A

back to top

Animal Biotechnology
Animal biotechnology is the use of science and engineering to modify living organisms. The goal is to make products, to improve animals and to develop microorganisms for specific agricultural uses.

Examples of animal biotechnology include creating transgenic animals (animals with one or more genes introduced by human intervention), using gene knock out technology to make animals with a specific inactivated gene and producing nearly identical animals by somatic cell nuclear transfer (or cloning).

Full Issue Brief: Animal Biotechnology (PDF 1.1 MB)

B

back to top

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the sum of all the different species of animals, plants, fungi and microbial organisms living on Earth and the variety of habitats in which they live. Scientists estimate that more than 10 million different species inhabit Earth.

Biodiversity underlies everything from food production to medical research. Humans use at least 40,000 species of plants and animals on a daily basis. Many people around the world still depend on wild species for some or all of their food, shelter and clothing. All our domesticated plants and animals came from wild-living ancestral species. In addition, almost 40 percent of the pharmaceuticals used in the United States either are based on or are synthesized from natural compounds found in plants, animals or microorganisms.

Bioethics
Decisions involving bioethical issues are made every day in diverse situations such as the relationship between patients and their physicians, the treatment of human subjects in biomedical experimentation, the allocation of scarce medical resources, the complex questions that surround the beginning and the end of a human life and the conduct of clinical medicine and life sciences research.

Ethicists serve as advisers to hospitals and other health care institutions. They also have served as advisers to federal and state legislatures in the writing of laws concerning the decision to end life support, the use of genetic testing, physician-assisted suicide and other matters. Bioethics even has become part of the landscape in the commercial world of science. An increasing number of firms involved in biotechnology regularly consult with biomedical ethicists about business and research practices.

Full Issue Brief: Bioethics (PDF 160 KB)

Biofuels
Biofuels are liquid fuels derived from biomass (living organic matter taken from plants) and formed through photosynthesis. Biomass comprises mainly wood, energy crops, agricultural products (both animal and vegetable), forestry waste (forest residues) and aquatic plants.

Most cars and trucks on the road today are fueled by gasoline and diesel fuels. Those fuels are produced from oil, which is a nonrenewable fossil fuel. Nonrenewable fuels depend on resources that eventually will run out, but renewable resources, in contrast, constantly are replenished and never will run out. Biomass is one type of renewable resource, and plants and organic wastes are, too.

Full Issue Brief: Biofuels (PDF 1.1 MB)

Biotechnology
Simply put, biotechnology is the use of biological processes to solve problems and to make useful products. It might surprise you to learn that biotechnology is hardly a new concept, as, for example, humans began using biological processes to grow crops and breed animals 10,000 years ago. So why is biotechnology such a hot topic in newsrooms and classrooms around the world?

The answer is that by the 1960s and ’70s our knowledge about basic biological concepts had increased to the point where, in addition to using whole organisms, we could use their smallest parts: DNA. Along with this new understanding of biology came the development of several new technologies, and all those technologies capitalize on the characteristics of cells, putting them to work for us.

Such developments have led to a new era of biotechnology and to a more precise definition: “the commercial application of living organisms or their products, which involves the deliberate manipulation of their DNA.”

Full Issue Brief: Biotechnology (PDF 1.1 MB)

Bioterrorism

Bioterrorism involves the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria or other agents used to cause illness or death in people, animals or plants. These agents typically are found in nature, but it is possible that they could be changed to increase their ability to cause disease, to be resistant to current medicines or to be spread into the environment. Biological agents can be spread through the air, through water or in food.

Terrorists may use biological agents because they can be extremely difficult to detect and do not cause illness for several hours to several days. Some bioterrorism agents, such as the smallpox virus, can be spread from person to person, while others, such as anthrax, cannot.

Full Issue Brief: Bioterrorism (PDF 480 KB)

C

back to top

Cloning
Cloning is a scientific term used to describe the process of genetic duplication. It involves the creation of an organism that is an exact copy of another.

