An example of development in Science and
Technology that man brings about is:
A Group Project by: Crystal Chew (2), Tan Ying Hui (9)
Ryan Wee (25),Muhd Dhafer (19), Rohith Srinivas (22)
P6 Victorious, Group 3
General Description
Biotechnology is the use or modification of organisms or
their processes for human purposes, such as developing
medicines or enhancing crops. In biotechnology, humans alter
biotic factors to achieve desired outcomes. Biotechnology is
applied in five main ways – red, white, green, blue and black.
Description
Red Biotechnology
Red biotechnology is applied medically. Man alters the genetic
makeup of organisms to produce or improve a medical
product, or to observe the reaction of a genetically-modified
organism to a medical product.
Description
Biotechnology
White biotechnology is industrial-centred. Man alters the
genetic makeup of organisms or uses them to create products
which are industrially useful, destroy harmful products, or
simplify industrial processes.
Description
Biotechnology
Green biotechnology is applied agriculturally. It is used to find
or modify the genetic characteristics of crops or livestock. Man
alters the organisms' genetic makeup to produce the desired
outcome.
Description
Biotechnology
Blue biotechnology is applied to marine environments. Man
alters organisms' genetic makeups and introduces them to a
marine environment or introduces existing substances or
organisms to ensure marine safety.
Description
Biotechnology
Black biotechnology is all about creating energy. Man
creates renewable energy faster to replace fossil fuels, which
are running out and pollute the environment. Man alters or
creates organisms to create clean and natural energy.
Guiding Questions
• Human Activity - Should man bear responsibility
towards the environment from which he draws his
resources?
• Technology - Is technology good or bad in itself?
Human Activity
Humans carry out many activities to meet our needs and to
build better lives. These activities have a great impact on:
• the Earth
• the human race
• the environment
• the organisms that inhabit the Earth
Humans:
• take many resources from the environment
• release harmful substances to the environment, such as
greenhouse gases
Human Activity
This causes:
• Environmental problems
• Nature to be unable to repair the damage
To satisfy our needs, we inadvertently sacrifice the future of
the Earth and the oganisms that inhabit it.
Technology
Benefits:
Saves lives
(medicine)
People have more
access to knowledge
Saves time
Brings enjoyment
Always connected to
others
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Detriements:
People get lazier
Expensive
People lose social
skills
Cyber-bullying
Easier for criminals to
carry out crimes
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Technology is good as long as it is used responsibly,
appropriately and for its purpose.
Benefits to Man and the
Community
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Fermentation - Food Production
Medicinal Benefits - Red Biotechnology
GM Foods - Green Biotechnology
Industrial Benefits - White Biotechnology
Marine Benefits - Blue Biotechnology
Renewable Energy Sources - Black
Biotechnology
Fermentation
What is fermentation?
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Chemical change
Oldest biotech process
An anaerobic process
A process where energy is produced without oxygen or
other inorganic electron acceptors.
How is fermentation useful to organisms?
• In the absence of oxygen, yeast and bacteria carry out
fermentation to gain energy for:
o Growth
o Respiration
Fermentation
Examples of fermentation at work:
• Production of beer, wine and bread
o Fermentation of sugar by yeast.
• Bread
o Yeast ferments sugar in the dough. Carbon dioxide is
produced and forms gas bubbles. They expand and cause
the dough to rise when baked.
• Production of cheese and yoghurt
o Fermentation of milk by bacteria.
Medicinal Benefits
Red Biotechnology
• Vaccines
o
o
Safer
More effective
• New cures for genetic diseases (Gene therapy)
o
Genetically-modified organisms produce new cures
• Study of how a person's genetic inheritance alters his or
her response to drugs (pharmacogenomics)
o
o
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Modifying organisms' genetic makeup to test their reactions
to medical products
Medical products tailored to an individual's genetic needs
More accurate dosage of drugs
• Better genetic testing
o
Scientists can design probes to examine the DNA molecule.
