• Question: in the intrest of biotechnology have you made a break through in the past 3 years?

    Asked by apjk03 to Andrew, Emma, Marianne on 14 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Andrew Maynard

      Andrew Maynard answered on 12 Jun 2010:

      Hi apjk03,

      I haven’t personally, but I have been watching the area of “synthetic biology” closely – which is where scientists are beginning to design DNA sequences on the computer and “download” them back into living organisms. You may have seen the headlines a few weeks ago where the scientists Craig Venter and his team created a living bacteria from synthesized DNA. This is an incredibly exciting and important area of research, but because of how powerful the results might be, we also need to think about how to use it wisely – that’s where my research comes in.

    • Photo: Marianne Baker

      Marianne Baker answered on 13 Jun 2010:

      I only started my PhD in 2007, straight after university. So, unfortunately, no I haven’t. It’s very early days for me!!

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Biotechnology: “Any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use.” (nicked from wikiptedia).

      Hi there, This is the kind of question that ought to be directed at scientists all the time. What exactly have you done with all the money we gave you? It’s not enough to say ‘I made some cells turn an unusual colour and videoed it with a swanky microscope’. You have noted the core of the argument which is what practical applications does your work have now/might it have in the future (some projects are slow-builders!) ?

      I’m not afraid to say that I have made no breakthoughs in (specifically) biotechnology in the last three years. It’s just not what I’ve been working towards. The team I work in have taken a pharmacological agent (drug) used in another field and discovered new properties of it that make it an excellent anti-inflammatory agent (like steroids or ibuprofen but much stronger. ) I have used some really neat biotechnological brealkthroughs by other people. These include: gene sequencing, gene transduction, protein transduction. I used these techniques to make a new protein, grow it up and purify it. There’s nothing much more exciting than reassembling genetic code, discovering you’ve done it accurately and then using it to perfrom a biological function (protein production).

    • Photo: Emma Pilgrim

      Emma Pilgrim answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Hi No as I am in a different area of science which is no less important though perhaps not as “sexy” as biotechnology. I am ecologist who works for an agricultural research instiute. My aim is to try and ensuire that we can produce nutritious food for a hungry global population, but do so in a way that doesn’t damage the environment. This means that we need to be able to provide food, clean water and air and reduce the risk of floods or droughts. There has also been some research that shows that hospital patients who have a window view of trees recuperate a lot quicker than those which have a blank wall to stare at. This also shows that humans need something pretty or attractive to look at and probably explains why holidays in Devon and Cornwall are so popular.

      Having said all that it is very important that scientists from different discplines work together so we can help untangle the mysteries of science. One discipline can’t do it all on its own as it would be a biased and incomplete view point!

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