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Genetics
and Biotechnology
:
The discovery of genes and their role in heredity and disease was
one of the most important medical advances in history. In 1953 British
biophysicist Francis Crick and American biochemist James Watson
identified the double-helix structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
This discovery helped to explain how DNA carried genetic information.
In the 1960s American biochemist Marshall Nirenberg added key details
about how DNA determines the structure of proteins.
Indian-born
American biochemist Har Gobind Khorana was the first to synthesize
a gene in the laboratory in 1970, forging the way for scientists
to develop ways to isolate, alter, and clone, or copy, genes. They
applied these genetic engineering techniques to the diagnosis and
treatment of diseases. Researchers identified genes associated with
cancer, heart disease, mental illness, and obesity. With the genes
identified, they worked on ways of modifying the genes to treat
the disease. Gene therapy emerged as an experimental medical field
that used genetically modified genes to treat diseases. In 2003
scientists completed the sequence of the human genome, in which
they identified all the genes needed to make a human being.
Genetic
engineering techniques enabled production of scarce human hormones
and other materials for use as drugs. A new biotechnology industry
started producing these materials for medical use. Scientists also
began genetically modifying sheep and other animals to produce drugs
in their milk.
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