls increase in complexity, they too require coordination, which means
additional layers of control. Improvement in rapid communication and rapid processing of
information makes possible very elaborate systems of control. Yet all technological systems
include human as well as mechanical or electronic components. Even the most automatic system
requires human control at some point—to program the built-in control elements, monitor them,
take over from them when they malfunction, and change them when the purposes of the system
change. The ultimate control lies with people who understand in some depth what the purpose
and nature of the control process are and the context within which the process operates.

- Chona T. Pangilinan

ABMC II