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In this article, we will learn about few more major inventions of biotechnology:
1. Biofuel: It is a renewable energy source derived from biological material/biomass using contemporary biological processes like agriculture or anaerobic digestion (breakdown of a substance in the absence of oxygen). It is a potential substitute for fossil fuels that are fast depleting. First biofuel was discovered in the 1890s by Rudolph Diesel, who designed an engine to run on peanut oil. Gasohol, a mixture of ethanol (derived from grains like corn, sugarcane, wheat, soybeans) and gasoline, is used as an efficient biofuel. Jatropha oil derived from jatropha curcas plant is another example. It can grow effortlessly even in wastelands. An efficient smoke-free biofuel, it also has the properties of an insecticide.
2. Genetically Modified Crops (GM crops): These are foods derived from organisms whose genetic material/DNA has been modified in a way that is not natural. Genetic modification is aimed at improving the quality of foods, increasing disease resistance in plants and improving the yield of crops. The first commercial GM crop was a Californian Flavr Savr tomato, approved in 1994 by US Food and Drug Administration and was genetically altered to have a longer shelf life. The first Indian GM crop to be approved was ‘Bt cotton’ (genes for production of natural insecticide used from bacillus thuringiensis (bacteria), hence the name). The seeds for it were marketed by Mahyco, a partner of US multinational Monsanto. Later, the sale of Bt cotton was banned with immediate effect as inferior quality seeds were supplied. Bt brinjal developed later on was also banned since it posed a potential threat to people’s health.
3. Stem Cell research: Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with the potency to divide and take form of almost any other cell (phenomenon termed as totipotency). Given these regenerative abilities, research on stem cells create a new potential in the field of therapeutics and can provide better treatment options for life threatening diseases. Dr. Sayan Basu (of L V Prasad Eye Institute) claimed that stem cells can be an alternative to corneal transplantation after the successful animal study.
Link to Biotechnology – capsule 1:
https://www.pagalguy.com/articles/general-science-bullet-biotechnology-capsule-1-35012272
Link to Biotechnology – capsule 2:
https://www.pagalguy.com/articles/general-science-bullet-biotechnology-capsule-2-35033362
Link to Biotechnology – capsule 3:
https://www.pagalguy.com/articles/general-science-bullet-biotechnology-capsule-3-35050091
Link to Biotechnology – capsule 5:
https://www.pagalguy.com/articles/general-science-bullet-biotechnology-capsule-5-35131807
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