Medical biotechnology - Answers -a diverse discipline dedicated to improving human health
3 main topics that medical biotechnology focuses on - Answers -disease prevention
-disease diagnosis
-disease treatment
Disease prevention - Answers prophylaxis
Disease - Answers -a condition that impairs normal body functioning
Examples of diseases - Answers -Heart disease
-Cancer
-Diabetes
-HIV/AIDS
-Asthma
-Arthritis
-Many others...
Early application of medical biotech (leeches) - Answers -Leeches were used to treat illnesses by
"bloodletting"
-Leeches are now being studied again for their enzymes (in saliva that dissolve blood clots)
Gene conservation - Answers -Many important genes are highly conserved across many different species
-Relation to human genes is based on DNA sequence similarity
Homologues - Answers -Related genes in different species
Homologue examples/testing - Answers -Genes involved in human illnesses can be eliminated in a
model organism (like mice that have the same gene as humans) in a knockout experiment to learn about
function
-Mice can become obese if they lack an ob gene
-Human homologue discovery reveals that genetics may influence weight disorders
, ob Gene/ leptin - Answers -ob Gene - codes for leptin
-leptin - a protein hormone that helps regulate hunger
Model organisms - Answers -nonhuman organisms that scientists use to study biological processes in
experimental lab conditions
-Used by scientists to identify disease genes and test therapy approaches for efficacy and safety before
use in human clinical trials
Model Organism examples - Answers -Mice
-Rats
-Worms
-Fruit flies
-Bacteria
Efficacy - Answers Effectiveness
How many genes to humans have in common with BACTERIA? - Answers 100s
We are ...% related to YEAST - Answers 31%
We are ...% related to ROUNDWORMS - Answers 40%
We are ...% related to FRUIT FLY - Answers 50%
We are ...% related to MICE - Answers 90%
Even though humans are closely related to model organisms in terms of genes, humans make many
more... - Answers Proteins
Fruit fly scientific name - Answers Drosophila melangaster
Genes that we share with fruit flies - Answers -Body plan
-Organ development
-Aging
-Death
About ...% of mutated genes found in ... human disease conditions found in fruit fly.
These include... - Answers 61%, 289
-Prostate cancer