By: Maha Mustensir
Biotechnology is the culmination of biology and technology to modify a part or the entirety of the biological systems for industrial and human welfare. It is the use of living things especially cells and bacteria for the production of various products.It is a combination of technology, fields such as physics, mathematics,engineering and a study of living things. It is used to create applications for the world of agriculture, to industry work.. The results of biotechnology are diverse and have a nearly endless set of practical products helping us live a longer and healthier life.
For many centuries, people have been using the technique of biotechnology without ever labeling it. In 1919, a Hungarian engineer, Karoly Ereky, named the technology of converting raw materials into more useful products--biotechnology. In our modern world, biotechnology is used to explore the microscopic equipment that can enter the human body, stem cell research, and cloning to replace dead or defective cells and tissues. The presence of biotechnology is also seen in the agricultural field, even though it is often ethically controversial. Over the years, the government has been agreeing to plans such as injecting growth hormones in cows to boost milk production, genetically modifying crops to increase shelf life, and crops that produce their own pesticides. Many people tend to say that this is a moral violation of nature. For example, over the recent years many have raised the question of whether humans are taking the role of god because of their intrusive acts regarding his creations. Nevertheless, it is still being studied to potentially be put into action.
CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) was first discovered by Francisco Mojica, a researcher who worked at the University of Alicante in Spain (1993-2005). He worked continuously on them throughout the years as he came to realize the repeated sequences actually shared a common set of features which were later known as the hallmarks of CRISPR. Mojica then worked with other researchers to find out that these sequences matched snippets from the genomes of bacteriophages. This discovery led to hypothesize that the CRISPR is an adaptive immune system-has the ability to remember any particular invader to the body to help defend the cells during recurring attacks. In 2005, a group of researchers again took hold of the discoveries of CRISPR by Mojica and after many experiments recognized that it was a programmable restriction enzyme. It was also during this time period that it was assured that CRISPR might be used for genome editing. It was reported that the scientists even filled out a patient application including the use of CRISPR to cut or correct the genomic loci in eukaryotic cells, but it lacked sufficient experimental demonstration. In simpler terms, CRISPR is a new kind of genetic engineering that gives scientists the power to edit DNA more efficiently than ever.
CRISPR is a modified system of RNA interference that prokaryotes such as bacteria use to defend themselves against viral infection. It stands for “Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats”. It is based on a type of restriction enzyme that is guided to DNA by a piece of RNA. The enzyme Cas9 cuts the DNA wherever its “guide” RNA hybridizes. Then, a piece of DNA that includes a template sequence is used to repair the break. The RNA and DNA can be designed to precisely target and change essentially any part of a genome in a living cell. A cell that expresses the genes will have both of its chromosomes edited, and the change will be passed to all of the cell’s descendants. CRISPR can also be used to remove mutations or enhance genetic traits in gametes and embryos, in which case the alterations would become part of the human germline and would be passed to the following generation.
The usage of CRISPR may result in negative and positive consequences. Because this technology is used specifically on organisms, the negative consequences will definitely be of more weight-age. Although there are numerous publications that can be used and provide basic background knowledge, if one has a new theory and wants to test it out, they would have to work from scratch. Knowing that these types of experiments are conducted on living things and can end up not working, one of the cons is the large amount of resources one needs to invest. CRISPR experiments can take a number of years or even decades to become successful. There are lives involved in CRISPR experiments as the genes are being modified, and with one mutation a whole normal organism can become the victim of many abnormalities.
One of the pros of this biotechnology is its price compared to other bio-technologies. It has been observed that CRISPR is significantly cheaper than all the other types of gene editing tools and procedures, making it more approachable by scientists/researchers/doctors. Secondly, there are a lot of publications regarding CRISPR and the experience that many professionals have with it; therefore,it is easier for people who now want to use it as they have a solid platform to start off from depending on the type of experiment they want to conduct. The information from these publications can be used to make a hypothesis for other experiments and can be used to increase the experience with this biotechnology. Finally, one of the main pros is that CRISPR is a lot more efficient compared to any other biotechnology. When one of the target areas is determined, there are many feasible routes that can be taken in contrast to other technologies.
References
“CRISPR Timeline.” Broad Institute, 7 2018, www.broadinstitute.org/what-broad/areas-focus/project-spotlight/crispr-timeline.
CohenAug, Jon, et al. “Did CRISPR Help-or Harm-the First-Ever Gene-Edited Babies?” Science, 2 2019, www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/08/did-crispr-help-or-harm-first-ever-gene-edited-babies#.
Shepherd, Colin. “CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing: Weighing the Pros and Cons.” Bitesize Bio, 1 2020, https://bitesizebio.com/44187/crispr-cas9-genome-editing-system-weighing-the-pros-and-cons/
Starr, Cecie, et al. Biology: Concepts & Applications. Cengage Learning, 2018.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Biotechnology.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 25 2019, www.britannica.com/technology/biotechnology.
Naz, Zahra. (2015). Introduction to Biotechnology,