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Nowadays in the news you can read a lot about biotechnology and the controversies about it and perhaps you ask yourself what it is exactly. Well, this article is going to give you a brief history of the field of biotechnology and show you that, although the word “biotechnology” was first used in 1919, we have been using biotechnology for many thousands of years in ways that are completely uncontroversial. It will also look at the more modern developments which have started intense debate. When you are drinking a cold beer on a hot day, or eating a delicious cheese sandwich, you can thank biotechnology for the pleasure you are experiencing. That’s right! Beer, bread and cheese are all produced using biotechnology. Perhaps a definition will be useful to understand how. A standard definition is that biotechnology (or biotech for short) is the application of science and engineering to the direct or indirect use of living organisms. And as you know, the food and drink above are all produced by the fermentation of micro-organisms. In beer, the yeast multiplies as it eats the sugars in the mixture and turns them into alcohol and CO2. This ancient technique was first used in Egypt to make bread and wine around 4000BC! Antibiotics are used to prevent and treat diseases, especially those caused by bacteria. They are natural substances that are created by bacteria and fungi. The first antibiotic was made in China in about 500BC – to cure boils. In 1928 Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin and it was considered a medical miracle. Modern research is looking at the creation of super-antibodies which can kill bacteria and viruses inside the cells that house them. Our modern consumer society produces a lot of waste which needs to be disposed of safely and without harmful end products. Environmental biotechnology can help. Indeed, the use of bacteria to treat sewage was first practiced in 1914 in Manchester, England. Vermiculture or using worms to treat waste is another environmentally-friendly practice and the end product is a natural fertiliser. Bacteria have even been developed to help with problems such as oil spills. They convert crude oil and gasoline into non-toxic substances such as carbon dioxide, water and oxygen and help create a cleaner, healthier environment. These examples of biotechnology are accepted by most people. However, the discovery of the DNA structure by Watson and Crick in 1953 was the beginning of the modern era of genetics and the following areas of biotech are very controversial. Read on… The genetic modification of plants and crops has been in practice for many years. This involves changing the genetic code of these plants so that they are more resistant to bad conditions like drought, floods and frost. Supporters of GM food say that it can offer the consumer better quality, safety and taste and for over a decade Americans have been eating GM food. However, things are very different in Europe where genetically modified food is very strictly regulated and regarded with deep suspicion by the public. GM food has even been called “Frankenfood” in the press, a term inspired by the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. There is a great cultural divide between America and Europe over whether such food is safe to eat and will not harm the environment and the discussion is still in progress. 1997 saw the birth of Dolly the sheep, the first animal cloned from an adult cell. This was a remarkable achievement which created world-wide debate on the ethical issues surrounding cloning. International organisations such as the European parliament, UNESCO and WHO all declared that human cloning is both morally and legally wrong. However, we need to make a distinction between reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning. Nowadays the idea of reproductive cloning – creating a copy of another person - is no longer interesting for researchers. Instead therapeutic cloning is creating excitement in the biotech world. Key to this technique is stem cells, which are master cells that have the potential to become any other kind of cell in the body e.g. nerve cells, blood, heart muscle or even brain cells. Stem cells themselves have generated a lot of controversy as it was believed that only human embryos could provide them. However, it now appears that adult stem cells offer the same possibility. This would mean that a patient who suffered a heart attack could provide doctors with his adult stem cells which could then be implanted back into his heart and used to create heart muscle, replacing the muscle that was damaged. As the genetic code is identical, there would be no problem of the body rejecting the implant as, unfortunately, happens with organ transplants. In the future, biotechnologists hope that stem cells could be used to grow entire organs. In this way biotechnology offers the hope of revolutionising medical treatment. In this brief overview of the history of biotechnology we have jumped from making bread to making human organs - an enormous leap- and it is clear that these modern practices raise many controversial issues. However, despite the debate, we can imagine that as biotechnology has been around for many years, it will still be around for some time to come - but who knows where it will take us?
Questions:
After reading, choose the best answer for the following questions
1. What is the main topic of the article?
Brief history and modern developments of biotechnology
Benefit of biotechnology
Modern research in biotechnology
2. What does the pronoun "IT" in the first paragraph refer to?
Biotechnology
The article
The word "Biotechnology"
3. Which products were first made with fermentation of micro-organisms?
Beer, bread and cheese
Bread and wine
Beer and cheese
Decide whether the statement below is True or False.
4. Alexander Fleming discovered super-antibodies which can kill bacteria and viruses inside the cells that house them.
TrueFalse
5. GM food is easily available in the U.S. and Europe.
TrueFalse
6.Researchers believe that adult stem cells could be used to create body parts.
TrueFalse
Question 95: When did Paleo-Indian migrate to the Americas?
A. around 10,000 years ago B. before 10,000 years ago
C. sometime around 11,000 years ago D. exactly 10,000 years ago
Question 96: Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Paleo-Indian are people who first migrated to the Americas.
B. Paleo-Indian are NOT people who first migrated to the Americas.
C. Paleo-Indian lived in the Americas in the archaic period.
D. Paleo-Indian already develop horticulture and agriculture before they moved to the Americas.
Question 97: When was the archaic stage?
A. between 8,000 BCE and 2,000 BCE B. from 10,000 BCE to 2,000 BCE
C. from 10,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE D. between 1,000 BCE to 500 BCE
Question 98: How long did the archaic stage last?
A. 6,000 years B. 4,000 years C. 10,000 years D. 10,000 years
Question 99: ______ societies in the Americas practiced horticulture and agriculture in the archaic stage.
A. All B. Many C. Some D. Few
Question 100: Horticulture and agriculture are developed at ______ periods in the Americas.
A. similar B. different C. the same D. identical
Question 101: The common era is used to refer to ______.
A. the formative stage B. the archaic stage
C. the pre-historic stage D. the historic stage
Question 102: What did the societies in the Americas in the formative stage develop?
A. horticulture and agriculture B. pottery and weaving
C. both of the above are correct D. none of the above is correct
Question 101: The categories and dates of the societies in the Americas were first suggested in ______.
A. 1,000 BCE B. 2,000 BCE C. the 1950s D. 1,000 years.
Question 102: The estimated time frames of the developments of the first societies in the Americas can be ______ different from the actual time frames.
A. over 1,000 years B. 900 years
C. 1,000 BCE D. 2,000 BCE
Question 103: Contemporary archaeologists suggested that the first societies in the Americas developed pottery and weaving ______they developed horticulture.
A. after they developed horticulture. B. when they developed horticulture.
C. before they developed horticulture. D. as soon as they developed horticulture.
Question 104: Which early technologies do not depend on horticulture and permanents settlements to develop?
A. pottery and agriculture B. pottery and weaving
C. weaving and agriculture D. pottery and ceremonials centers
Question 105: Which terms are used to describe the strategies that the original peoples of the Americas used to provide themselves with resources?
A. Paleo-Indian, formative, and archaic B. horticulture and agriculture
C. pottery and weaving D. archaic and formative stages