PSC Chronicles Team

Karl Ereky coined term biotechnology in 1919

Genetic engineering is manipulation of DNA

rDNA technology combines DNA from different sources

Restriction enzymes cut DNA at specific sites

DNA ligase joins DNA fragments

Bt cotton is genetically modified cotton with Bacillus thuringiensis gene

Bt stands for Bacillus thuringiensis

Bt cotton was approved in India in 2002

Bt cotton resists bollworm

Golden Rice is GM rice enriched with Vitamin A

Golden Rice is enriched with Vitamin A (beta-carotene)

CRISPR is gene editing technology

CRISPR stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats

Cas9 is enzyme that cuts DNA in CRISPR

Cloning is producing genetically identical copies

Dolly the sheep was first cloned mammal in 1996

Dolly was cloned in 1996

Stem cells can differentiate into various cell types

Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent

PCR is Polymerase Chain Reaction for DNA amplification

Kary Mullis invented PCR in 1983

DNA fingerprinting identifies individuals by DNA

Alec Jeffreys developed DNA fingerprinting

GM food is genetically modified food

GEAC regulates GM crops in India

GEAC stands for Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee

DBT is Department of Biotechnology

DBT was established in 1986

DBT headquarters is in New Delhi

Bioinformatics combines biology and computer science

HGP mapped entire human genome

HGP was completed in 2003

Human genome has 20,000-25,000 genes

Bt brinjal is GM brinjal with pest resistance

Bt brinjal moratorium imposed in 2010

Gene therapy treats disease by modifying genes

GMOs are Genetically Modified Organisms

Bioremediation uses organisms to clean pollution

Biopesticides are biological pest control agents

Bt toxin is protein from Bacillus thuringiensis

Transgenic organism has foreign gene

Insulin is hormone regulating blood sugar

Human insulin is produced by recombinant DNA technology

Interferon is antiviral protein

Monoclonal antibodies are identical antibodies

Bt corn is GM corn resistant to pests

Flavr Savr was first GM tomato with delayed ripening

Biosafety is prevention of biological risks

Cartagena Protocol is on biosafety of GMOs