Digital Micro Imaging For Biotechnology Research

We humans have been harnessing biological processes to make life a little sweeter ever since the first developments in agriculture. Tapping into life's processes to make things such as cheese, bread, and beer (the essentials) has been going on for thousands of years. Now, there is a whole area of digital micro imaging for biotechnology research which encompasses the vast applications of these biological processes.

The field of applied biology called biotechnology uses living organisms and bioprocesses to do truly amazing things. Biotechnology is used in engineering, technology, medicine, and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology is also used in genetically modified foods, transgenic crops and animals, biopharmaceuticals, recombinant DNA technology, and bioremediation.

Leading companies in micro imaging research are using new technology that allows for the extraction of even the smallest biomaterials from heterogeneous tissue and cell colonies. The secret behind the method is a pure, contact-free optical technique that is gentle enough to facilitate micro dissection and the manipulation of living cells in culture. The best digital microscopes come equipped with the latest in laser technology. This allows for contact-free and contamination-free specimen capture and micro dissection.

Researchers who use digital micro imaging for biotechnology research report a vast increase in workflow speed. The image is displayed using an integrated camera onto a monitor or projection screen. Integrated color management ensures for brilliant images in true color. By bypassing the need for eyepieces, digital micro imaging technology avoids painful muscle tension and eye strain. Something that travels faster than ever in the world today is information. With integrated E-mail function and remote viewing, sharing work and discussing work with partners is easier than ever. Now, researchers can get the work they need to get done faster, wherever they are.

In modern medicine, biotechnology has promising applications in a number of areas. Drug production and pharmaceuticals have both made ready use of biotechnology. Modern methods of manufacturing pharmaceutical products frequently make use of biotechnology. Biotechnology first saw use in pharmaceutical manufacturing with recombinant DNA technology to modify Escherichia coli bacteria. This resulted in the production of human insulin.

Before this technique was discovered, insulin was extracted from the pancreas glands of cattle and pigs. Although animal-derived insulin is mostly effective in treating diabetes, allergic reactions were noted to sometimes occur. This can be accredited to the subtle differences between insulin derived from humans and farm animals.

Genetic researchers were able to produce two genes for each of the two protein chains that comprise the insulin molecule. The genes are then inserted into plasmids among a group of genes that are activated by lactose. The result is two insulin-producing genes activated by lactose. By inserting the recombinant plasmids into Escherichia coli bacteria and combining the two protein chains, the bacteria produces as much as 100,000 molecules of human insulin.

Before recombinant DNA was used to modify bacteria and produce the human growth hormone, the hormone had to be extracted from the pituitary gland of cadavers. Unlike animal derived-insulin, animal growth hormones have no therapeutic upshot for mankind to date. The hormone was constantly seeing significant shortages since it took fifty cadavers to supply a single year's supply of the growth hormone.

Digital micro imaging for biotechnology research is also used in gene therapy, an important process involved in treating cancer. The technology and techniques behind gene therapy are still in developmental stages; however, it has been used with some success for treating or curing genetic and acquired diseases such as cancer and AIDS. Biotechnology has also found use in genetic testing, such as prenatal diagnostic screening. There are many benefits of using this technology to test and learn about a fetus. Presymptomatic testing for a number of different diseases and disorders is possible, and the sex of the future baby can also be determined.

One of the top digital imaging companies providing modalities specifically designed for preclinical research such as scientific digital imaging, in vivo testing micro imaging, in vivo high-resolution imaging,and digital imaging system.

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Biotechnology in Agriculture

The term agriculture refers to cultivation of plants, animals for food, fuels, clothes, medicine and other products which are essential for our living. Conventional agriculture is practiced in several ways by different people around the globe. It is well known that agricultural products have different quality from place to place and some of the agricultural products are not seen in some parts of the world, while they are abundant in the rest of the world. This difference is due to several factors including climatic conditions, weather, availability of water, mineral content in the soil, and last but not least political and geographical factors. Another factor which led to the development of modern agriculture is the need to increase yield of plant products, disease, pest, drought resistance in plant products.

Biotechnology has emerged from traditional science to overcome the problems in every aspect of life, from plant breeding to genetic engineering. Out of the vast applications of Biotechnology, Agricultural Biotechnology is one. It involves the development of plants in such a way that, plants produce high yields of products such as grains, vegetables, fruits, leaves (leafy vegetables) and they can tolerate extreme conditions such as high temperature, high salinity in water and high humidity in the air. Furthermore we can produce plant products as per our needs, and we can control the features like color, taste, odor and size of fruits and vegetables. All this is made possible by exploiting the properties of the miracle molecules called DNA (De Oxy Ribose Nucleic Acid). Since the discovery of DNA, scientists have developed the solutions to overcome the problems in Agriculture, by modifying the genetic structure of the DNA.

The crops whose DNA has been modified are called "Transgenic Plants" or "Transgenic Crops", and the products derived from these plants are called Genetically Modified plant products. So, how is this done? All the living beings, including animals, plants, bacteria, fungi and microorganisms have DNA, which guides their development and the pathway to their survival. This DNA in turn is divided in "genes", which are specific for each and every feature and function of a living organism. This means, if we modify the genes, we are actually modifying any particular 'feature' or 'function' of that organism or any part of that organism. The same principle is applied in Agricultural Biotechnology as well. If we are looking to enhance the color of the flowers produced by a plant, we can alter the genetic structure of gene which is responsible for that color. This procedure can be done using any plant part, another example would be increasing the sweetness of a fruit, in this case we modify the gene responsible for production of fructose. Fructose is a sugar which gives sweetness to fruits, in theory, if we change the gene to produce more fructose, and then the fruit will become sweeter.

The major breakthrough in Agriculture was seen, when the "Flavr Savr" tomatoes were introduced into the US markets on May 21, 1994. This discovery led to the foundation for storing vegetables and fruits without a refrigerator for several days. An enzyme called Polyglacturonase is responsible to dissolve the pectin of the cell-wall. A gene complimentary to the Polyglacturonase gene, can be cloned using antisense RNA technology. This antisense gene will block the Polyglacturonase produced by its gene and thus stops the decaying of fruits and vegetables. As the cell wall decaying enzyme is produced in very little quantities, the delay in spoilage of fruits and vegetables is increased. Now this revolutionary technology is used to save millions of dollars every year, by reducing the wastage of fruits and vegetables during transport.

We have discussed only a very few applications from the huge database of Biotechnological applications in Agriculture. While we have seen only the benefits of Biotechnology, at the same time everything in this world has its own pros and cons and Biotechnology is no exception for this. Non Scientific community has said much about the potential risks of Biotechnology to us and our environment, but so far there is little evidence from the scientific studies that the risks are real. At the same time we experience the range of benefits offered by transgenic plants, beyond the ones which emerged from traditional Agricultural practices.

The author blogs at HourlyBook.com, an open source portal for Science reference & education.

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