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    CRISPR: Genome Editing and Engineering And Related Issues
    CRISPR: Genome Editing and Engineering And Related Issues
    CRISPR: Genome Editing and Engineering And Related Issues
    Ebook100 pages1 hour

    CRISPR: Genome Editing and Engineering And Related Issues

    By Wexler, Barbara; Hauser, Michael A.; Meyer and

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    About this ebook

    eBook content that offers a clear and comprehensive introduction to CRISPR and related topics. Entries include foundational concepts, key scientific figures and historical themes, ethical issues , and advances in the science.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCengage Learning - Gale
    Release dateNov 15, 2018
    ISBN9780028666693
    CRISPR: Genome Editing and Engineering And Related Issues

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    • 5/5
      Very enjoyable and informative book. very easy to understand since the basics were explained masterfully.

    Book preview

    CRISPR - Wexler

    CRISPR: Genome Editing and Engineering: And Related Issues

    Developmental Editor: Julie Mellors

    Graphic Design Specialist: Kristine Julien

    © 2018 Gale, A Cengage Company

    ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

    For product information and technology assistance, contact us at Gale Customer Support, 1-800-877-4253.

    For permission to use material from this text or product, submit all requests online at www.cengage.com/permissions.

    Further permissions questions can be emailed to permissionrequest@cengage.com

    Cover image reproduced with permission of Meletios Verras/Shutterstock.com.

    While every effort has been made to ensure the reliability of the information presented in this publication, Gale, A Cengage Company, does not guarantee the accuracy of the data contained herein. Gale, A Cengage Company accepts no payment for listing; and inclusion in the publication of any organization, agency, institution, publication, service, or individual does not imply endorsement of the editors or publisher. Errors brought to the attention of the publisher and verified to the satisfaction of the publisher will be corrected in future editions.

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    Contents

    Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, History of

    CRISPR-Cas 9 Genome Editing

    Gene Therapy

    Human Genome Project

    Nature of the Gene, History

    Recombinant DNA

    Reproductive Technology: Ethical Issues

    Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, History of

    Around 1919, Hungarian engineer Karl Ereky (1878–1952) coined the term biotechnology to mean any product produced from raw materials with the aid of living organisms. Using the term in its broadest sense, biotechnology can be traced to prehistoric times, when hunter-gatherers began to settle down, plant crops, and breed animals for food. Ancient civilizations even found that they could use microorganisms to make useful products, although, of course, they had no idea that microbes were the active agents. About 7000 BCE, the Sumerians and Babylonians discovered how to use yeast to make beer, and wine making dates from biblical times. In about 4000 BCE, the Egyptians found that the addition of yeast produced a light, fluffy bread instead of a thin, hard wafer. At the same time, the Chinese were adding bacteria to milk to produce yogurt.

    Egyptian artwork, dating from between BCE 1550 and 1295, depicts the harvest of the grapes and subsequent counting of the jars of wine. This art suggests that ancient civilizations fermented grape juice to make wine, establishing the basics of a process still used in wineries today.

    ©De Agostini/G. Dagli Orti/Getty Images

    Genetic Engineering versus Biotechnology

    For many, the term biotechnology is often equated with the manipulation of genes, but as Ereky's definition suggests, this is only one aspect of biotechnology. For the more specific technique of gene manipulation, the term genetic engineering is more appropriate. Although the term was in use before the 1970s, genetic engineering is considered to date from that decade. At that time, molecular biologists devised methods to isolate, identify, and clone genes as well as to mutate, manipulate, and insert them into other species. One of the key elements in such research was the discovery of restriction endonucleases (restriction enzymes). These enzymes cut (cleave) DNA at a number of sequence-specific sites and often leave sticky ends. Isolated DNA from any organism could be cleaved with a estriction enzyme and then mixed with a preparation of a vector that had been cleaved with the same restriction endonuclease. By virtue of the sticky ends, a hybrid molecule that contained the gene of interest could be created, which could then be inserted into such a cloning vector. The importance of restriction endonucleases was recognized in 1978 when Werner Arber (1929–), Daniel Nathans (1928–1999), and Hamilton O. Smith (1931–) were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of these enzymes.

    Further Advances and Ethical Concerns

    The first experiment to combine different DNA molecules was performed in 1972 in the laboratory of Paul Berg (1926–), who shared the 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Walter Gilbert (1932–) and Frederick Sanger (1918–2013) for their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids. The following year, Stanley N. Cohen (1935–) and Herbert Boyer (1936–) combined some viral DNA and bacterial DNA in a plasmid to create the first recombinant DNA organism.

    Realizing the potential dangers of moving genes from one organism to another, approximately 90 prominent scientists, whose laboratories were poised to start cloning experiments, met in 1975 at the Asilomar Conference Center in California to discuss the potential risks of gene manipulation. This meeting marked the first time that scientists openly discussed the consequences and potential dangers of their research before that research actually began. The result of the Asilomar Conference was a one-year moratorium before any cloning experiments were to be done. This provided time to develop guidelines for the physical and biological isolation of recombinant organisms, to prevent their escape into the environment, and, if they did escape, to make sure that they would be so weakened as to not survive competition with naturally occurring organisms. By 1976, gene cloning was in full swing around the world.

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