Using nanotechnology, scientists from Northwestern University and UCLA have developed a localized and controlled drug delivery method that is invisible to the immune system, a discovery that could provide newer and more effective treatments for cancer and other diseases.
Biotechnology refers to technological applications that employ living organisms and biological systems extensively in the fields of medicine, food science, and agriculture. Biotechnology is successfully applied to produce organic products as well as biological weapons. Applications of biotechnology include recycling and waste treatment. The use of biotechnology can effectively clean areas that are contaminated owing to continuous industrial activities. Red biotechnology is a branch of biotechnology that is utilized in a variety of medicinal processes to produce different antibiotics. White biotechnology is applied to industrial processes, while green biotechnology is incorporated in agricultural processes. Blue biotechnology has been applied in marine and aquatic processes; however, this form of biotechnology is not very common. Statistics reveal a growth rate of 24% in the sales figures of biotechnology products, with maximum growth being witnessed in Latin America. Of the estimated 4,000 biotechnology firms around the world, about 30% of them are located in the United States. Due to the widespread application of biotechnology, this field has also become a vital career option for many people.
New England Peptide, LLC (NEP) is implementing lean manufacturing at its Gardner, Massachusetts, facility to increase capacity and decrease production lead-time associated with peptide and antibody production.
The NHGRI's ELSI research activities will increasingly focus on fundamental, widely relevant, societal issues. The community of scholars and researchers working in these social fields, as well as the scope of issues being explored, need to be expanded. The
ELSI research community must include individuals from minority and other communities that may be disproportionately affected by the use or misuse of genetic information.
New mechanisms for promoting dialogue and collaboration between the ELSI researchers and genomic and clinical researchers need to be developed; such mechanisms might include structural rewards for interdisciplinary research, intensive summer courses, or mini-fellowships for cross-training, and the creation of centers of excellence in ELSI studies to allow sustained interdisciplinary collaboration.
The vision for the future of genomics presented here is broad and deep, and its realization will require the efforts of many. Continuation of the extensive collaboration between scientists and between funding sources that characterized the HGP will be essential. Although the NHGRI intends to participate in all the research areas discussed here, it will need to focus its efforts to use its finite resources as effectively as possible. Thus, it will take a major role in some areas, actively collaborate in others, and have only a supporting role in yet others. The NHGRI’s priorities and areas of emphasis will also evolve as milestones are met and new opportunities arise.
Insulin, it turns out, may be as important for the mind as it is for the body. Research in the last few years has raised the possibility that Alzheimer's memory loss could be due to a novel third form of diabetes.
Grand Challenge II-3: Develop genome-based approaches to prediction of disease susceptibility and drug response, early detection of illness, and molecular taxonomy of disease states
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