A To Z Challenge: Karyology And Why Your Genes May Be Patented

Karyology is a field involving an organism's cell nucleus, particularly its chromosomes. It is a branch of cytology--the study of cell function and structure--which is in turn a branch of biology. Technically the word karyology refers only to the physical presence of the nucleus and its components, excluding the study of how chromosomes control in different parts of the body.

Chromosomes are tightly wound coils of DNA. As you've no doubt heard or read, DNA is the fundamental building block of life on Earth; it is the instruction manual that tells organisms how to grow, survive, and reproduce.

My next point is not strictly a scientific development, per se, but I thought it was an interesting (and perhaps alarming) recent event related to the field. This April, on the 15th, the US Supreme Court will hear a case about patenting genes. Myriad Genetics discovered genetic mutations on BCRA 1 and BCRA 2 genes--mutations related to breast and ovarian cancer--in the 1990s and filed for a patent on DNA with those mutated sequences. They got the patent.

The upcoming argument in the Supreme Court is over the functionality of the DNA. The DNA Myriad Genetics patented is, officially, "isolated DNA", which means it has to be a single piece of genetic material outside the rest of the chromosome for it to fall under the patent. The Supreme Court will decide whether the DNA is functionally different from that in the human body--there is a "products of nature" doctrine which states that something with no "marked difference" to something naturally occurring cannot be patented.

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Sources:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/karyology
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cytology
http://stalikez.info/fsm/semp/site/caryo_gb.php
http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-a-Chromosome.aspx
http://www.genome.gov/Glossary/index.cfm?id=33
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130412084225.htm
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2013/04/are_your_genes_patented_the_supreme_court_will_decide_if_they_can_be.html

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Do you think genes should be patented? Or do you think patent offices should not allow specific DNA sequences to be "owned" by companies?


-----The Golden Eagle

A To Z Blogging Challenge: Biotechnology And Advances In Biomedical Engineering

Biotechnology is a combination of natural biological systems and artificial human-created technology and/or uses. It's commonly associated with genetics, pharmaceutical drugs, etc., though the history of biotechnology stretches back thousands of years to when people first began using yeast to make bread and selectively bred plants to give better crop yields.

A recent development in the field of biotechnology/biomedical engineering is 3D-printing of cells and, subsequently, organs. By using living cells, scientists have "printed" out human ears made out of cartilage, just as normal ears are. Researchers have yet to develop an ear created from a specific person's cells (a combination of rat collagen and cow cartilage was used in previous experiments), but that would be the next step in creating organs with the patient's own DNA.

Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC-SA-3.0, by Mnolf

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Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/scientists-create-new-ear_n_2728612.html
http://www.gizmag.com/3d-printed-bioengineered-ears/26368/
http://www.public.asu.edu/~langland/biotech-intro.html
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/biotechnology

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Would you agree to have your cells removed, printed, and implanted, should a method of growing cells for printing be achieved? Or do you think the technology has a long way to go before it will be practical?


----The Golden Eagle

A-Z Blogging Challenge: Biotechnology

By Umberto Salvagnin, CC-BY-2.0. SOURCE.

Biotechnology, also called biotech, is the use of biological systems and living organisms, or their derivatives, for specific purposes.

It stems from chemistry, biology, physics, engineering, information technology, and other such scientific fields; the phrase "biotechnology" was coined by Karl Ereky in 1919, who was a Hungarian engineer. It is an applied science, which means, unlike some fields which commit to research to find an answer to a theory that may or may not have any industrial, manufacturing, or other commercial value, biotech research usually has specific goals in mind.

Some early examples of biotech include fermentation (for bread, wine, and beer), selective breeding of animals, and cultivation of crops (which was given a boost by Gregor Mendel, who is called the father of genetics), while more recent ones are cloning, biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel), nanobiotechnology (100,000 nanoparticles equals the thickness of a piece of paper), regenerative medicine (the growing of new organs and tissues), and agricultural biotechnology (ag biotech).

Notable Biotechnologist/Geneticist:

Francis S. Collins

Francis S. Collins. Public domain image. SOURCE.

Francis Collins was the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, also known as the NHGRI, and became the director of the National Institutes of Health in 2009. He graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.S., from Yale University with a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, and from the University of North Carolina with an M.D.

He led the Human Genome Project, which aimed to sequence all 3 billion base pairs of human DNA. A draft of the genome was published in 2000, an analysis in 2001, and a reference sequence in 2003. Collins's research has led to the identification of genetic variations associated with Type-2 diabetes, and the genes that cause cystic fibrosis (buildup of mucus in the lungs and digestive tract in children and young people), Huntington's Disease (degeneration of nerve cells in the brain), and Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (accelerated aging in children).

He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007 for his work in science/genetics; the medal is the highest honor given to a civilian in the USA.

A video about Francis Collins and his work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JZePaN-qWA

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Sources:
http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/AB/BC/what_is_biotechnology.php
http://www.biotechinstitute.org/what-is-biotechnology
http://www.cbd.int/convention/articles/?a=cbd-02
http://www.genome.gov/10000779
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biotechnology
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001167/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001775/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002622/
http://www.ncbiotech.org
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/applied+science
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/biotechnology
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-a-biotechnologist-do.htm

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Where do you think biotech will head next? Do you worry about genetic engineering and other newer fields?


-----The Golden Eagle