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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
1) According to the passage, what makes human communication possible?
A. human’s ability to communicate
B. language
C. human’s love for each other
D. human’s pr ofessions
2) Why is it easier for the Australian, the Americans and the British to take English for granted?
A. Because they don’t like English.
B. Because they are not forced to learn English.
C. Because they still live well without speaking English.
D. Because they were born with English as their primary language and they do not consciously realise its importance.
3) Based on the passage above, how many people use English world - wide?
A. one - third of the world’s population
B. two - thirds of the world’s population
C. half of the world’s population
D. 1.5 million people
4) Why is English becoming the number one language?
A. Because it is the simplest language in the world.
B. Because it is the language of the richest country in the world – the USA.
C. Because English has long been used by many people.
D. Because the need for communication across borderline increases.
5) Why should we be careful about choosing one particular language for all countries?
A. Because it takes a lot of time for a ll people in the world to learn a certain language.
B. Because all nations want to make their mother tongues the international language.
C. Because it may negatively affect an individual country’s national identity.
D. Because it’s hard to correct the mist ake once you have already chosen the wrong language
Question 81: What is the oldest form of art?
A. painting B. movies C. music D. storytelling
Question 82: When did humans start using speech?
A. 60,000 years ago B. 100,000 years ago
C. 80,000 years ago D. 20,000 years ago
Question 83: Where was the evidence of humans’ ritual behavior found?
A. in human habitation and burial sites B. in habitual caves
C. in human habitation D. in burials sites
Question 84: Humans are found to have ritual behavior ______.
A. from 60,000 to 80,000 years ago B. for 100,000 years
C. 100,000 years ago D. over 80,000 years ago
Question 85: Where could symbolic language be seen in humans’ life?
A. rituals and ceremonies B. rituals and stories
C. rituals, ceremonies, and symbolic behavior D. rituals, ceremonies, and stories
Question 86: In the human history, storytelling has been present in ______ human societies.
A. some B. many C. all D. few
Question 87: Storytelling began in societies that ______.
A. live the life of a nomad B. settle down permanently
C. rely on hunting for living D. have rich oral heritage
Question 88: According to passage 2, ancient stories are manifested in ______ nowadays.
A. movies and music lyrics B .fairy tales and stories of heroes
C. stories of heroes and music lyrics D. movies and documentaries
Question 89: What did the Greek and Romans use to keep their oral stories?
A. songs B. plays C. paintings D. books
Question 90: What are considered as digital campfires according to passage 3?
A. televisions and computers B. television and radio
C. computers and radio D. computers and cellphones
Question 91: Humans document their oral traditions in ______.
A. stories, books, and movies B. stories
C. books and movies D. books
Question 92: According to passage 4, movies can be ______.
A. entertaining B. educational C. inspirational D. all of the above
Question 93: The movie Schindler’s List is given as an example of a movie that is ______.
A. entertaining B. educational and informative
C. both entertaining and educational D. educational and inspirational
Question 94: The movie Schindler’s List portray a man in _____ for his heroism.
A. World War II B. World War I C. Shakespeare’s time D. Elizabeth era