What are the strengths and weakness of each? Organization? Should anything have been approached  in a different way, in terms of subtopics or how much space is allocated to subtopics? Is it introduced and concluded effectively? 

 

Biotechnology

From Research and Development to Product Development

 

Executive Summary

 

            Biotechnology is a discipline that encompasses the study of living organisms and utilizes tools or technology to enhance one organism in order to benefit society.  When one thinks about the scope of biotechnology, they probably imagine what is referred to as modern biotechnology which includes relatively new technologies and information regarding the human genome.  This information has made it possible for scientists and researchers to develop procedures and products to make life better for all (Clarke & Pazdernik, 2009).   Most people think that biotechnology is nothing more than modifying crops, but it is so much more.  In addition to making crops resistant to disease: it is responsible for medical advances that fight and detect diseases.  Biotechnology has opened doors that once seemed impossible to open. 

            When it was discovered that DNA, the genetic code carrier, could be transferred into other organisms; a new path for the development of new products and processes was born (Clarke & Pasternik, 2009). The transfer of a gene from one organism to another to convey a specific desirable trait is called genetic engineering or recombinant DNA technology and produces modified crops, vaccines, and life saving drugs. (Council for Biotechnology, n.d). Scientists identify and manipulate genes that resist pests and drought, increase the nutritional value of plants, reduce pesticide use, and improve productivity leading to increased profitability for the agricultural industry as well as reducing the greenhouse gases (Zilberman, D., 2010).  The emergence of nanotechnology which is the development of techniques to visualize and manipulate atoms individually is opening a door to more accurately visualize living systems (Clark & Pasternik, 2009).      

Biotechnology has made many advances and offers much promise, but not without controversy.  Much of the problem lies with the perceived safety and labeling of genetically modified crops. Consumers want to know what they are consuming and believe that genetically modified foods or GMOs should be labeled as such.  In Europe, all genetically modified foods (GMO)s  must be labeled as such; not so in the United States where only foods that are substantially different from the original need to be labeled (USDA, n.d.).  GMOs can be found on grocery shelves across America in 2/3^rds of everyday foods (Klock, 2007).   The major concerns are long term safety in consuming the products and allergenic responses.

From humble beginnings on farms across the globe, man has strived to manipulate his surroundings in the name of humanity.  From selective breeding to genetic engineering, the human race has come far.  Changing weather patterns, increased population and the emergence of new illness are the new catalysts that drive modern biotechnologists to make new proteins and new biochemical pathways with altered products to deal with an ever changing world. 

 

State of the Industry

            The biotechnology industry is booming around the world and the United States is largest market and consumer of biotechnology products in the world. According to Ernst& Young and as reported in "Beyond Borders: Global Biotechnology Industry 2008", the United States employs 69 percent of the worldwide workers in biotech firms and is home to 70 percent of firms specializing in research and development.  As reported by Battelle/Bio State Bioscience Initiatives:  research and development in the biotechnology field was valued at approximately $32 billion in the United States for 2008.  As promising as this appears, Europe and Canada and Asia are beginning to compete with the U.S. for dominance in the industry (Ernst & Young, 2007). The report also indicates that despite significant global sales, the industry is faced with high research and development expenses versus overall global sales coupled with high risks in bringing drugs to market.  Despite minor problems that the industry faces, it is moving forward to making valuable contributions to society.

Breakthroughs in research are changing the world's view of food, fuel and health.  In agriculture biotechnology, the development and creation of crops with traits such as drought tolerance, salt tolerance, stacked traits, and even animal products (salmon) are being studied to help feed the changing population (Select USA, n.d.).  Scientists have enhanced canola so that farmers can reduce tillage and leads to less erosion further reducing the use of fuel by more than 14 million gallon per year (Fields of Benefits, n.d.). Rice has been transformed so that it contains a higher concentration of vitamin A which is particularly beneficial to countries that rely upon a single food source. Medical research is being conducted with the intention of developing drugs that fight cancers and HIV.  Of particular interest is the work that is being done to create clean biofuels from genetically altered crops.  As the world adjusts to a diminishing cache of fossil fuels, the industry is taking the lead to develop fuels that will be cleaner, greener and end the America's dependence on foreign oil.  The biotechnology timeline is just beginning and holds promise to make life changing contributions to all.

