Liberation Biology

Liberation Biology PDF Author: Ronald Bailey
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
By the middle of the 21st century century we can expect that the rapid progress in biotechnology will utterly transform human life. Even the prospect of immortality beckons. Such scenarios excite many people and frighten or appall many others--already biotechnology opponents are organizing political movements aimed at restricting scientific research, banning the development and commercialization of various products and technologies, and limiting citizens' access to the fruits of the biotech revolution. Bailey, science writer for Reason magazine, argues that the coming biotechnology revolution, far from endangering human dignity, will enable more of us to live flourishing lives free of disease, disability, and the threat of early death. Bailey covers the full range of the coming biotechnology breakthroughs, from stem-cell research to third-world farming, from brain-enhancing neuropharmaceuticals to designer babies.--From publisher description.

Liberation Biology

Liberation Biology PDF Author: Ronald Bailey
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 344

Get Book Here

Book Description
By the middle of the 21st century century we can expect that the rapid progress in biotechnology will utterly transform human life. Even the prospect of immortality beckons. Such scenarios excite many people and frighten or appall many others--already biotechnology opponents are organizing political movements aimed at restricting scientific research, banning the development and commercialization of various products and technologies, and limiting citizens' access to the fruits of the biotech revolution. Bailey, science writer for Reason magazine, argues that the coming biotechnology revolution, far from endangering human dignity, will enable more of us to live flourishing lives free of disease, disability, and the threat of early death. Bailey covers the full range of the coming biotechnology breakthroughs, from stem-cell research to third-world farming, from brain-enhancing neuropharmaceuticals to designer babies.--From publisher description.

Cracking the Code

Cracking the Code PDF Author: Jim Mellon
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119969379
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 363

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Book Description
Everything you need to know about the most important trend in the history of the world Within most people's lifetimes, the developments in the biotechnology sector will allow us to live increasingly long and healthy lives, as well as provide us with technological innovations that will transform the way we live. But these innovations offer more than just hope for a better life, but hope for better returns too. Financial returns of incredible magnitude await savvy investors and businesspeople who can see the massive changes on the horizon. This book details these fast-moving trends and innovations and offers extensive advice on how to profit from them in business and investing.

Industrialization of Biology

Industrialization of Biology PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309316553
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
The tremendous progress in biology over the last half century - from Watson and Crick's elucidation of the structure of DNA to today's astonishing, rapid progress in the field of synthetic biology - has positioned us for significant innovation in chemical production. New bio-based chemicals, improved public health through improved drugs and diagnostics, and biofuels that reduce our dependency on oil are all results of research and innovation in the biological sciences. In the past decade, we have witnessed major advances made possible by biotechnology in areas such as rapid, low-cost DNA sequencing, metabolic engineering, and high-throughput screening. The manufacturing of chemicals using biological synthesis and engineering could expand even faster. A proactive strategy - implemented through the development of a technical roadmap similar to those that enabled sustained growth in the semiconductor industry and our explorations of space - is needed if we are to realize the widespread benefits of accelerating the industrialization of biology. Industrialization of Biology presents such a roadmap to achieve key technical milestones for chemical manufacturing through biological routes. This report examines the technical, economic, and societal factors that limit the adoption of bioprocessing in the chemical industry today and which, if surmounted, would markedly accelerate the advanced manufacturing of chemicals via industrial biotechnology. Working at the interface of synthetic chemistry, metabolic engineering, molecular biology, and synthetic biology, Industrialization of Biology identifies key technical goals for next-generation chemical manufacturing, then identifies the gaps in knowledge, tools, techniques, and systems required to meet those goals, and targets and timelines for achieving them. This report also considers the skills necessary to accomplish the roadmap goals, and what training opportunities are required to produce the cadre of skilled scientists and engineers needed.

A Revolution in Biotechnology

A Revolution in Biotechnology PDF Author: Jean L. Marx
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521327497
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 440

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Book Description
Heredity, genes and DNA. Synthesis without cells. Microorganisms as producers of feedstock chemicals. Gene cloning opens up a new frontier in health. The microbial production of biochemicals. Single-cell proteins. Bacterial leaching and biomining. Bacteria and the environment. Biological nitrogen fixation. Plant cell and tissue culture. Improving crop plants by the introduction of isolated genes. Monoclonal antibodies and their applications. Site-directed antibodies in biology and medicine. New methods for the diagnosis of genetic diseases. The prospect of gene therapy for human hereditary diseases. Biotechnology, international competition and regulatory strategies.

