The History of Biotechnology

The following presentation will give you an in-depth look at the early development of biotechnology and will get you thinking about the role of biotechnology in your daily life.

1. Unit 1, Lesson 2 AOHS Biotechnology The History of Biotechnology Copyright © 2014 ‒2016 NAF. All rights reserved .

2. Biotechnology uses our understanding of biology to solve problems Can you name some products of biotechnology? Biotechnology is the manipulation of living organisms or their components to produce useful products.

3. Humans have used biotechnology for millennia Breeding animals and developing crops was the earliest biotechnology, dating back over 9,000 years. Why would people want to breed animals and plants? How could they do that without knowing about DNA?

4. Modern domestic tomato Selective breeding alters plants and animals Over thousands of years, farmers used selective breeding (choosing which individuals get to reproduce) to select for desirable traits in plants and animals. Wild tomatoes

5. Biotechnology has transformed the food we eat

6. This ancient wooden model shows Egyptian people in the process of making beer, a practice mentioned in some of the earliest written history. Beer making dates back to the early Neolithic period or 9500 BCE when cereal was first farmed. Ancient civilizations used biotechnology tools, such as microbes, to alter the flavor and properties of food ]

7. Modern biotechnology has roots in the 1800s and 1900s Biologists began to understand the mechanisms of life in the 1800s. In 1831, botanist Robert Brown described the cell nucleus. What do we call organisms that lack cell nuclei?

8. Agar is a good medium for growing bacteria Can you name any common foods that contain agar? In 1881, Walther Hesse discovered agar as a medium for culturing bacteria when he asked his wife, Franny, what kept jelly solid in summer. Franny and Walther Hesse A petri dish with agar and bacteria

9. Mendel’s pea-plant experiments help explain inheritance Do you remember Mendel’s experiments from your biology class? Can you explain dominant and recessive alleles? In 1866, Gregor Mendel published a report on his pea-plant breeding experiments and laws of inheritance. But Mendel’s report was overlooked, perhaps because it was not written very clearly. Mendel died in 1884, never recognized for his discoveries. It was only in 1900 that Mendel’s work was rediscovered and understood.

10. Animals were first cloned over 100 years ago If a sea urchin was cloned in 1885, why did it take over 100 years for a sheep to be cloned? Why are clones useful in research? In 1885, Hans Driesch cloned the first animal, a sea urchin. In 1996, the first mammal to be cloned was a sheep named Dolly.

11. In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin by noticing a mold that kills bacteria Have you ever been prescribed penicillin, or a related antibiotic like ampicillin or amoxicillin, for an infection? Alexander Fleming A white penicillium mold in the middle of an agar dish filled with bacteria. Notice there are no bacteria near the mold.

12. In 1953, Watson and Crick determined the structure of DNA What do you remember from biology class about the structure of DNA? Why is the structure of DNA important? Jim Watson (left) and Francis Crick (right) with their model of DNA

13. Biotechnology is both ancient and modern What do you remember about important events in biotechnology from these images?