Unit 2 Lesson 7 Biotechnology Copyright Houghton Mifflin
Unit 2 Lesson 7 Biotechnology Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 2 Lesson 7 Biotechnology What is biotechnology? • Biotechnology is the use and application of living things and biological processes. • In the past 40 years, new technologies have allowed scientists to directly change DNA. • Biotechnology is not a new scientific field. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 2 Lesson 7 Biotechnology What are some applications of biotechnology? • For thousands of years, humans have been using biotechnology to breed plants and animals, and to ferment foods using bacteria and yeast. • Biotechnology processes fall into some broad categories. • Some of the techniques of biotechnology include artificial selection, genetic engineering, and cloning. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 2 Lesson 7 Biotechnology What are some applications of biotechnology? • For thousands of years, humans have carefully selected and bred plants and animals with desirable traits. • Artificial selection is the process of selecting and breeding organisms that have certain desired traits. • Artificial selection is also called selective breeding. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 2 Lesson 7 Biotechnology What are some applications of biotechnology? • Breeders select for alleles, which are different versions of a gene. • The alleles being selected must already be present in the population. People do not change DNA during artificial selection. • Artificial selection causes certain alleles to become more common in a population. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 2 Lesson 7 Biotechnology What are some applications of biotechnology? • New technology has made it possible to directly change the DNA of an organism. • Genetic engineering is the process in which a piece of DNA is modified for use in research, medicine, agriculture, or industry. • Scientists isolate and change a segment of DNA in an organism, or take a segment of DNA from one organism and transfer it to another. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 2 Lesson 7 Biotechnology What are some applications of biotechnology? • A clone is an organism, cell, or piece of genetic material that is genetically identical to the one from which it was derived. • Cloning can be used to make copies of segments of DNA found at crime scenes. Cloning is also used for genetic engineering. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 2 Lesson 7 Biotechnology What are some applications of biotechnology? • In 1996, scientists cloned the DNA from one sheep’s body cell to produce a clone, which they named Dolly. • The ability to clone a mammal raised many concerns about the future uses of cloning. • It is important that people understand the science of genetics so we can make informed decisions about how the technology should be used. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 2 Lesson 7 Biotechnology Feel the Impact! How does biotechnology impact our world? • There are many ethical, legal, and social issues related to the ability to use and change living things. • Biotechnology can impact both our society and our environment. • We must decide how and when it is acceptable to use certain biotechnology. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 2 Lesson 7 Biotechnology How does biotechnology impact our world? • How do you feel about the following applications of biotechnology? • changing the DNA of mosquitoes so they cannot spread malaria • cloning an endangered species of animal such as the gaur • modifying corn and soybean DNA to make them resistant to plant-eating insects Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
- Slides: 10