 

 

 

Job Opportunities

            The prospect for jobs in the biotechnology sector is very good.  Biotechnology is making major discoveries that impact food production, medicine, and alternative fuel production.  These discoveries are heralded around the world as the discoveries are improving business and lives.  The advances have led to  disease resistant crops, new drugs, vaccines, and biofuel; making biotechnology one of the most active fields in scientific research and development (BLS, 2008).   Workers in this field use cellular biology to improve medicine, agriculture, and industrial processes.  Most biotech scientists conduct research and work with genetic materials in a laboratory setting.  Major employers are pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.  Others work for universities or in federal laboratories. Not all the workers are scientists.  The industry employs administrators, office workers, technicians and policy makers.

            Working in a biotechnology as a scientist requires knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics and genetics.  The experiments and research requires attention to detail, and a high level of technical skills.  Hours for the occupation vary greatly depending upon the particular project and its' requirements.  In 2008, workers logged 38.6 hours per week, slightly higher than that for workers in all private industries (BLS, 2008). 

            The future looks bright especially for residents of California, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey which accounts for more than half of the industry employment (BLS, 2008). Employment in the biotech field holds much promise as the world's appetite for new drugs and procedures continues to grow.  Driven by demographics of an aging populations and decreased world wide food security; biotech companies should have no problems competing for the research funding that other fields will lose.  Jobs as scientists should continue to grow, but job growth for administrative and office personnel is expected to diminish because the technology itself leads to greater efficiency; therefore, obsolescing the office personnel (BLS, 2008).

            Employment in scientific research is expected to grow by 25 percent between 2008 and 2018 compared to 11 percent growth as the economy as a whole (BLS, 2008). The future job market is best for scientists who stay current and continue their education.

 

Salaries and Wages

            Salaries and Wages for workers in biotechnology vary greatly.  Higher education leads to higher earnings.  Salaries also rise with the number of years of experience one has and vary by occupation within the field.  Workers in management and research and development earn more than technicians.   In 2010, all workers in the field earned a mean annual salary of $ 71,310 with those working in research and development at the top range, and those working at colleges and universities at the bottom range (BLS, 2010).  The earnings for this occupation are higher than the national average for all workers in all industries.  Those working in the physical sciences such as in biotech earned significantly higher salaries than those working in the social sciences (BLS, 2008).  Like most industries, administrators, accountants, and office workers engage in work activities.  Because the industry is highly technical, even the office workers must understand the language and are highly skilled as compared to those who work in other industries in the same capacity.

            Workers usually are paid a salary and enjoy benefits such as health insurance, paid vacation, sick time and pension plans.

 

 

Education & Training

            Biotechnology is a highly technical job that requires a great deal of knowledge and training.  Unlike many careers, most workers enter the field with a minimum of a Bachelors degree and even then must receive on the job training and continue to stay current with new developments while pursuing a higher level of education. With a Bachelors degree in hand one might begin as technician working on a project under the guidance of a more senior scientist or technician while honing the skills necessary to carry on research with less supervision ((Biotechnology Institute, n.d.).  One might expect to stay at this level for several years while they learn and become familiar with procedures and methods.

            Those with a Ph.D. are the most desired by employers. These workers come to a job after completing an academic research project and have worked somewhat independently during their additional schooling.  Once in the field, PhDs begin designing research products and work independently: many are in the process or who have published papers in academic journals based upon their own research.

            Scientists continue their education by attending conferences, and publish journal articles. After several years they can expect more autonomy, more research projects or become managers. Funding meeting goals Strategic Planning and set long term goals (BLS, 2008).

            According to the SUNY Cobleskill catalog, associate and bachelors degrees are offered in agricultural biotechnology.  The students are prepared for entry level positions in the industry and enter the workforce armed with the necessary skills to begin their careers.  Students are prepared to enter the field with extensive studies in biology, chemistry, genetics, molecular biology and mathematics.  Students select a particular area of interest and  are study the "theoretical and practical knowledge of molecular biology and genetic engineering as they relate to plants, animals or microorganisms used in agriculture",(SUNY, 2010).  The coursework is rigorous and requires many hours in the laboratory setting to gain practical knowledge in PCR technology, transformation, and lab safety.

            With many school districts and community colleges recognizing the promise that careers in the industry offer; many have begun to offer primer course in biotechnology to ready students for entry level positions in the field.

