The Biotech Century

The Biotech Century PDF Author: Jeremy Rifkin
Publisher: TarcherPerigee
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Explores current developments in the fields of biochips, cloning, and genetic mapping.

The Biotech Century

The Biotech Century PDF Author: Jeremy Rifkin
Publisher: TarcherPerigee
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Get Book Here

Book Description
Explores current developments in the fields of biochips, cloning, and genetic mapping.

The Biotech Century

The Biotech Century PDF Author: Jeremy Rifkin
Publisher: TarcherPerigee
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 292

Get Book Here

Book Description
Explores current developments in the fields of biochips, cloning, and genetic mapping.

Gene Jockeys

Gene Jockeys PDF Author: Nicolas Rasmussen
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421413418
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
The scientific scramble to discover the first generation of drugs created through genetic engineering. The biotech arena emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, when molecular biology, one of the fastest-moving areas of basic science in the twentieth century, met the business world. Gene Jockeys is a detailed study of the biotech projects that led to five of the first ten recombinant DNA drugs to be approved for medical use in the United States: human insulin, human growth hormone, alpha interferon, erythropoietin, and tissue plasminogen activator. Drawing on corporate documents obtained from patent litigation, as well as interviews with the ambitious biologists who called themselves gene jockeys, historian Nicolas Rasmussen chronicles the remarkable, and often secretive, work of the scientists who built a new domain between academia and the drug industry in the pursuit of intellectual rewards and big payouts. In contrast to some who critique the rise of biotechnology, Rasmussen contends that biotech was not a swindle, even if the public did pay a very high price for the development of what began as public scientific resources. Within the biotech enterprise, the work of corporate scientists went well beyond what biologists had already accomplished within universities, and it accelerated the medical use of the new drugs by several years. In his technically detailed and readable narrative, Rasmussen focuses on the visible and often heavy hands that construct and maintain the markets in public goods like science. He looks closely at how science follows money, and vice versa, as researchers respond to the pressures and potential rewards of commercially viable innovations. In biotechnology, many of those engaged in crafting markets for genetically engineered drugs were biologists themselves who were in fact trying to do science. This book captures that heady, fleeting moment when a biologist could expect to do great science through the private sector and be rewarded with both wealth and scientific acclaim.

Golems Among Us

Golems Among Us PDF Author: Byron L. Sherwin
Publisher: Ivan R. Dee Publisher
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
In this book, Byron Sherwin briefly traces the fascinating history of the golem legend in Western culture, then shows how we can use it to navigate a safe journey--philosophically, theologically, ethically, and in public policy.

From Breakthrough to Blockbuster

From Breakthrough to Blockbuster PDF Author: Donald L. Drakeman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195084004
Category : Biotechnology industries
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
"Beginning in the 1970s, several scientific breakthroughs promised to transform the creation of new medicines. As investors sought to capitalize on these Nobel Prize-winning discoveries, the biotech industry grew to thousands of small companies around the world. Each sought to emulate what the major pharmaceutical companies had been doing for a century or more, but without the advantages of scale, scope, experience, and massive resources. How could a large collection of small companies, most with fewer than 50 employees, compete in one of the world's most breathtakingly expensive and highly regulated industries? This book shows how biotech companies have met the challenge by creating nearly 40% more of the most important treatments for unmet medical needs. Moreover, they have done so with much lower overall costs. The book focuses on both the companies themselves and the broader biotech ecosystem that supports them. Its portrait of the crucial roles played by academic research, venture capital, contract research organizations, the capital markets, and pharmaceutical companies shows how a supportive environment enabled the entrepreneurial biotech industry to create novel medicines with unprecedented efficiency. In doing so, it also offers insights for any industry seeking to innovate in uncertain and ambiguous conditions. Looking to the future, it concludes that biomedical research will continue to be most effective in the hands of a large group of small companies as long as national healthcare policies allow the rest of the ecosystem to continue to thrive"--

Plant Biotechnology and Agriculture

Plant Biotechnology and Agriculture PDF Author: Arie Altman
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0123814669
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 625

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Book Description
As the oldest and largest human intervention in nature, the science of agriculture is one of the most intensely studied practices. From manipulation of plant gene structure to the use of plants for bioenergy, biotechnology interventions in plant and agricultural science have been rapidly developing over the past ten years with immense forward leaps on an annual basis. This book begins by laying the foundations for plant biotechnology by outlining the biological aspects including gene structure and expression, and the basic procedures in plant biotechnology of genomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics and proteomics. It then focuses on a discussion of the impacts of biotechnology on plant breeding technologies and germplasm sustainability. The role of biotechnology in the improvement of agricultural traits, production of industrial products and pharmaceuticals as well as biomaterials and biomass provide a historical perspective and a look to the future. Sections addressing intellectual property rights and sociological and food safety issues round out the holistic discussion of this important topic. Includes specific emphasis on the inter-relationships between basic plant biotechnologies and applied agricultural applications, and the way they contribute to each other Provides an updated review of the major plant biotechnology procedures and techniques, their impact on novel agricultural development and crop plant improvement Takes a broad view of the topic with discussions of practices in many countries

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.

Principles of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering

Principles of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering PDF Author: Dr. A.J. Nair
Publisher: Laxmi Publications
ISBN: 9789380386324
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 682

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Book Description


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.

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.