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Molecular Genetics: Biotechnology 422 Views
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Description:
In this video from our course on molecular genetics, learn all about Biotechnology.
Transcript
- 00:00
[ whoosh ]
- 00:01
We speak student!
- 00:03
[ whoosh ]
- 00:07
Molecular Genetics
- 00:08
Biotechnology
Full Transcript
- 00:10
A la Shmoop
- 00:13
We're talking biology with Dr. Ruth Tennen,
- 00:16
and we're gonna talk now about biotechnology.
- 00:19
So, Ruth, tell us -- give us a good definition for what we mean.
- 00:24
'Cause biotechnology can be, probably, many, many things.
- 00:26
Give us a good definition.
- 00:27
What is biotechnology?
- 00:30
So, in the case that I usually think about it,
- 00:33
biotechnology is using organisms like bacteria and yeast
- 00:36
for useful purposes other than what they normally do.
- 00:40
Got it. Okay, fair enough.
- 00:42
Give us some examples.
- 00:44
Like, you know, making medicine...
- 00:47
...talked about insulin and stuff.
- 00:49
- Yep. - Making crops and so on.
- 00:51
Give us some other areas where biotechnology
- 00:53
is being used today and it actually is working.
- 00:56
Yeah, so, definitely making genetically modified crops.
- 00:58
So, for example, there's something called golden rice,
- 01:01
which is a rice variety.
- 01:03
They added a gene so that - or, a series of genes -
- 01:05
so that it makes vitamin A.
- 01:06
So it makes, basically, the rice more nutritious.
- 01:08
So that's one thing, kind of, genetically modifying plants.
- 01:10
Making medicines...
- 01:12
[ cheering ]
- 01:13
Making -- You can make bacteria that might eat oil.
- 01:16
That would be helpful for oil spills.
- 01:18
There's all sorts of --
- 01:18
And there's huge international consortia that are, kind of, trying to figure out,
- 01:21
"How can we combine different interesting genes to make
- 01:23
bacteria do useful things for us?"
- 01:25
But what I know
- 01:26
a lot of people seem to worry about
- 01:28
is that when we genetically modify things
- 01:30
using biotechnology that we don't know what
- 01:33
the after effects are.
- 01:34
So, for example, adding vitamin A to rice.
- 01:37
Are we then replacing rice's resistance to some virus?
- 01:42
Or some other thing that it has that we don't know about
- 01:46
and couldn't know about until it's 400 generations
- 01:49
of replication down the line
- 01:51
and then it comes back to bite us?
- 01:53
[ growling ]
- 01:54
And there's, like, all these Hollywood movies that, you know,
- 01:56
you read about where it ends up in zombie land.
- 02:00
[ ominous music ]
- 02:02
So how does that work?
- 02:03
Like how should we think about that in a rational way,
- 02:05
not by journalists from the left or the right,
- 02:07
you know, trying to get a rating.
- 02:10
Is biotechnology dangerous?
- 02:13
In terms of unforeseen negative consequences,
- 02:15
there are always safety issues whenever you're
- 02:17
genetically manipulating things.
- 02:19
Usually, in the lab, there are safeguards.
- 02:20
So, the bacteria we manipulate in the lab would not
- 02:22
be able to survive outside of the lab anyway,
- 02:25
so that wouldn't cause a problem.
- 02:26
[ evil laugh ]
- 02:28
There's really no scientific evidence that genetically modified crops
- 02:32
or things like that cause real damage, so...
- 02:35
Then why is there so much political, you know,
- 02:39
blabber about all that stuff?
- 02:40
I think part of it is that it's kind of
- 02:42
just like the "yuck" factor.
- 02:44
It's kind of a weird thing.
- 02:45
People shouldn't be playing God.
- 02:46
They shouldn't be doing things like this.
- 02:47
And then there's also obviously, like,
- 02:49
corporate interests coming in.
- 02:50
[ growling ]
- 02:53
What would the lobby be to say,
- 02:54
"No, don't use biotechnology to make better rice"?
- 02:57
Yeah, I think it's like, sometimes small farmers
- 02:59
might not want to be beholden to Monstanto
- 03:02
to get genetically modified crops.
- 03:05
Things like that.
- 03:06
[ mooing ]
- 03:08
And for all you future lawyers out there,
- 03:10
note that there's no scientific evidence
- 03:13
that GMOs as a whole
- 03:15
damage human health or the environment.
- 03:18
But don't just take one expert's opinion.
- 03:21
Get Googling and read all about the subject
- 03:23
if you're interested in learning more.
- 03:27
[ whoop ]
- 03:28
What is biotechnology?
- 03:32
In what areas do we use biotechnology?
- 03:35
Is biotechnology dangerous?
- 03:41
[ growling ]
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