New biotechnology as a logical outgrowth of molecular biology

Since the dawn of civilization biotechnical methods have been used to improve lifestyle by increasing the variety of food products and enriching their taste or preserving their quality. As these empirical methods advanced, biotechnology began more closely to resemble what it is today. The biosynthesis of vitamins, amino acids, alkaloids, steroids and antibiotics by specific microorganisms were the greatest medical achievements in the first half of the twentieth century. By this means, diseases which were often previously fatal could be prevented from befalling mankind. Despite this advantage in medical treatment the benefits from conventional biotechnology were achieved only through empirical, time-consuming and painstaking screening programs. The new biotechnology, while continuing to use many of the techniques of the conventional discipline, is now based on the understanding of product synthesis on a molecular level. This was derived from the benefit of three main perceptions of basic research which became available in this decade: Proteins, which promote the health of the entire human organism mainly through their regulatory functions, and consequently as a result of functional defects or their total absence cause illness or even death. The colinearity between nucleic acid sequence in the gene and amino acid sequence in the corresponding protein. The capabilities of genetic engineering to isolate a specific nucleic acid sequence of human origin which is responsible for the production of a distinct human protein and to transfer this into a microorganism or cell culture system for economic production of the desired protein.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)