Introduction

This is for my grade 8 students who are more than willing to learn everything about Biotechnology.

More videos will be added at my earliest convenience. For now, follow the links provided and you'll never go wrong with this discipline.

 

 

 

 

Biotechnology

Introduction

One of the newest, yet controversial fields in science today is

biotechnology. Biotechnology began in the 1970s after the development of

genetic engineering that allowed scientists to modify the genetic material of living cells.

 

 

 

Genetic engineering is the manipulation of DNA molecules to produce modified plants,

 

animals, or other organisms. DNA is the part of a cell that controls the genetic

 

information of an animal or plant. DNA is a double-stranded molecule that is present in

 

every cell of an organism. The genetic information is contained in individual units or

 

sections of DNA called genes. The genes that are passed from parent to offspring

 

determine the traits that the offspring will have. Scientists are now able to isolate the gene

 

or genes for the traits they want in one animal or plant and move them into another. The

 

movement of a gene from one organism to another is called recombinant DNA

technology.

This technology is advancing at a very rapid pace.

 

 

Why?

There are people who question why the world needs biotechnology. Countries like

Canada have a surplus of quality food. There are many countries in the world that do not

have enough food to go around. One major challenge of the future will be meeting the

growing demand for food as the planet’s population expands. Farmers have been

improving their crops for many years by developing new practices. Now the search is on

for ways to speed up the process and create new crops which display distinctive

advantages over current strains. The goal of scientists is to improve crop yields

and to diminish further damage to the environment through the over-use of chemicals.

 

Scientists have turned to biotechnology to develop these new crops.

 

Many of these plants are able to protect themselves from the viruses and insects which

 

damage them.

 

Agri-science Resources

for High School Sciences

Biology