Biomedical Technology

Genetic engineering has revolutionized over the years and it is being used to improve food, to discover new medicines, to remove environmental contaminants, to recycle waste, and to provide permanent cures for inherited diseases (Le Vine, 1999). The purpose of genetic engineering in the medical field has been to produce mass-produce insulin, human growth hormones, human albumin, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, and many other drugs (Applications of Genetic Engineering,

Main Body Biomedical engineers have saved or improved the lives of people by the inventive and creative technology they produce to solve problems that have baffled the industry for years. Patients who need an organ transplant or a new treatment for cancer have biomedical engineers to thank for their health improvements or their saved life. Biomedical engineers have a goal to exceed the standard and effectiveness of patient’s care. In the cross between bio medics and engineering, the engineer may have a wide range of jobs to perform such as designing a software for medical instrumentation or potentially a new stem cell. These engineers are a unit of dedicated people who analyze and style solutions to issues in biology and medication under the engineering field.

Rifkin, Jeremy.  "Biotech Century." The Presence of Others. 3rd ed. Ed. Andrea A.   Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: St. Martin's, 2000.  244-245

Genetic engineering is an interesting topic that has come a long way and yet has much more to go. Some would argue that the future is not in need of these technological advancements and others would say the opposite. Perhaps the world would be better off predicting and preventing diseases, but still the misuse of biological findings could be devastating. There is still much to be debated and as biotechnology advances, much more will continue being debated on.

First we must see that genetic engineering offers many potential benefits to the twenty-first century in the two fields of agriculture and medicine. In agriculture, we can now grow plants and animals faster, stronger, and easier. We can alter plants to have them grow ten times larger than their original size, and we can create animals without parents by cloning (Scott). In medicine, genetic engineering has revolutionized the field into something completely new. We now produce cures that are specifically tailored to diseases, which have lengthened the average life span by almost ten years, detect and eliminate birth defects in babies, and have people that are healthier now than at any time in history (Epstein).

Over the last few years, technology has been constantly developing; it has developed to the point where manipulating genes are possible; mainly used to benefit both ourselves and the society. Genetic Manipulation also commonly known as genetic engineering or genetic modification, according to the dictionary, is defined as the ‘scientific alteration of the structure of genetic material in a living organism to produce specific results in an organism’. Biotechnology, defined as ‘the use of microorganisms to perform specific industrial manufacturing process’ is one of the more common use of Genetic Manipulations. This essay will outline the advantages and disadvantages of one of the categories of biotechnology, the genetic manipulation of animals, Transgenic Animals.

Biotechnology is a growing field with promise of helpful advances in agriculture and human health, however, there are vital consumer concerns and dangers that need to be honestly and directly addressed, rather than suppressed. With concern to potential human health hazards, environmental problems, and unintended mutations to the DNA more open research is necessary.

The economic importance of the Human Genome Project and biotechnology in general is obvious. For instance: in 1991, the US Patent and Trademark Office received 4000 patent requests for nucleic acid sequences. In 1996, that number had jumped to 500,000. Pharmaceutical companies are scrambling to increase their genomics work,...

Technology is changing the way the world works in profound ways at an unprecedented rate. As we speak, scientists in labs around the world are decoding the remaining portion of the genome map. One day (even now), with the information compiled in GenBank, scientists can discover new drugs, new methods of gene therapy, and other preventive measures which will vastly improve the quality of life (NCBI ¶1). David Smith, previously a director of the Department of Energy, said, "These are exciting and challenging times for biological researchers. The wealth of information and capabilities now being generated by the various genome projects and other biological endeavors will lead over the next two decades to more insights into living systems than have been amassed in the past two millennia. Biology is truly undergoing a revolution" (Walters 545).

Genetic Engineering is highly controversial since some people believe that genetic engineering is playing God. As this fact there is opposition to the progression of the field by people who do not see the value in genetic engineering, or they fear what genetic engineering may lead to for us as people. There is a history of discover that belongs to genetic engineering, which has led to numerous products that have emerged which have brought numerous applications to the society of the world. Though there are benefits to genetic engineering, there are also drawbacks to genetic engineering including ethical and legal issues that are dealt with in today’s society in order to try and regulate the growth of genetic engineering.