            Self employment is unusual as the equipment is prohibitly expensive and the research and development costs outrageous (Biotechnology Institute, n.d.).

 

Challenges Facing the Industry

            Like all industries; economic times determine funding for research and development and facing hard times globally is not a good sign for the industry as a whole.  However; biotechnology should fair better than most industries as it offers solutions to many of the problems that the global community will be facing in the coming years such as climate change, population growth, sickness and disease and the ever-growing need to feed the masses. 

Ernst & Young issued a report in 2008 that indicated America faced a problem in maintaining their dominance in biotechnology because of a lack of high school science education in technology.  Hopefully this is a wakeup call to educators and policymakers that the time is now to implement application based technology in the high school classroom. 

Methods & Technology

The methods and technology that biotechnologists use is complex and requires patience, knowledge and skill.  Biotechnicians that are working on agricultural problems select a target gene from a likely suspect such as drought resistance found in the genes of seaside grasses or desert plants and vitamins suitable for enriching a staple crop which is lacking those attributes and transferring the gene to another source. Once the source genes are selected the task becomes isolating those genes. Given that many candidate genomes have billions of possible base pairs from which only a few hundred are target genes makes this process much more daunting for the scientist.  After the isolation process, the target genes must go through a process of testing to determine if the desired trait is produced in the host plant.  When preliminary results indicate that the desired trait is produced, extensive work to develop a cultivar specific Agrobacterium strain takes place.  This strain is used to infect the selected gene into the target plant. Agrobacterium infects targets randomly in different organisms so the process can take months as the scientist validates successful genome alteration.

If after preliminary testing the gene seems to be a good fit, extensive work must be done to develop a cultivar specific Agrobacterium strain which will be used to infect the selected genes into the target plant.  Because Agrobacterium infects targets randomly within the target species, this process can take months for infection while validating successful genome alteration and resultant new plant viability in a contained biological environment.

Finally if it looks like the new transgenic species holds up through several generations the process of registration and testing which are nearly as arduous as would be expected when bring a new drug to market with many levels of associated testing.  This process, depending upon the extent to with the transgenic alterations appear in edible portions of the plant may take up to ten years.

            Scientists are faced with the lengthy time that it takes for experiments to come to fruition and they must be patient before they meet with individual success.

 

 

Misconceptions

            Because biotechnology is a relatively new science and the general population does not have the core knowledge to understand the impact that it has upon crops, food, medicine, fuel and ultimately the environment. They question the safety of the products that are a result of the research and development.  People are concerned with what foods they eat and want to be informed consumers.  They feel that genetically modified foods that are a result of bioagriculture are toxic, harmful or contain allergens.  Angry because the government does not regulate the labeling of genetically modified foods.  This is not true.  Genetically modified crops have been on the market for quite some time and have been found to cause no problems when humans consume them (Council for Biotechnology, n.d). 

            Another major misconception is that genetic engineering will have a negative impact upon the environment.  The Council for Biotechnology reports that in 2009, "the savings of carbon emissions from biotech crops was equivalent to removing almost eight million cars from the road".  In addition the Council found that biotech crops where responsible for the reduction of pesticide use because fewer tractors were required to till the soil.  Between 1996-2009;  genetic crops were responsible for the estimated reduction of 393 million pesticide applications (James, 2010).

            Many of the myths regarding biotechnology stem from people's lack of understanding into the processes and techniques involved with the processes involved.  They imagine foods that have long term negative effects and crops that destroy the environment.  Ultimately people want more regulation, assurances that products are safe and that ethical boundaries are not being crossed.

 

 

Conclusion

            What does the future hold for biotechnology?  Will the genetic engineering of crops solve world hunger?  Will scientists discover a gene that can be transposed within the human genome that allows humans to live forever?  These questions while improbable could someday become

reality. 

            From the earliest pioneers who searched for new and challenging ways to meet the demands of humanity like Mendel who produced desirable plants via the process of cross breeding to today's brilliant scientists who discovered genes that would offer pest resistance to a very staple of life in corn.  Research will continue and will face obstacles such as funding along the way, but inquiring minds will continue to challenge the known universe and seek out new and exciting ways to survive.  Whether it is climate, illness or demographics, those who work in biotechnology will be there to unravel new questions that plague society.