The impact of biotechnology on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment Essay

The impact of biotechnology on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease - Essay Example On the other hand, amplified sequences can be inserted into other, more easy-to-manipulate species, such as microorganisms, thereby leading to the assessment of characteristics possessed by the resulting gene products of these sequences, such as structure, pH and function. In medicine, such findings are important because diseases that previously remain to be an enigma has been found to be caused by a depletion or over-expression of proteins whose functions have only recently been identified. So far, there are multiple procedures that have been developed, each catering to the specific needs of various research groups. This is a testament to the ever-growing field of biotechnology. This paper summarizes the different functions of various biotechnological procedures that are applicable to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. PREVENTION THROUGH VACCINES Vaccines are one of the most common and effective means of providing protection against infectious diseases. Because of its extensive use, continuous vaccine development is going underway since its initial use. One of the targets of advancement is the means of production. Basically, vaccines are just deactivated viruses, units or components, or antigens which induce immune reactions from the receiving individual. The effectiveness of vaccination lies on its induction of memory immune cells that act against multiple attacks of the corresponding natural infective exposure. Vaccine production Initially embryonated eggs were used for the propagation of virus units for vaccine production. In this process, an aliquot of virus solution is injected into the allantoic cavity of a 10- to 11-day old embryonated egg. The infected eggs are then incubated in temperatures suitable for growth of the virus (Szretter et al., 2006). However, since egg-based vaccine production imply that individuals with egg allergies cannot be vaccinated, a different host was searched for. With the parallel development of cancer cell r esearch, hyperproliferative cancer cells were seen as a better means of vaccine production. Firstly, individuals allergic to egg-based products can now avail of vaccinations. Secondly, cell culture-based production is more cost-efficient than egg-based production because cancer cells are much easier to culture than embryonated eggs. Similar to egg-based production, infective virus units are inoculated into a culture of a particular cancer cell line, usually Madin Darby canine kidney (MDCK) (Szretter et al., 2006). One of the novel protocols to produce vaccinations, especially the subunit vaccines, which are described later in this paper, is through recombinant protein expression. Briefly, developed expression systems, or microorganisms processed to receive genes and express proteins of other organisms, are inserted through a vector. Not only is this cost-efficient, but is much safer to handle than the culturing clinically-derived viruses. In addition, through recombinant protein exp ression certain mutations can be introduced to the antigen to make it more immunogenic (Zhang et al., 2007). Post harvest, the viruses undergo further processing. The virus units are weakened or deactivated either chemically, by formaldehyde or ?-propiolactone, through heat, or radiation. This deactivation prevents the vaccine from causing illness to the handlers and to the recipients. If to be used in another time, these harvested viruses are also stored in liquid nitrogen (Szretter et al.,

The American War of Independence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The American War of Independence - Essay Example But by whatever stroke of fate, the colonials completely trounced the mighty forces of Great Britain. The rout was so unexpected that the historian John Ferling quoted George Washington as saying that the "American victory was a little short of a standing miracle".1 Ferling went on to say that the skirmishes and battles "often hinged on intangibles such as leadership under fire, heroism, good fortune, blunders, tenacity and surprise".2 The British forces all throughout the war played the aggressor , employing time-tested strategies and tactics that it had used before against the French, Spanish and Irish foes. The colonials, meanwhile, a complete tyro in any warfare, were always on the defensive employing tactics that were best suited for the occasion. "often dismissed by the British as ragtag"4 were surviving on a measly budget accorded them by the Continental Congress. Thus, in some skirmishes, they were on the brink of starvation, sometimes attired in tattered clothes and shoes and sometimes in decrepit condition. The triumvirate of King George III, Secretary of State George Germain and Prime Minister Lord North formed the nucleus which decided what tactics Britain should implement in the war in the New World. This nucleus ,based in London, 3000 miles away from the arena of war, was responsible for the coordination, the logistics and the communication needed to win a war. Meanwhile, the Continental Congress, composed of delegates from all the colonies and based in Philadelphia, was the brain and the nerve center , the controller and the coordinator of the colonial forces. With the riches coming from its colonies in the West Indies, Canada, America, Gibraltar and India, there was no doubt that Britain entered this war financially prepared. The Congress, on the other hand, aware that any victory would hinge on how well-oiled the war machinery would be, desperately sought finances both from abroad and from the home front. It used the strategy of diplomacy and psychology on England's long-standing enemies, France and Spain, stoked the latter's hatred and resentment and came out extracting some financial support as well as munitions from both. Since that was not enough, it used 4 tactics to raise money locally i.e. loans from "well-to-do merchants and planters"; "forced loans ... from farmers who were given certificates of indebtedness"; by levying money or goods "apportioned among the various states"; and by "issuance of paper money, the famous Continental currency".5