Genetically-modified (GM) Food
Biotechnology
1. Better crop yield
Explanation: GM Crops are pest-resistant, which would
result in lesser crops lost to insect attacks. GM Crops can
also be modified so that they produce seeds faster. This is
a solution to the problem of a dwindling food supply due to
a rapid increase of world population.
Example: Cotton (cottonseed oil): Pest-resistant due to
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystal protein gene
added/transferred to plant genome
GM Food
Biotechnology
2. Healthier food
Explanation: There will be a decrease in the usage of
pesticides so the food will contain less chemicals.
3. Better working conditions for farmers
Explanation: Less exposure to harmful chemicals found in
pesticides, as there is no need to use them anymore.
Pesticides can cause toxic effects, Chemical
Sensitivity Syndrome and cancer.
GM Food
Biotechnology
4. More environmentally-friendly farming
Explanation: Less harmful chemicals such as those found in pesticides will be
released into the air, as less pesticides will be needed.
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These chemicals harm other non-target species of medicinal value,
reducing biodiversity
o Cocoa plant - Used for anaesthetics
o Cinchona Tree - Used for quinine, a cure for malaria
o Curare Liana - Used as tubocurarine, a muscle relaxant for surgery
o Calabar Bean - Used as neostigmine, a cure for glaucoma
o Wild Yams - Used to make cortisone, an ingredient in birth control pills
o Rosy Periwinkle - Used to make vincristine, which treats paediatric
leukaemia and Hodgkin's disease
They may contribute to soil contamination and cause water pollution
GM Food
Biotechnology
5. More nutritional food
Explanation: The creation of GM food allows the foods to
contain more nutrients from the genes that are inserted into
the organism.
Examples: Golden Rice - Increased iron and Vitamin A
Canola (seeds are used for producing edible oil) with oils that
have less cholesterol.
Golden Rice
Normal Rice
GM Food
Biotechnology
6. Improved taste
Example: Flavr-Savr tomato*
As tomatoes ripen, they:
Farmers have to harvest
tomatoes before theyare
ripe and make them ripe
using ethylene gas which
results in the loss of flavour.
• Become soft
• Become hard to harvest
• Become hard to maintain in
ideal conditions
Flavr-Savr tomatoes:
• Ripen on the vine longer
• Maintain firmer skin
This results in more flavour.
*Flavr-Savr tomatoes were apporved for
consumption, and had a brief commercial success,
but eventually failed. Currently, they are not yet
successful GM crops, and are still under research
and evaluation.
GM Food
Biotechnology
7. Disease-resistant crops
Examples:
• Hawaiian Papaya: Resistant to Papaya Ringspot Virus
o New gene transferred into plant genome
• Squash (Zucchini): Resistant to watermelon, cucumber
and zucchini yellow mosaic viruses
o Contains coat protein genes of viruses
• Sweet Peppers: Resistant to virus
o Contains coat protein genes of the virus
GM Foods
Biotechnology
8. Crops have increased tolerance to unfavourable
conditions
Explanation: Wheat, rice and maize crops that are droughttolerant are currently being created. These crops can grow
in water-deficient lands and prevent harvest shortfalls in the
event of a drought. This enables more crops to be produced
though in dry land.
Industrial Benefits
Biotechnology
• New and valuable chemicals that act as industrial catalysts to
speed up industrial processes
o
With the correct processes and modification, enzymes can be
used to create chemicals needed for industrial processes
• More environmentally-friendly processes
o
When organisms are used to speed up or complete biological
processes, less carbon emissions are produced
• Bioleaching
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Easier extraction of metals from their ores by bacteria
• Cleanup of waste and sites contaminated by industrial activities
o
Organisms can be designed to break these harmful chemicals
down
Marine Benefits
Biotechnology
• Cleaning up of Marine oil spills.
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Organisms are designed to break down crude oil
E.g. Scientist Ananda Chakrabarty developed a bacterium
that breaks down crude oil
Organisms introduced remove the oil.
