Biotechnology harnesses cellular and biomolecular processes to develop technologies and products

that help improve our lives and the health of our planet.
GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) is a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism whose
genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering or transgenic technology
Genetic Modification is the process of altering the genetic makeup of an organism.
DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms.
LMO is defined in the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety as any living organism that possesses a novel
combination of genetic material obtained through the use of modern biotechnology.

BIODIVERSITY - refers to the variety of life on Earth at all its levels, from genes to ecosystems, and can
encompass the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural processes that sustain life. This includes ecosystem,
genetic and cultural diversity and the connections between these and all species.
2010 International Year of Biodiversity - declared by the United Nation General Assembly. Hence, the
loss biodiversity threatens food supplies, opportunities for recreation and tourism, and sources of wood,
medicines and energy. It also interferes with essential ecological functions.

BIOTECHNOLOGY
 The manipulation of biological processes to serve societal needs.
 Modern biotechnology paves the way for new developments on food and agriculture. Developing new
precise tools and diagnostics; speed up breeding gains and efficiency; develop pest-and disease-resistant
crops; combat salinity; drought; and problems of agriculture; enhance the nutritional quality of food;
increase crops varieties and choice; reduce inputs and production costs; and to increase profits are
some of the goals or aims of modern biotechnology.
“Law and policy of Relevance to the Management of Plant Genetic Resources” a module released by The
Biodiversity International that aims to help professionals in managing, conserving, and use plant genetic
resources for food and agriculture.
The module defines the following:
 Biotechnology uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify
products or processes for a specific use.
 The technique allowing genes and DNA to be transferred from one source to another is Genetic
engineering. It leads to the production of living modified organisms (LMOs) or Genetically modified
organisms (GMOs)
It give scientists molecular tools for obtaining a better understanding of the structure and function of
genes in living organisms.
GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS
 It is a plant, animal, microorganism, or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified using
recombinant DNA methods, gene modification or transgenic technology.
 Genetic engineering does the laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are
extracted and artificially inserted into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal
 This aims to address issues with regard to food security, agriculture, drug production, and nutrition.
GENETIC MODIFICATION
Steps are:
1. Identification of the desired trait from another organism.
2. A gene containing this trait is first isolated and replicated.
3. The insertion of traits. Only the sections of the gene that carry the particular characteristic that will be
integrated into the adult organism.
 In this process of recombinant DNA technology, the information needed for an organism can be
borrowed from another. A farmer can design an organism to have the characteristics relevant to address
particular issues.
 For example, a farmer may want the crops to have less chance of getting bruised due to rough
handling. If an organism containing a gene that prevents bruising in the mature fruit could be found,
then this characteristic could then be used to modify the crops through the process of recombinant
gene technology.
CARTAGENA PROTOCOL ON BIOSAFETY is an international agreement which aims to ensure the safe
handling, transport, and used of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology
that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health.
 It takes precautionary approach by assuring that countries are provided with the data necessary to
make informed decisions prior in agreeing the import of such organisms in their country.

