- Genetically Engineered Insulin:
They demonstrated that administration of insulin could cure diabetes in human beings, earlier, insulin for curing diabetes used to be extracted from pancreas of slaughtered pigs and cattle. This insulin is slightly different from human insulin and brings about some undesirable side effects such as allergy.
- Gene Therapy:
- Pharmacogenomics:
- Genetic Testing:
It is conclused that no field of science can be successful until it uses the techniques of Biotechnology. Scientists are working in the research area to develop new drugs and vaccines and are also finding cures for the diseases which were difficult to treat in the past decade. Biotechnology is a field of miracles.
- Steriods:
- Vaccines:
Later, Jenner’s findings were extended by Louis Pasteur (1879) to other infective diseases such as anthrax, rabies and cholera. Pasteur established the scientific basis of vaccination. Recently some second generation vaccines have been prepared with the help of genetic engineering technique against hepatitis-B and herpes virus.
They are more uniform in quality and produce less side effects as compared to ‘first-generation the vaccines. Now-a-days production of ‘third generation vaccines’ called synthetic vaccines, are being tried. Antifertility vaccines have also been developed.
The genes encoding antigenic proteins can be isolated from the pathogens and expressed in plants. Such transgenic plants or their tissues producing antigens can be eaten for vaccination/immunization. These are called edible vaccines.
The expression of such antigenic proteins in crops like banana and tomato are useful for immunization of humans because banana and tomato fruits can be eaten raw. The edible vaccines that are produced in transgenic plants have great advantages like less storage problems, easy delivery system by feeding and low cost as compared to the recombinant vaccine.
- Human Growth Hormone (hGH)—Somatotropin:
(i) somatotropin releasing hormone which stimulates the anterior lobe of pituitary gland to release somatotropin or growth hormone
(ii) Somatostatin or growth inhibiting hormone which inhibits the secretion of growth hormone from the anterior lobe of pituitary gland. Deficiency of somatotropin in about 3% cases is hereditary. It has been estimated to about 1 child in 5,000. hGH is very useful to the children born with hypopituitarism which is a form of dwarfism. It is caused by less secretion of hGH from the anterior lobe of pituitary gland. hGH is also helpful in “healing of injuries”.
- Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH):
- Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH):
- Forensic Medicine (Identification of Murders, Rapists, etc.):
- Monoclonal Antibodies: