In this unit, we learned about how basic biology is applied to benefit use through the topic of biotech, specifically the technologies and tools used in biotech, it’s applications, and bioethics. Biotech is the manipulation of living things in order to benefit human beings. There are 4 main applications for biotech — industrial and environmental biotech, agricultural biotech, medical and pharmaceutical biotech, and diagnostic research biotech. Industrial and environmental biotech comprised of mainly fermentation for food, biodegradable plastics, and biofuel. Agricultural biotech focuses on the breeding of plants and animals. Medical and pharmaceutical biotech focuses mainly on medicines from other sources, vaccines, and gene therapy. Diagnostic research biotech focuses on the analysis of the DNA, including DNA identification.
This unit was fairly easy for me because it was pretty straightforward. However, learning about recombinant DNA took a little bit longer than the other topics, but once I truly spent my time with that topic, I was able to understand it. During this unit, we did 2 labs, the pGLO lab and the Gel Electrophoresis lab along with 1 virtual lab. Our labs were centered around understanding how to use the technology in biotech. It was very interesting that although the processes were pretty complex biologically, the technologies and how to use them were very simple. In addition, I noticed that as a class, our lab skills improved from first semester, because we were no longer dropping glass or forgetting to clean up, and our labs turned out to be very successful.
In the virtual lab, we learned about the process of Gel Electrophoresis. Then we did a lab using the process of Gel Electrophoresis by separating the dyes of the candy by size. Then we did the pGLO lab, where we transformed the bacteria so the bacteria was resistant to the antibiotic and it glowed under the UV light.
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I want to learn more about the applications of biotech today and I want to learn where the future of biotech is going. However, it does scare me that the more specialized we get and the more we advance in the field of biotech, the riskier it gets and the problems if it malfunctions outweigh the initial problems.
At the beginning of the semester, I wanted to improve my time management skills and not procrastinate as much. I am well on my way to accomplishing those goals because for the most part, I do my homework a day early. However, there have been a few days where I have slipped, but by continuing on this path, I hope to reduce those slipups and not procrastinate any more.