Cloning made headlines in 1997, when the first mammal, a sheep named Dolly, was cloned from an adult cell rather than from an embryo. However, human clones have walked among us for centuries. They’re called identical twins and are the result of an embryo dividing at a very early stage to form two individuals with the same genetic makeup.

Full Issue Brief: Cloning (PDF 260 KB)

D

back to top

Dietary Supplements
A dietary supplement is a product taken by mouth that contains an ingredient intended to supplement the diet. The “dietary ingredients” in these products can include vitamins, minerals, herbs and other botanicals; amino acids; and substances such as enzymes, organ tissues, glandulars and metabolites. Dietary supplements also can be extracts or concentrates and may be found in many forms, such as tablets, capsules, softgels, gelcaps, liquids and powders. But whatever their form, every supplement be labeled a dietary supplement.

Dietary supplements are available without a prescription through a number of retail outlets, including grocery stores, drug stores, general merchandise retailers, natural food stores and specialty health and nutrition stores. Many dietary supplements also can be purchased on the Internet.

Full Issue Brief: Dietary Supplements (PDF 525 KB)

G

back to top

Gene Therapy
Gene therapy, a technique for correcting defective genes, is offering new and exciting possibilities for curing and treating several genetic disorders. Instead of treating the symptoms of a disorder, gene therapy alters the genetic makeup of certain cells. Researchers may use one of several approaches for correcting faulty genes.

The revolutionary approach of gene therapy was first used in 1990, and the original goal was to substitute a healthy gene for a defective one or to repair a faulty gene, thereby eliminating symptoms of disease. But researchers have moved beyond inherited genetic disorders to treat other kinds of diseases. Today, almost 75 percent of all clinical trials involving gene therapy are aimed at treatments for cancer and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Full Issue Brief: Gene Therapy (PDF 784 KB)

Genetic Testing
The term genetic testing covers an array of techniques, including analysis of DNA, RNA (ribonucleic acid) and proteins designed to look for abnormalities in a person’s genes or the presence or absence of key proteins whose production is directed by specific genes. Abnormalities in either case could indicate an inherited disposition towards a disorder.

With increasing frequency, scientists are discovering associations between particular gene mutations and disease. More than 1,000 genetic tests now are available, and scientists are predicting that, with the innovative technologies being developed, genetic testing one day will give us the ability to analyze a person’s complete DNA sequence, thereby allowing doctors to determine the specific disease-associated genes each person carries.

Full Issue Brief: Genetic Testing (PDF 564 KB)

GM Foods
GM foods come from genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. GMOs are organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally. It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another and between nonrelated species as well. The purpose of genetic modification is to transfer a gene responsible for a particular desirable trait to another organism so it then will share that trait. Such methods are used to create GM plants, which in turn are used to grow GM foods.

Americans already are eating these foods. Estimates suggest at least 60 percent of the processed food we eat contains genetically modified ingredients. By the year 2000 about 60 percent of the soybean crop and 25 percent of the corn crop in the United States was genetically modified.

Full Issue Brief: GM Foods (PDF 1 MB)

N

back to top

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter; in comparison, a sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick. Encompassing nanoscale science, engineering and technology, nanotechnology involves imaging, measuring, modeling and manipulating matter on this scale.

At the nanoscale, the physical, chemical and biological properties of materials differ in fundamental and valuable ways from the properties of individual atoms and molecules or bulk matter. Nanotechnology research and development is directed toward understanding and creating improved materials, devices and systems that exploit these new properties.

Full Issue Brief: Nanotechnology (PDF 565 KB)

Nutraceuticals

A nutraceutical is a food with a medical-health benefit, including the prevention and treatment of disease. The term was coined in the late 1980s by Stephen DeFelice, M.D., founder and chairman of the Foundation for Innovation in Medicine.

