Biotechnology unzipped : promises & realities / Eric S. Grace.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Grace, Eric S.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Biotechnology--Popular works.

Biotechnology.

Physical Description:

xv, 248 p : ill ; 23 cm.

Edition:

2nd ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, District of Columbia : Joseph Henry Press, 1997.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"Biotechnology" may raise more hope and fear...revelation and confusion...excitement and alarm than any other term in today's headlines. In Biotechnology Unzipped, scientist and skilled science popularizer Eric Grace helps readers understand what biotechnology is and what implications it holds for all of us. Grace offers a reader-friendly explanation of how we came to where we are--from the coining of the word "cell" in 1665 through Darwin's breakthrough insight on evolution and the unraveling of the DNA helix to the 1997 announcement of the cloning of Dolly the sheep. This book uses everyday metaphors to help readers understand the genetic code and how it works to produce every form of life. Grace deals frankly with the reality that biotechnology is first and foremost a commercial activity. Focusing on the ethical implications, he looks at the scope of public opinion, the role of the media, the vulnerability of the poor to exploitation, and the problem of patenting life itself. Grace explores the promises and realities of biotechnology in major arenas: The human body. The medical industry is today's biggest customer for biotechnology, and Grace presents its application as a continuum from the earliest experiments with skin grafting in the 1800s. He reports on the progress of gene therapy and other medical marvels--yet Grace argues that high-tech medicine does not guarantee longer, healthier lives any more than high-tech weapons guarantee world peace. The farm. Is biotechnology the answer to world hunger or is it self-serving rhetoric from agribusiness? Grace explores the reality between these two points of view through examples, including the controversy over bovine growth hormone, increased use of herbicides and pesticides, and genetic modification of plants. The environment. Biotechnology Unzipped looks at the promise of microbes cleaning up pollutants such as the Exxon Valdez spill. Alternate Selection, Newbridge Science Book Club

Contents:

Intro

Biotechnology Unzipped

Copyright

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1 How Biotechnology Came About

WHAT IS BIOTECHNOLOGY?

IN THE BEGINNING

THE VOYAGER AND THE MONK

COLORED BODIES

LET THERE BE DNA

UNRAVELING THE DOUBLE HELIX

HOW DOES DNA STORE INFORMATION?

A COPY IN EVERY CELL

WHAT DO GENES DO?

PROTEIN PRIMER

THE GENETIC CODE

HOW GENES MAKE PROTEINS

D(ARING) N(UCLEOTIDE) A(DVENTURES)

Chapter 2 Tools in the Genetic Engineering Workshop

WHY BACTERIA?

HIJACKERS AND MOLECULE SNIPPERS

FIRST, CATCH YOUR DNA

MAKING RECOMBINANT DNA

PUTTING NEW GENES INTO CELLS

GENE EXPRESSION

CLONING PLANTS, ANIMALS, AND CELLS

MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES

DNA PROBES

DNA "FINGERPRINTING

POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION

Chapter 3 Biotechnology and the Body

NEW PARTS FOR OLD

IT'S ALL IN THE GENES

THE BEGINNINGS OF GENE THERAPY

THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT

THE CONTINUING STORY OF GENE THERAPY

MICROBES IN MEDICINE

MEDICINES FROM PLANTS

THE INTERFERON STORY

GENES AND VACCINES

NATURE'S MAGIC BULLETS

DESIGNER DRUGS

A CASE STUDY: TRYPTOPHAN

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Chapter 4 Biotechnology on the Farm

MILKING IT FOR ALL IT'S WORTH

LET US SPRAY

DEVELOPING REGULATIONS

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

PESTS AND DISEASES

A VERSATILE BACTERIUM

WEATHER AND SOIL

FARMER-CEUTICALS?

Chapter 5 Biotechnology and the Environment

MICROBES CLEAN UP

MICROBES AS MONITORS

FINDING THE RIGHT MICROBES FOR THE JOB

A QUICK READING

MICROBES AND MINES

GOLDEN HARVEST

A NEW ANGLE TO LANDSCAPING

FIGHTING CHEMICALS WITH CHEMICALS

MAKING NEW FUELS

Chapter 6 Biotechnology in Seas and Trees

AN OCEAN OF OPPORTUNITY

FOUL IS FAIR

UNDERWATER DRUGS

A CORNUCOPIA OF CHEMICALS

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

FUELS FROM THE SEA

FARMING THE SEAS

DISEASES AND POLLUTION

FROZEN FISH

THE FOREST AND THE TREES

A HARVEST OF WOOD

BUILDING BETTER TREES

FORESTS OF THE FUTURE

Chapter 7 Ethical Issues

MAKING OPINIONS

LIFE®

PATENTING PEOPLE

PROBLEMS WITH PATENTS

PROFITING FROM THE POOR

PROTECTING CONSUMERS

HEALTH DILEMMAS

GENE THERAPY REVISITED

PROS AND CONS OF GENE THERAPY

PROMETHEUS REVISITED

Postscript

Glossary A

Further Reading

CHAPTER 1. HOW BIOTECHNOLOGY CAME ABOUT

CHAPTER 2. TOOLS IN THE GENETIC ENGINEERING WORKSHOP

CHAPTER 3. BIOTECHNOLOGY AND THE BODY

CHAPTER 4. BIOTECHNOLOGY ON THE FARM

CHAPTER 5. BIOTECHNOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

CHAPTER 6. BIOTECHNOLOGY IN SEAS AND TREES

CHAPTER 7. ETHICAL ISSUES

Internet Resources

Index

Photo Credits &amp

Sources.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780309590433

0309590434

9780585036489

0585036489

9780309057776

0309057779

OCLC:

42330372