The Eighth Day of Creation

The Eighth Day of Creation PDF Author: Horace Freeland Judson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9788796947853
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 714

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Book Description


The Age of Living Machines: How Biology Will Build the Next Technology Revolution

The Age of Living Machines: How Biology Will Build the Next Technology Revolution PDF Author: Susan Hockfield
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393634752
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 165

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Book Description
"Entertaining and prescient…Hockfield demonstrates how nature’s molecular riches may be leveraged to provide potential solutions to some of humanity’s existential challenges." —Adrian Woolfson, Science A century ago, discoveries in physics came together with engineering to produce an array of astonishing new technologies that radically reshaped the world: radios, televisions, aircraft, computers, and a host of still-evolving digital tools. Today, a new technological convergence—of biology and engineering—promises to create the tools necessary to tackle the threats we now face, including climate change, drought, famine, and disease World-renowned neuroscientist and academic leader Susan Hockfield describes the most exciting new developments and the scientists and engineers who helped to create them. Virus-built batteries. Cancer-detecting nanoparticles. Computer-engineered crops. Together, they highlight the promise of the technology revolution of the twenty-first century to overcome some of the greatest humanitarian, medical, and environmental challenges of our time.

Biodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology

Biodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309465184
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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Book Description
Scientific advances over the past several decades have accelerated the ability to engineer existing organisms and to potentially create novel ones not found in nature. Synthetic biology, which collectively refers to concepts, approaches, and tools that enable the modification or creation of biological organisms, is being pursued overwhelmingly for beneficial purposes ranging from reducing the burden of disease to improving agricultural yields to remediating pollution. Although the contributions synthetic biology can make in these and other areas hold great promise, it is also possible to imagine malicious uses that could threaten U.S. citizens and military personnel. Making informed decisions about how to address such concerns requires a realistic assessment of the capabilities that could be misused. Biodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology explores and envisions potential misuses of synthetic biology. This report develops a framework to guide an assessment of the security concerns related to advances in synthetic biology, assesses the levels of concern warranted for such advances, and identifies options that could help mitigate those concerns.

A New Biology for the 21st Century

A New Biology for the 21st Century PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309147867
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 113

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Book Description
Now more than ever, biology has the potential to contribute practical solutions to many of the major challenges confronting the United States and the world. A New Biology for the 21st Century recommends that a "New Biology" approach-one that depends on greater integration within biology, and closer collaboration with physical, computational, and earth scientists, mathematicians and engineers-be used to find solutions to four key societal needs: sustainable food production, ecosystem restoration, optimized biofuel production, and improvement in human health. The approach calls for a coordinated effort to leverage resources across the federal, private, and academic sectors to help meet challenges and improve the return on life science research in general.

The Epigenetics Revolution

The Epigenetics Revolution PDF Author: Nessa Carey
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231530714
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
Epigenetics can potentially revolutionize our understanding of the structure and behavior of biological life on Earth. It explains why mapping an organism's genetic code is not enough to determine how it develops or acts and shows how nurture combines with nature to engineer biological diversity. Surveying the twenty-year history of the field while also highlighting its latest findings and innovations, this volume provides a readily understandable introduction to the foundations of epigenetics. Nessa Carey, a leading epigenetics researcher, connects the field's arguments to such diverse phenomena as how ants and queen bees control their colonies; why tortoiseshell cats are always female; why some plants need cold weather before they can flower; and how our bodies age and develop disease. Reaching beyond biology, epigenetics now informs work on drug addiction, the long-term effects of famine, and the physical and psychological consequences of childhood trauma. Carey concludes with a discussion of the future directions for this research and its ability to improve human health and well-being.

Biology Is Technology

Biology Is Technology PDF Author: Robert H. Carlson
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674053621
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
“Essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the current state of biotechnology and the opportunities and dangers it may create.” —American Scientist Technology is a process and a body of knowledge as much as a collection of artifacts. Biology is no different—and we are just beginning to comprehend the challenges inherent in the next stage of biology as a human technology. It is this critical moment, with its wide-ranging implications, that Robert Carlson considers in Biology Is Technology. He offers a uniquely informed perspective on the endeavors that contribute to current progress in this area—the science of biological systems and the technology used to manipulate them. In a number of case studies, Carlson demonstrates that the development of new mathematical, computational, and laboratory tools will facilitate the engineering of biological artifacts—up to and including organisms and ecosystems. Exploring how this will happen, with reference to past technological advances, he explains how objects are constructed virtually, tested using sophisticated mathematical models, and finally constructed in the real world. Such rapid increases in the power, availability, and application of biotechnology raise obvious questions about who gets to use it, and to what end. Carlson’s thoughtful analysis offers rare insight into our choices about how to develop biological technologies and how these choices will determine the pace and effectiveness of innovation as a public good.