Biotechnology has been used in four main industrial areas, medical, agriculture, industry and environmental field. In medicine, biotechnology plays a vital role in areas of diagnosis, therapy and vaccine production. Through biotechnology, it is now possible to determine the sex of a baby who is yet to be born. Biotechnology is also used in the identification of the individuals carrying only one copy of a gene that needs both copies of the gene for a disease such as hemophilia to manifest. Biotechnology is also used in the prenatal diagnostic screening of conditions such as Down syndrome (PUB, 2010).
Screening of new born for diseases such as phenylketonuria and HIV is now possible through biotechnology. Biotechnology has also enabled presymptomatic testing that enable predicting the possibility of diseases that occur during adulthood such as familial high blood cholesterol, colon cancer, as well as the bladder cancer. Biotechnology has also been used in the conformational diagnosis for individuals with symptoms of diseases such as Huntington’s disease and cystic fibrosis. Biotechnology is also used in forensic testing such as analyzing semen in the prosecution of sexual offenders, analysis of bones, blood, and hair for paternity testing and murder victim.
Biotechnology has also contributed in the development of medication against various diseases. This has taken place in two main ways, which are pharmacogenomics and gene therapy. Gene therapy refers to a technique, which uses genes in the treatment or prevention of diseases. The technique may allow patients to be treated through gene insertion into the cells rather than using surgery or drugs. Gene therapy thus works by making critical changes in the instructions of body cells or genetic message. The approaches that are followed in gene therapy are the replacement of a gene that is faulty with a normal gene, the inactivation of the faulty gene and the introduction of a new gene to fight the disease. Although this technique offers promising treatment options for various diseases such as cancers diseases and hereditary ones, there are still high risks that are associated with the technique. Studies are currently underway to make the technique safe and effective (National Institutes of Health, 2013).
The pharmacogenomics, on the other hand, is applied in knowing the genetic profile of an individual that may help in prescribing the right medication and at the right dose. This, therefore, would minimize the risks such as adverse reactions, side effects, and over dosage. Example of diseases where gene therapy has been used includes the treatment of cancers such as the breast cancer, malignant melanoma, ovarian cancer and small-cell lung cancer (Walsh, 2013).
The third main area where biotechnology is used in medicine is in the development of vaccines (Clark & March, 2006). Biotechnology has been used in placing and maintaining genes in organisms such as bacteria, yeast, as well as mammalian cells through a technique known as gene cloning. The technique is used to synthesize materials such as peptide hormones and cytokines that are used to subunit vaccine. Some of the vaccines that have been produced through this process include the hepatitis B virus vaccine where the hepatitis antigen is synthesized in Escherichia coli as well as in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Other viral vaccines that are currently being worked on through recombinant technology include the vaccine for influenza virus, rabies virus, vesicular stomatitis, herpes simplex virus, and the avian bronchitis virus. The other area where vaccine research has been intensified is in the search for vaccine for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (Liew, 1990).
Reference List
Clark, J. R., & March, J. B. (2006). Bacteriophages and biotechnology: vaccines, gene therapy and antibacterials. Trends in Biotechnology, 24(5), 212-218.
Liew, F. Y. (1990). Biotechnology of Vaccine Development. Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering Reviews, 8, 53-95.
National Institutes of Health. (2013). What is gene therapy? Retrieved July 5, 2013, from http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/therapy/genetherapy
PUB. (2010). BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MEDICAL RESEARCH. Retrieved July 5, 2013, from Public Understanding of Biotechnology: http://www.pub.ac.za/pdfs/factfile_biotech_med.pdf
Walsh, G. (2013). Pharmaceutical Biotechnology: Concepts and Applications. New Jersey: Wiley Publishers.