Examine the costs and benefits to society of nanotechnology and the opportunities that may open by
gene therapy.
Nano - One nanometer is equivalent to a billionth of a meter
Nanotechnolgy – the manipulation of matter on an atomic or subatomic scale.
Gene - small sections of DNA within the genome that code for proteins. They contain the instructions for
our individual characteristics – like eye and hair colour.
Stem Cell - are cells with the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body. They
serve as a repair system for the body. There are two main types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells and
adult stem cells.
WHY NANO? (10-9 )
 Nanostructures can be found in nature. Such as catalysts, minerals, and other particles that are
measured on a nano scale.
 Nanoscience deals with materials that are very small using specialized microscopes and other nano
devices.
 The nano world cannot be seen in the naked eye. It can be recognized and identified after technology
has allowed for discovery of nanostructures.
 This leads to innovations developed in this field that include microprocessors and strain-resistant
fabrics and many others from manipulating matter on an atomic or subatomic scale called
Nanotechnology
WHAT IS DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)?
- A long molecule that contains our unique genetic code. It holds the instructions for making all the
proteins in our bodies.
- The information in DNA is stored as a code made up of four chemical bases: adenine (A), guanine (G),
cytosine (C), and thymine (T). Human DNA consists of about 3 billion bases, and more than 99 percent of
those bases are the same in all people.
- DNA bases pair up with each other, A with T and C with G, to form units called base pairs. Each base is
also attached to a sugar molecule and a phosphate molecule.
- The thread like structure that that packed the DNA molecule is called chromosomes.
- In humans, each cell normally contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 46. Twenty-two of these
pairs, called autosomes, look the same in both males and females. The 23rd pair, the sex chromosomes,
it differ between males and females. Females have two copies of. the X chromosome, while males have
one X and one Y chromosome.
GENE THERAPY is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease.
MEDICINE is one example of a scientific and technological innovation that made a breakthrough in the
area of human health. The known one was the aspirin (relieved for various pain), an old technology in
21st century.
Gene therapy is one of the new discoveries on the areas of molecular and atomic physics that are
applied in biological basic building blocks (gene). This technique may allow doctors to treat a disorder by
inserting a gene into a patient’s cells instead of using drugs or surgery. Researchers are testing several
approaches to gene therapy, including:
 Replacing a mutated gene that causes disease with a healthy copy of the gene.
 Inactivating, or “knocking out,” a mutated gene that is functioning improperly.
 Introducing a new gene into the body to help fight a disease.
This could be a promising treatment option for a number of diseases (including inherited disorders,
some types of cancer, and certain viral infections) but , it remains risky and still under study to make
sure that it will be safe and effective.
WHAT IS STEM CELL?
Stem cells are cells with the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body. They
serve as a repair system for the body.
Two main types of stem cells:
a. embryonic stem cells - derived from the undifferentiated inner mass cells of a human embryo (IVF).
Can develop into each of the more than 200 cell types of the adult body as long as they are specified to
do so.
b. adult stem cells - are undifferentiated cells found throughout the body that divide to replenish dying
cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Have abilities to divide or self-renew indefinitely and generate all
the cell types of the organ from which they originate — potentially regenerating the entire organ from a
few cells.
Stem cells are different from other cells in the body in three ways:
a. They can divide and renew themselves over a long time
b. They are unspecialized, so they cannot do specific functions in the body
c. They have the potential to become specialized cells, such as muscle cells, blood cells, and brain cells.
WHAT IS STEM CELL THERAPY?
Stem cell also known as regenerative medicine, promotes the repair response of diseased, dysfunctional
or injured tissue using stem cells or their derivatives. It is the next chapter in organ transplantation and
uses cells instead of donor organs, which are limited in supply.
 Researchers grow stem cells in a lab. These stem cells are manipulated to specialize into specific types
of cells, such as heart muscle cells, blood cells or nerve cells.
 The specialized cells can then be implanted into a person. For example, if the person has heart disease,
the cells could be injected into the heart muscle. The healthy transplanted heart muscle cells could then
contribute to repairing defective heart muscle.
But according to Filipino-American doctor-lawyer Samuel Bernal, an expert in the fields of regenerative
medicine and regulatory law, the public should take a lot of precautions. It’s not a “cure to all”, it is
actually trying to allow the body to heal itself. It requires ‘analyzing at the molecular level what is
causing the problem or (what could be done) to prevent the problem. It’s just a small part of the
molecular approach to medicine.
Doctor –Lawyer Samuel Bernal – educated at Johns Hopkins’ and Harvard Medical School. He’s currently
Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of California –Los Angeles. A member of American
Association of Clinical Oncologists, the American Association of Cancer Researchers, and recognized as
cancer investigator with the US National Institutes of Health.
Temperature - is a measure of how hot or cold something is; specifically, a measure of the average
kinetic energy of the particles in an object, which is a type of energy associated with motion.
Climate – refers to the long –term weather patterns prevailing over a given area of the planet Climate.
Change – describes what the weather is like over a long period of time in a specific area.
Parameters – any of a set of physical properties whose values determine the characteristics or behavior
of something (parameters of the atmosphere such as temperature, pressure, and density)
Industrialization – the conversion of an agrarian economy into an industrialized one on a large scale.
In this topic, it concludes the interaction among science, technology, and society which is the climate
change.
Below, is another consideration in explaining climate change which an interaction between the Sun and
planet Earth:
EARTH’S MOVEMENT AROUND THE SUN
 While the orbit remains an ellipse, its position or orientation in space changes over time. The Earth’s
tilt position result an unequal amount received of sunlight. It’s spinning around its own axis with
imaginary line from North Pole to the South Pole which dips and wobbles gradually.
The elements in this interaction between the sun and the earth are defined as follows:
1. Aphelion refers to the point in the orbit of the Earth farthest from the sun.
2. Perihelion is the point in the orbit of the Earth closest to the sun.
3. Earth’s axial tilt is the inclination angle of the Earth’s rotational axis in relation to a line perpendicular
to its orbital plane.
4. Precession is the change of the orientation of the rotational axis of the Earth.
5. Equinox refers to the time the sun at noon is directly over the equator. It happens twice a year and
causes an almost length of day and night.
6. Solstice happens when the sun at noon sits above the Tropic of Cancer or Tropic of Capricorn. The
summer solstice has the longest period of daylight in the year and the winter solstice has the shortest
period.
7. Precession of the equinoxes refers to the motion of the equinoxes relative to the precession of the
Earth’s axis of rotation. It happens over thousands of years.
MILANKOVITCH PARAMETERS
MILUTIN MILANKOVITCH (1879-1958), a Serbian mathematician and geophysicist, best known for his
work that linked long-term changes in climate to astronomical factors affecting the amount of solar
energy received at Earth’s surface.
 He proposed that the mechanism that brought about periods of glaciation was driven by cyclic changes
in eccentricity as well as two other orbital parameters: precession (a change in the directional focus of
Earth’s axis of rotation) and axial tilt (a change in the inclination of Earth’s axis with respect to the plane
of its orbit around the Sun). Below, are the orbital Milankovitch variations.

