Posts Tagged biotechnology
How a New Database for Women Scientists Can Promote Agricultural Biotechnology
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has come up with this online database of women scientists working in the field of agriculture.
The database’s objectives are:
- To promote activities such as diversity-positive recruitment.
- To promote international teamwork among women agriculturalists
- To promote cross-cultural communications among women scientists in the agricultural sector.
- Showcase women talent in the field of agriculture.
- Advance women’s interests by availing information on scholarships and agricultural-related training opportunities.
I am more interested in the last two objectives. CGIAR largely operates in developing countries that suffer chronic food shortages. Among its many programs, CGIAR uses modern agricultural biotechnology to solve poor countries’ food problems.
There is a whole gamut of women scientists working in the field of agricultural biotechnology. Many have, and continue to excel in their respective areas of specialization. Africa, for example, has Dr. Florence Wambugu who has distinguished herself as an ardent advocate of agricultural biotechnology as an affective tool to alleviate hunger and malnutrition.
There are more women scientists of Dr. Wambugu’s competence in the developing world, but they are hardly known beyond the borders of their countries. Existing societal biases makes it hard from them to explore opportunities for advancement. This makes it hard for them to grow both professionally and career wise. This database must elevate the profile of such women scientists. The agricultural world needs them.
The biotech industry is fast gaining prominence. Africa and other developing regions of the world would only benefit from the many potential applications of biotechnology not only by developing a mass of well trained biotechnologists, but also exposing them to the world. This database is an invaluable avenue for women scientists wishing to explore the world.
To ensure that this database better benefits women scientists, CGIAR should consider working closely with national and international scientific institutions because they well understand the needs of their women scientists.
Tags: agricultur, agricultural, agricultural biotechnology, agricultural research, agriculture, biotech, biotech industry, biotechnology, countries, nutrition, promote, scientistsRelated posts
What is Biotechnology
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity states, “Biotechnology is any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use”. The OECD (the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development) defines biotechnology as “…the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agents”. Thus, “Biotechnology” basically means using biology as the basis for a technology that is applied to research and product development in areas such as agriculture, food science, and medicine.
The Academic Standards for Science and Technology defines Biotechnology as the ways that humans apply biological concepts to produce products and provide services. This is very true if we consider a section of biotechnology in which the directed manipulation of organisms is used for the product of organic products such as beer, milk products, food etc.
Biotechnology had already been performed long before the term itself was coined, though on a very basic level. For example, man had already learnt the method of fermenting fruit juices to concoct alcoholic beverages during the period around 6000 BC. However, it was considered more of an art then. Biotechnology became a real science only about two decades ago when genes were found to contain information that would enable the synthesis of specific proteins. This was in the 1970s, when new advances in the field of molecular biology enabled scientists to easily transfer DNA – the chemical building blocks that specify the characteristics of living organisms – between more distantly related organisms.
Then in the mid-eighties and early-nineties, it was confirmed that the transformation or modification of the genetic structure of plants and animals was very possible. The introduction of “Transgenic” animals and plants also led to more resistance to disease and increased the rate of productivity etc. Modern biotechnology is also now more often than not associated with the use of genetically altered microorganisms such as E. coli or yeast for the production of substances like insulin or antibiotics. New innovative biotechnology application such as plant-made pharmaceuticals has also now been developed.
Sub-fields in Biotechnology:
Red Biotechnology is the use of genetically altered microorganisms for the production of substances like insulin, antibiotics, vitamins, vaccines and proteins for medical use, and is thus related to medical processes. Genomic manipulation is also an example of Red Biotechnology.
Biomanufacturing or White Biotechnology is emerging field within modern biotechnology which involves the designing of organisms such as moulds, yeasts or bacteria, and enzymes to produce certain useful chemicals, and is related to the industrial sector. It is also known as Grey Biotechnology.
Green Biotechnology or agricultural Biotechnology, like the name suggests, is the area of biotechnology involving applications to agriculture. This basically involves the genetic manipulation of plants and animals in order to create more productive, environmentally friendly, disease resistant species. An example of traditional agricultural biotechnology is the development of disease-resistant wheat varieties by cross-breeding different wheat types until the desired disease resistance variety is achieved.
Tags: agricultur, agricultural, agricultural biotechnology, agriculture, biology, biotech, biotechnology, chemicals, green biotechnology, living organisms, manufacturing, organic, organic product, organic products, organisms, plants, red biotechnology, scientists, species, what is biotechnology, white biotechnologyRelated posts
The Benefits Of Agricultural Biotechnology
Agricultural biotechnology is any technique in which living organisms, or parts of organisms are altered to make or modify agricultural products, to improve crops, or develop microbes for specific uses in agricultural processes. Simply put, when the tools of biotechnology are applied to agriculture, it is termed as “agricultural biotechnology”. Genetic engineering is also a part of agricultural biotechnology in today’s world. It is now possible to carry out genetic manipulation and transformation on almost all plant species, including all the world’s major crops.
Plant transformation is one of the tools involved in agricultural biotechnology, in which genes are inserted into the genetic structure or genome of plants. The two most common methods of plant transformation are Agrobacterium Transformation – methods that use the naturally occurring bacterium; and Biolistic Transformation – involving the use of mechanical means. Using any of these methods the preferred gene is inserted into a plant genome and traditional breeding method followed to transfer the new trait into different varieties of crops.
Production of food crops has become much cheaper and convenient with the introduction of agricultural biotechnology. Specific herbicide tolerant crops have been engineered which makes weed control manageable and more efficient. Pest control has also become more reliable and effective, eliminating the need for synthetic pesticides as crops resistant to certain diseases and insect pests have also been engineered. Phytoremediation is the process in which plants detoxify pollutants in the soil, or absorb and accumulate polluting substances out of the soil. Several crops have now been genetically engineered for this purpose for safe harvest and disposal, and improvement of soil quality.
According to the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture)’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), in reference to a section specific to the major biotechnology derived field crops, out of the whole crop plantings in the United States in 2004, biotechnology plantings accounted for about 46 percent for corn, 76 percent for cotton, and 85 percent for soybeans.
Modern agricultural biotechnology has now become a very well-developed science. The use of synthetic pesticides that may be harmful to man, and pollute groundwater and the environment, has been significantly lessened with the introduction of genetically engineered insect-resistant cotton. Herbicide-tolerant soybeans and corn have also enabled the use of reduced-risk herbicides that break down more quickly in soil. These are nontoxic to plants or animals, and herbicide-tolerant crops help preserve topsoil from erosion since they thrive better in no-till or reduced tillage agriculture systems. Papayas resistant to the ringspot virus were also developed through genetic engineering, which saved the U.S. papaya industry.
Agricultural biotechnology may also be helpful in improving and enhancing the nutritious quality of certain crops. For example, enhancing the levels of beta-carotene in canola, soybean, and corn improves oil compositions, and reduces vitamin A deficiencies in rice. There are also researches going on in the field of biotechnology to produce crops that will not be affected by harsh climates or environments and that will require less water, fertilizer, labor etc. This would greatly reduce the demands and pressures on land and wildlife.
Tags: agricultur, agricultural, agricultural biotechnology, agricultural product, agricultural products, agriculture, biotech, biotechnology, crops, department of agriculture, fertilizer, food crops, genetic engineering, genetically engineered, herbicide, herbicides, insect, living organisms, organisms, pesticide, pesticides, pests, plants, species, the environmentRelated posts