"10 Ways Genetically Engineered Microbes Could Help Humanity"
Susan Vanderzyl
VTPP 434 - 501
The Human Genome Project has spawned technology that makes DNA sequencing several times cheaper and has provided so much information that geneticists can now alter bacteria and viruses from harmful to helpful. Current research is being done to transform these organisms into many things, including a way to fight disease and fuels.
For example, bacteria and yeast are being altered to create chemicals that are basic ingredients of a malaria drug, thereby making it much cheaper to produce. Other ideas for these microbes include targeting and attacking HIV with a bacteria that normally resides in the gastrointestinal tract, and modifying adenoviruses to attack cancer.
Other uses include biofuels such as ethanol and butanol which are excretions of bacteria and yeast, and selfcleaning clothes where bacteria that feed on human sweat and dirt and infused into textile fibers.
Article from Discover Magazine:
http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/06-10-ways-genetically-engineered-microbes-could-help/article_view?b_start:int=1&-C=
VTPP 434 - 501
The Human Genome Project has spawned technology that makes DNA sequencing several times cheaper and has provided so much information that geneticists can now alter bacteria and viruses from harmful to helpful. Current research is being done to transform these organisms into many things, including a way to fight disease and fuels.
For example, bacteria and yeast are being altered to create chemicals that are basic ingredients of a malaria drug, thereby making it much cheaper to produce. Other ideas for these microbes include targeting and attacking HIV with a bacteria that normally resides in the gastrointestinal tract, and modifying adenoviruses to attack cancer.
Other uses include biofuels such as ethanol and butanol which are excretions of bacteria and yeast, and selfcleaning clothes where bacteria that feed on human sweat and dirt and infused into textile fibers.
Article from Discover Magazine:
http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/06-10-ways-genetically-engineered-microbes-could-help/article_view?b_start:int=1&-C=
posted by BlackDogC at 2:37 PM
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