Genetics, Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering

Words to Know• Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR): A technique to amplify a specific sequence of

DNA.• Transgenic: An organism into which cloned genetic material has been

transferred.• Vector: An agent that can incorporate foreign DNA and transfer that DNA from

one organism to another.• Gene Therapy: The correction of a genetic disorder in a cell by the addition of

new DNA that is inserted in the genome.• Cloning: The process of creating exact copies of DNA, usually by using bacteria.• Bioethics: the branch of ethics, philosophy and social commentary that

discusses the life sciences and their potential impact on our society.• Knockout: A way to target a single allele for deletion and replacement with

DNA of your choice using homologous recombination. Used to study human mutations in animals.

• Stem Cell: A type of cell that can differentiate into almost any kind of other cell

The Body

• The Body: The physical structure of a person or an animal, including the bones, flesh, and organs.

• Organ: A grouping of tissues into a distinct structure, as a heart, liver or brain in animals, or a leaf or stamen in plants, that performs a specialized task.

• Cell: Basic functional unit of life. Cells are specialized into certain types. Examples are heart cells, liver cells, or brain cells.

Organic Chemistry

• Organic chemistry is a sub discipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds; molecules that contain carbon atoms.

• Organic chemistry is important because it is the study of life and all of the chemical reactions related to life. Several careers apply an understanding of organic chemistry, such as doctors, veterinarians, dentists, pharmacists, chemical engineers, and chemists.

Genetics and Biotechnology

• Genetics: The science of heredity, dealing with resemblances and differences of related organisms resulting from the interaction of their genes and the environment.

• Biotechnology: The use of living organisms or other biological systems in the manufacture of drugs or other products. Genetically engineered bacteria to produce human hormones, and monoclonal antibodies to identify antigens.

Genetics: The Basics• The entire collection of genes in an organism

is called a genome. All genomes are made up of 4 basic nucleotides: Adenine, Guanine, Thymine, and Cytosine, abbreviated A, G, T, and C.

• DNA (DexoyriboNucleic Acid) is a double stranded helix, which means two complementary strands attach and twist into a helical shape. A always attaches to T and G always attaches to C.

• Hydrogen bonds hold the bases together.• The human genome is made up of over 3

billion base pairs.• Unintended changes in the sequence of DNA

are called mutations.

Why Genetics?

• Genetics can help answer questions about diseases, cancers, and disabilities.

• Learning what’s wrong at the genetic level can lead to treatments and cures for a wide range of metabolic disorders.

• Knowledge of genetics also allows for manipulation of plants and cells to obtain different outcomes, such as biological drugs that can target a certain cell type

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Using Biotechnology

• Biotechnology techniques let people manipulate cells, genes, and molecules.

• Genetic engineering is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using biotechnology.

• Organisms that have been genetically engineered are bacteria, mice, corn, and salmon.

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Genetic Engineering and Enzyme Production

• One use for genetic engineering is to study and analyze enzymes.• Enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions that

otherwise would take a very long time to occur.• The study of enzymes which we call enzymology often includes

the study of the enzymes structure and function.• When we study the structure we want to know how the protein

folds and where on the protein it may interact with other proteins, minerals, or the chemicals involved in the reaction that the enzyme is catalyzing.

• Enzymes are also good for creating medicines that are biologically relevant, whereas chemical creation of medicines can lead to more dangerous substances.

Gene Therapy

• The use of DNA as a pharmaceutical agent to treat disease.

• Using DNA that encodes a functional gene in order to replace a mutated gene.

• In gene therapy, DNA that encodes a therapeutic protein is packaged within a vector, which is used to get the DNA inside cells within the body.

Pharmacogenetics

• Genetic differences in metabolic pathways which can effect individual responses to drugs in terms of both therapeutic and adverse effects.

• One of the main focuses of this field is predicting and preventing drug-drug interactions.

• Advancements and discoveries in this field would lead to much safer and highly customizable medicines and treatments.

Stem Cells• A stem cell is a cell with the potential to form many of the different cell

types found in the body. This is called being “pluripotent.”• Embryonic stem cells have the potential to become any type of cell in the

body, whereas adult stem cells can only form certain types of specialized cells.

• Adult stem cells are found residing in certain types of tissue, and are usually there to replace damaged cells, like when muscle or skin tissue is damaged.

• Stem cells are different from other cells because they can continue replicating for a long period of time, they are unspecialized, and they can become almost any specialized cell.

• Induced pluripotent stem cells are adult cells that have been genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic cell like state by being forced to express certain genes important to embryonic stem cells.

Stem Cell Use

• Stem cell research will teach us a lot about the way organisms develop and cells divide.

• Some serious medical conditions like cancer and birth defects are related to the way cells divide and differentiate.

• Stem cells could also be used to test new drugs. The effects of drugs could be observed on the cells before any human use.

Branches of Biomedical Engineering• Biomedical Imaging combines knowledge of a unique

physical phenomenon (sound, radiation, magnetism, etc.) with high speed electronic data processing, analysis and display to generate an image. Often, these images can be obtained with minimal or completely noninvasive procedures, making them less painful and more readily repeatable than invasive techniques.

Branches of Biomedical Engineering• Biomechanics Progress in biomechanics has led to the

development of the artificial heart and heart valves, artificial joint replacements, as well as a better understanding of the function of the heart and lung, blood vessels and capillaries, and bone, cartilage, intervertebral discs, ligaments and tendons of the musculoskeletal systems.

Transgenic Animal Model System

• A Transgenic animal is an animal that has undergone genetic modification.

• Transgenic animals usually have a foreign gene introduced, a gene overexpressed, or a gene deleted from their genome

• Transgenic animals are useful in studying diseases that affect humans, or discovering how different systems interact with each other.

• Our lab uses a genetically modified mouse that mimics a human disease known as biotinidase deficiency. This disease occurs in humans when a particular gene is mutated.

Healthcare and Biomedical Engineering Connection

• Biomedical Engineers seek to close the gap between engineering, medicine, and science

• Biomedical Engineers work with physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals

• They may be needed to design instruments, devices, and software, to bring together knowledge from many technical sources to develop new procedures, or to conduct research needed to solve clinical problems.

• Biomedical engineers play a significant role in mapping the human genome, robotics, tissue engineering, and in nanotechnology.

Video

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OVf5z9f0G0

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSv-Rq5C3K8

Sources• http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/genetics• http://www.gen.cam.ac.uk/undergrad/whygenetics.html• https://westweb.madison.k12.wi.us/science/biotech/vocabulary.htm• http://geneed.nlm.nih.gov/topic_subtopic.php?tid=52&sid=53