生物工程专业英语.docx
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生物工程专业英语.docx
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生物工程专业英语
SpecializedEnglishinBiotechnology
Thismaterialisdedicatedtostudents
majoringinBiotechnologyatHefeiUniversity.
Allrightsreserved
Contents
Lesson1WhatisBiotechnology?
Biotechnologyinoneformoranotherhasflourishedsinceprehistorictimes.Whenthefirsthumanbeingsrealizedthattheycouldplanttheirowncropsandbreedtheirownanimals,theylearnedtousebiotechnology.Thediscoverythatfruitjuicesfermentedintowine,orthatmilkcouldbeconvertedintocheeseoryogurt,orthatbeercouldbemadebyfermentingsolutionsofmaltandhopsbeganthestudyofbiotechnology.Whenthefirstbakersfoundthattheycouldmakeasoft,spongybreadratherthanafirm,thincracker,theywereactingasfledglingbiotechnologists.Thefirstanimalbreeders,realizingthatdifferentphysicaltraitscouldbeeithermagnifiedorlostbymatingappropriatepairsofanimals,engagedinthemanipulationsofbiotechnology.
Whatthenisbiotechnology?
Thetermbringstomindmanydifferentthings.Somethinkofdevelopingnewtypesofanimals.Othersdreamofalmostunlimitedsourcesofhumantherapeuticdrugs.Stillothersenvisionthepossibilityofgrowingcropsthataremorenutritiousandnaturallypest-resistanttofeedarapidlygrowingworldpopulation.Thisquestionelicitsalmostasmanyfirst-thoughtresponsesastherearepeopletowhomthequestioncanbeposed.
Initspurestform,theterm"biotechnology"referstotheuseoflivingorganismsortheirproductstomodifyhumanhealthandthehumanenvironment.Prehistoricbiotechnologistsdidthisastheyusedyeastcellstoraisebreaddoughandtofermentalcoholicbeverages,andbacterialcellstomakecheesesandyogurtsandastheybredtheirstrong,productiveanimalstomakeevenstrongerandmoreproductiveoffspring.
Throughouthumanhistory,wehavelearnedagreatdealaboutthedifferentorganismsthatourancestorsusedsoeffectively.Themarkedincreaseinourunderstandingoftheseorganismsandtheircellproductsgainsustheabilitytocontrolthemanyfunctionsofvariouscellsandorganisms.UsingthetechniquesofgenesplicingandrecombinantDNAtechnology,wecannowactuallycombinethegeneticelementsoftwoormorelivingcells.FunctioninglengthsofDNAcanbetakenfromoneorganismandplacedintothecellsofanotherorganism.Asaresult,forexample,wecancausebacterialcellstoproducehumanmolecules.Cowscanproducemoremilkforthesameamountoffeed.Andwecansynthesizetherapeuticmoleculesthathaveneverbeforeexisted.
Lesson2WhereDidBiotechnologyBegin?
WiththeBasics
Certainpracticesthatwewouldnowclassifyasapplicationsofbiotechnologyhavebeeninusesinceman'searliestdays.Nearly10,000yearsago,ourancestorswereproducingwine,beer,andbreadbyusingfermentation,anaturalprocessinwhichthebiologicalactivityofone-celledorganismsplaysacriticalrole.
Infermentation,microorganismssuchasbacteria,yeasts,andmoldsaremixedwithingredientsthatprovidethemwithfood.Astheydigestthisfood,theorganismsproducetwocriticalby-products,carbondioxidegasandalcohol.
Inbeermaking,yeastcellsbreakdownstarchandsugar(presentincerealgrains)toformalcohol;thefroth,orhead,ofthebeerresultsfromthecarbondioxidegasthatthecellsproduce.Insimpleterms,thelivingcellsrearrangechemicalelementstoformnewproductsthattheyneedtoliveandreproduce.Byhappycoincidence,intheprocessofdoingso,theyhelpmakeapopularbeverage.
Breadbakingisalsodependentontheactionofyeastcells.Thebreaddoughcontainsnutrientsthatthesecellsdigestfortheirownsustenance.Thedigestionprocessgeneratesalcohol(whichcontributestothatwonderfularomaofbakingbread)andcarbondioxidegas(whichmakesthedoughriseandformsthehoneycombtextureofthebakedloaf).
Discoveryofthefermentationprocessallowedearlypeoplestoproducefoodsbyallowingliveorganismstoactonotheringredients.Butourancestorsalsofoundthat,bymanipulatingtheconditionsunderwhichthefermentationtookplace,theycouldimproveboththequalityandtheyieldoftheingredientsthemselves.
CropImprovement
Althoughplantscienceisarelativelymoderndiscipline,itsfundamentaltechniqueshavebeenappliedthroughouthumanhistory.Whenearlymanwentthroughthecrucialtransitionfromnomadichuntertosettledfarmer,cultivatedcropsbecamevitalforsurvival.Theseprimitivefarmers,althoughignorantofthenaturalprinciplesatwork,foundthattheycouldincreasetheyieldandimprovethetasteofcropsbyselectingseedsfromparticularlydesirableplants.