Such foods also commonly are referred to as functional foods, signifying they and/or their components may provide a health benefit beyond basic nutrition. Examples include fruits and vegetables as well as fortified or enhanced foods. While all foods are functional in that they provide nutrients, nutraceuticals contain health-promoting ingredients or natural components that have a potential health benefit for the body. “Functional” attributes of many traditional foods are being discovered, while new food products are being developed with beneficial components.

Full Issue Brief: Nutraceuticals (PDF 724 KB)

O

back to top

Obesity
Obesity is a label for a range of weight that is greater than what generally is considered healthy for a given height. The term also identifies ranges of weight that have been shown to increase the likelihood of certain diseases and other health problems.

For adults, obesity ranges are determined by using weight and height to calculate a number called the body mass index (BMI). BMI is used because, for most people, it correlates with their amount of body fat.

Full Issue Brief: Obesity (PDF 200 KB)

P

back to top

Personalized Medicine
Doctors long have known that people have very different reactions to drugs such as painkillers, antidepressants and many blood pressure and asthma medicines. It turns out that these varied reactions stem from small changes in our genes. In some cases, these changes mean that people require a slightly different dose of the medication. In other cases, medications that are safe and effective for one person might be deadly for another.

Pharmacogenomics, as its name indicates, represents the intersection of pharmaceuticals and genetics. It holds the promise that drugs might one day be tailor-made for individuals and adapted to each person’s genetic makeup. Although environment, diet, age, lifestyle and state of health all have an influence on a person’s response to medicines, understanding an individual’s genetic makeup might be the key to creating personalized drugs with greater efficacy and safety.

Full Issue Brief: Personalized Medicine (PDF 544 KB)

Plant Biotechnology
Plant biotechnology is a precise process in which scientific techniques are used to develop molecular- and cellular-based technologies to improve plant productivity, quality and health; to improve the quality of plant products; or to prevent, reduce or eliminate constraints to plant productivity caused by diseases, pest organisms and environmental stresses.

This process and technology already is in widespread use in the United States today. According to the Department of Agriculture, biotechnology plantings as a percentage of total crop plantings in the United States in 2004 were about 46 percent for corn, 76 percent for cotton and 85 percent for soybeans.

Full Issue Brief: Plant Biotechnology (PDF 1.6 MB)

S

back to top

Stem Cell Research
Embryonic stem cells are unspecialized cells that hold the remarkable potential to become any cell within the human body. They are present from the earliest stages of embryonic development, and they provide the starting material for every organ and tissue.

Like a blank microchip that ultimately can be programmed to perform any number of specialized tasks, stem cells are undifferentiated, or “blank,” cells that do not yet have a specific function. Under the proper conditions in the body or the laboratory, stem cells begin to develop into specialized tissues and organs, such as bone, muscle, blood and skin. Additionally, stem cells are self-sustaining and can replicate themselves for long periods of time.

Those unique characteristics are why stem cell research holds such great promise for the treatment of life-threatening and debilitating diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, Parkinson’s, Type 1 diabetes, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Full Issue Brief: Stem Cell Research (PDF 728 KB)

V

back to top

Vaccines
A vaccine is an antigenic preparation (a substance capable of stimulating an immune response) used to produce active immunity to a disease. The term comes from vaccinia, the infectious viral agent of cowpox (vacca means “cow” in Latin), which, when administered to humans, provided protection against smallpox. The process of distributing and administrating vaccines is referred to as vaccination.

It is a method of stimulating resistance in the human body to specific diseases using microorganisms — bacteria or viruses — that have been modified or killed. Vaccines dramatically have reduced the incidence of a number of deadly diseases. For example, a worldwide vaccination program resulted in the global eradication of smallpox, and in most developed countries immunization essentially has eliminated diphtheria, poliomyelitis, and neonatal tetanus. In the United States, more than 90 percent of children receive all the recommended vaccinations by their second birthday.

Full Issue Brief: Vaccines (PDF 1.1 MB)

P.O. Box 19469 Raleigh, NC 27619-9469 USA | Voice: 919.785.1304 | Fax: 919.785.1306 | e-mail
© 2006 NCABR All Rights Reserved | Site design by R+M