Clean up the crude oil faster than a human can, reducing
the damage caused by oil spills.
• Increase of supply of certain seafood
o
Genetically-modified organisms to do this
• Control of spread of certain dangerous seafood
o
Genetically-modified organisms do so
Renewable Energy Sources
Biotechnology
• Cleaner Energy Sources
o
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Microbes absorb carbon dioxide
It is converted to a more complex molecule
Energy without burning, which is needed for fossil fuels
Burning causes carbon dioxide to be released into the
atmosphere
• Renewable Energy Sources
o
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Microbes produce energy very fast
Coal takes a much longer period of time (compared to our
lifespan) to form.
Future of Biotechnology
Red Biotechnology – Chemical Engineering of
Medicine
Plants that slow down Growth Congenital Diseases like AIDS and
Cancer can now be genetically modified to cure and even prevent
these diseases.
White Biotechnology – Plant Fuel
New research suggests that cleaner and more efficient oil from
genetically-modified plants can be used to power machinery in
factories.
Green Biotechnology – Cloning
New research suggests that widespread cloning may be possible for
crops and livestock in near future. Though scientists had failed in the
first experiment of “Dolly the sheep”, a newer, safer method has
been discovered to clone organisms more quickly.
Future of Biotechnology
Blue Biotechnology – New species of Phytoplankton
Scientists have been able to engineer a species of phytoplankton
that is able to reproduce faster, increasing the supply of food for the
animals in the sea. This solves the problem of a lack of seafood for
fishing and goes some way in preventing the extinction of certain
sea species.
Black Biotechnology – Energy Structuring
New research suggests that we will soon be able to harness
genetically-modified microbes. They will halve energy consumption,
reducing the consumption of earth’s natural resources. They will
also be used to speed up the forming of fossil fuels.
Impacts of Biotechnology on
the Environment and Ecology
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Positive Effects
o Newer and more efficient vaccines and cures
o Less harmful chemicals such as those found in pesticides
are released into the environment
o More environmentally-friendly
o Speeding up of industrial processes
o Decontamination of industrial sites
o More efficient cleaning up of oil spills
o Clean and renewable energy
o All the other benefits previously mentioned in this
presentation
Impacts of Biotechnology on
the Environment and Ecology
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Negative Effects – Genetically-modified food
o Unintended harm to other organisms in the ecosystem when
crops and livestock are genetically-modified
o New weeds or pests due to genetically-modified crops and
livestock which are hard to control
o Cross-pollination of genetically-modified crops with other
genetically-modified crops resulting in potentially hazardous
offspring
o Taste of genetically-modified food unnatural
o Exclusiveness of genetically-modified food to certain
powerful and dominant countries can cause tensions
Impacts of Biotechnology on
the Environment and Ecology
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Negative Effects – Genetically-modified food
o Labelling and separating of genetically-modified and non
genetically-modified food takes time, money and manpower,
driving up food costs
o Certain toxic effects to organs
o May cause cancer
o Allergic reactions to genetic-modified food due to the transfer
of allergen protein or creation of new allergens
o Illegal genetically-modified food due to the difficulty of
determining whether all food is genetically-modified; these
could be used as biological weapons, or could be unsafe
Impacts of Biotechnology on
the Environment and Ecology
•
Negative Effects – Others
o Upsetting the balance of nature
o Allergies due to new medicines and chemicals
o Loss of privacy. Medical information is shared so that red
biotechnology can be used to create medicines suited to an
individual’s genetic needs. This can result in:
o Crime
o Discrimination against those with medical problems
o Harmful chemicals unintentionally created through white
biotechnology
o Genetic weapons and bio-warfare due to biotechnology.
o Super-viruses unintentionally created when creating new
medicines
o Cloning – creation of dangerous organisms
Summary
Biotechnology
Red
Medicine
Blue
Marine
Green
GM Foods
White
Industrial
Black
Energy
Fermentation Food Production