The Milankovitch cycles include:

a. The shape of Earth’s orbit, known as eccentricity (isn’t perfectly circular, but it’s pretty close due to
the pull of gravity from Saturn and Jupiter);
b. The angle Earth’s axis is tilted with respect to Earth’s orbital plane, known as obliquity (The angle
Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted as it travels around the Sun between 22.1 and 24.5 degrees
perpendicular to the Earth’s orbital plane); and
c. The direction Earth’s axis of rotation is pointed, known as precession (it wobbles slightly upon its
axis).
The Milankovitch parameters seem to be part of the cause of climate change, though not the only
cause but there are some other factors needed. Scientists who studied climate change agreed that the
average temperature of the planet has been increasing by over 90% in the latter part of 21st century.
GLOBAL WARMING is a phenomenon of climate change characterized by a general increase in average
temperatures on Earth which modifies weather balances and ecosystem for a long time linked to the
increased of greenhouse gases particularly the carbon dioxide. This is greatly abutted by the actions of
human beings either from the past and present actions.

GREENHOUSE GASES
these gases in the atmosphere that trap the heat of the sun. It naturally captures and holds the heat
from the sun in the atmosphere so that the Earth’s temperature becomes hotter than it would be
otherwise. This mechanism is good for the biosphere without it, earth’s atmosphere would become like
Of Mars or Antarctica which is extremely cold. The main greenhouse gases are:
 Water vapor
 Carbon dioxide
 Methane
 Ozone
 Nitrous oxide
 Chlorofluorocarbons

John Tyndall (British Engineer)

–concerned to what would become of the Earth’s atmosphere if industrialization became

widespread.
 Machines are primary used in an industry, the production of electricity by means of burning fossil fuel
like coal increases as industrialization took place. But in Tyndall’s time, manufacturing plants were not
widespread. The burning of fossil fuel that time was not good enough to be an issue.

Charles David Keeling (American Scientist)

– in mid- 20th century, led to find out if increased of burning fossil fuel and the consequent
release of CO2 in the atmosphere and changing the global temperature. He started to measure the
amount of CO2 in the atmosphere far away from the industrialized nations but on the extinct volcano on
the island of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean (Weart, 2003). Below shows the graph of Keeling:

The Keeling Curve (taken at Maula Loa Observatory in Hawai

 The graph shows that the concerns of Engineer Tyndall in 19th century and Dr. Keeling in the mid-20th
century were well founded. The carbon dioxide concentration has gone up and the temperature has also
risen as a proof of global warming.

 Scientists turned to history and technology to substantiate that there is a causal relationship between
high CO2 and temperature levels. This issues concerns many nations since not burning fossil fuels may
mean not industrializing or modernizing after contemporary debate were laid. The debate was hinges on
what really is happening and causing the global warming. Another concerned area of the debate is
centered on the predictions to what will happen to the climate of the world in the future?

Below would be the possible Future Actions:

a. Using computer models – the challenge is to assemble sufficient and well-established data from all
over the world to make the predictions as accurate as possible (Sparks & Hawkesworth, 2004).

b. Scientist setting a “tipping points” (specifying values of meteorological parameters in which

irreversible changes will take place). Upon reaching the tipping point, a new state would replace the old
one.

A balanced plan must be created if we want to industrialize and at the same time protecting the
environment. Science has given the humanity a tool for modernization. It allows the emergence of
technology that spreads and applies knowledge for the attainment of the good life.