Farmerslongagonotedthattheycouldimproveeachsucceedingyear'sharvestbyusingseedfromonlythebestplantsofthecurrentcrop.Plantsthat,forexample,gavethehighestyield,stayedthehealthiestduringperiodsofdroughtordisease,orwereeasiesttoharvesttendedtoproducefuturegenerationswiththesesamecharacteristics.Throughseveralyearsofcarefulseedselection,farmerscouldmaintainandstrengthensuchdesirabletraits.
ThepossibilitiesforimprovingplantsexpandedasaresultofGregorMendel'sinvestigationsinthemid-1860sofhereditarytraitsinpeas.Oncethegeneticbasisofhereditywasunderstood,thebenefitsofcross-breeding,orhybridization,becameapparent:
plantswithdifferentdesirabletraitscouldbeusedtocultivatealatergenerationthatcombinedthesecharacteristics.
Anunderstandingofthescientificprinciplesbehindfermentationandcropimprovementpracticeshascomeonlyinthelasthundredyears.Buttheearly,crudetechniques,evenwithoutthebenefitofsophisticatedlaboratoriesandautomatedequipment,wereatruepracticeofbiotechnologyguidingnaturalprocessestoimproveman'sphysicalandeconomicwell-being.
HarnessingMicrobesforHealth
EverystudentofchemistryknowstheshapeofaBuchnerfunnel,buttheymaybeunawarethatthedistinguishedGermanscientistitwasnamedaftermadethevitaldiscovery(in1897)thatenzymesextractedfromyeastareeffectiveinconvertingsugarintoalcohol.Majoroutbreaksofdiseaseinovercrowdedindustrialcitiesledeventuallytotheintroduction,intheearlyyearsofthepresentcentury,oflarge-scalesewagepurificationsystemsbasedonmicrobialactivity.Bythistimeithadprovedpossibletogeneratecertainkeyindustrialchemicals(glycerol,acetone,andbutanol)usingbacteria.
Anothermajorbeneficiallegacyofearly20thcenturybiotechnologywasthediscoverybyAlexanderFleming(in1928)ofpenicillin,anantibioticderivedfromthemoldPenicillium.Large-scaleproductionofpenicillinwasachievedinthe1940s.However,therevolutioninunderstandingthechemicalbasisofcellfunctionthatstemmedfromthepost-waremergenceofmolecularbiologywasstilltocome.Itwasthisexcitingphaseofbiosciencethatledtotherecentexplosivedevelopmentofbiotechnology.
Lesson3BriefHistoryofBiotechnology
Biotechnologyseemstobeleadingasuddennewbiologicalrevolution.Ithasbroughtustothebrinkofaworldof"engineered"productsthatarebasedinthenaturalworldratherthanonchemicalandindustrialprocesses.
Biotechnologyhasbeendescribedas"Janus-faced."Thisimpliesthattherearetwosides.Onone,techniquesallowDNAtobemanipulatedtomovegenesfromoneorganismtoanother.Ontheother,itinvolvesrelativelynewtechnologieswhoseconsequencesareuntestedandshouldbemetwithcaution.Theterm"biotechnology"wascoinedin1919byKarlEreky,anHungarianengineer.Atthattime,thetermmeantallthelinesofworkbywhichproductsareproducedfromrawmaterialswiththeaidoflivingorganisms.Erekyenvisionedabiochemicalagesimilartothestoneandironages.
AcommonmisconceptionamongteachersisthethoughtthatbiotechnologyincludesonlyDNAandgeneticengineering.Tokeepstudentsabreastofcurrentknowledge,teacherssometimeshaveemphasizedthetechniquesofDNAscienceasthe"end-and-all"ofbiotechnology.Thistrendhasalsoledtoamisunderstandinginthegeneralpopulation.BiotechnologyisNOTnew.Manhasbeenmanipulatinglivingthingstosolveproblemsandimprovehiswayoflifeformillennia.Earlyagricultureconcentratedonproducingfood.Plantsandanimalswereselectivelybred,andmicroorganismswereusedtomakefooditemssuchasbeverages,cheese,andbread.
Thelateeighteenthcenturyandthebeginningofthenineteenthcenturysawtheadventofvaccinations,croprotationinvolvingleguminouscrops,andanimaldrawnmachinery.Theendofthenineteenthcenturywasamilestoneofbiology.Microorganismswerediscovered,Mendel'sworkongeneticswasaccomplished,andinstitutesforinvestigatingfermentationandothermicrobialprocesseswereestablishedbyKoch,Pasteur,andLister.
Biotechnologyatthebeginningofthetwentiethcenturybegantobringindustryandagriculturetogether.DuringWorldWarI,fermentationprocessesweredevelopedthatproducedacetonefromstarchandpaintsolventsfortherapidlygrowingautomobileindustry.Workinthe1930swasgearedtowardusingsurplusagriculturalproductstosupplyindustryinsteadofimportsorpetrochemicals.TheadventofWorldWarIIbroughtthemanufactureofpenicillin.Thebiotechnicalfocusmovedtopharmaceuticals.The"coldwar"yearsweredominatedbyworkwithmicroorganismsinpreparationforbiologicalwarfare,aswellasantibioticsandfermentationprocesses.
Biotechnologyiscurrentlybeingusedinmanyareasincludingagriculture,bioremediation,foodprocessing,andenergyproduction.DNAfingerprintingisbecomingacommonpracticeinforensics.Similartechniqueswereusedrecentlytoid
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