Engineering Life: Miracles in Biotechnology

Technology

History

Sociology

Literature

Inoculation

Callus formation

Hardening

Ploughing the field

Cell wall

Nucleus

Cytoplasm

Vacuole

Spirulina

Cow milk

Chicken egg

Wheat grain

Transcriptome

Proteome

Metabolome

Genotype

Amino acids

Nucleotides

Fatty acids

Monosaccharides

Insulin

Streptokinase

Penicillin

Growth Hormone

Adding more water to dilute the pollutants

Adding specific, high-efficiency microbes to the existing microbial community to enhance degradation

Using physical filters to remove plastic

Heating the water to $100^\circ C$ to kill all life

To break down the cell wall made of chitin

To digest the histone proteins attached to DNA

To remove the RNA from the mixture

To precipitate the DNA out of the solution

They have lost the ability to produce chlorophyll

The insertion of the target gene disrupts the $lacZ$ gene, preventing the production of $\beta$-galactosidase

The bacteria have died due to the antibiotic

The white color is a result of the target gene producing a white pigment

Bacteria

Earthworm

Fish

Frog

To make the plant grow taller

To provide a sweet taste

To act as a toxin against specific insects

To increase the speed of photosynthesis

Rapid DNA

Recombinant DNA

Reduced DNA

Random DNA

Gene Therapy

Gene Mutation

Gene Deletion

Gene Inversion

Increased use of chemical fertilizers

Development of crops that require less water and fewer pesticides

Decreased biodiversity

Increased soil erosion

Stealing biological equipment from a lab

The unauthorized use of biological resources and traditional knowledge of a country

Capturing wild animals for zoos

The use of computers in biology

The same cell only

Two or more different sources

A living and a non-living thing

RNA and Protein

Cystic Fibrosis

Emphysema

Phenylketonuria

Diabetes Mellitus

The fish can live in both salt and fresh water.

The fish grows to market size in half the time of a conventional salmon.

The fish becomes resistant to all viral infections.

The fish produces eggs that are already fertilized.

Bacteria and humans have the same cellular organelles.

The genetic code is nearly universal across all living organisms.

Human DNA is naturally found in bacterial plasmids.

Bacteria have the ability to undergo human-like mitosis.

The price of equipment

The safety and morality of genetic manipulation

The color of the lab coats

The name of the microbes

Tissue Culture

Animal Husbandry

Deforestation

Pollination

Cleaning laboratory equipment

Using computers to analyze biological data

Selling biotech products

Growing plants in a greenhouse

Heat

Insects

Cold

Salt

Saccharomyces

Lactobacillus

Rhizopus

Vibrio

Louis Pasteur

Karl Ereky

Alexander Fleming

Gregor Mendel

To keep the microbes in the lag phase

To maintain the microbes in their physiologically most active log phase

To prevent the microbes from reproducing

To change the genetic makeup of the microbes

It multiplies too slowly

It cannot be grown in large bioreactors

It may produce endotoxins that must be carefully removed from the final product

It does not have a cell membrane

The use of robots to harvest crops

The use of transgenic animals or plants to produce pharmaceutical substances

The study of how drugs move through the body

The synthetic production of pesticides in a factory

5'-CTTAAG-3'

5'-GAATTC-3'

5'-GAAUUC-3'

5'-TTAAGG-3'

Cryopreservation of gametes

Burning their habitats

Feeding them chemicals

Moving them to cities

Amylase

Protease

Lipase

Cellulase

Stethoscope

Gene Editing (e.g., CRISPR)

Microscope

Telescope

Viruses

Fungi and Bacteria

Insects

Plants

Breaking down bacterial cell walls

Breaking down plant cell walls (cellulose)

Synthesizing new DNA strands

Breaking down proteins into amino acids

Mammals

Insect larvae (like bollworms)

Birds

Soil bacteria

Fixing enzymes to a solid support to reuse them multiple times

Stopping the activity of enzymes completely

Injecting enzymes directly into the bloodstream

Extracting enzymes from plant roots

Cystic Fibrosis

Emphysema

Phenylketonuria

Hemophilia A

To make plants resistant to salt stress

To increase the shelf life of fruits during transport

To improve the nutritional quality of crops such as protein or vitamin content

To reduce the amount of pesticides needed for crop growth

Fungi; now from transgenic plants

Stomach of calves; now from recombinant $E. coli$ or yeast

Bacteria; now from chemical synthesis

Papaya fruit; now from modified algae

Hybrid

Clone

Species

Variety

Leaving land fallow

Adding synthetic NPK fertilizer

Crop rotation

Using green manure

Washing the grains with water

Using smoke or chemical vapors to kill pests

Drying the grains in the sun

Adding more moisture to the grains

Tallness and profuse branching

Dwarfness (short height) for better nutrient use

Susceptibility to diseases

Very long growing season

Amylase and Lipase

Cellulase and Pectinase

DNA Ligase and Helicase

Pepsin and Trypsin

Traditional breeding only happens in labs, while GE happens in fields

Genetic engineering allows for the transfer of specific genes across species boundaries, unlike traditional breeding

Traditional breeding does not involve any DNA

Genetic engineering is a much slower process than traditional breeding

To make the plants grow taller

To help scientists identify which cells have successfully taken up the new DNA

To make the final food product more nutritious

To prevent the plant from being eaten by birds

Alpha-amylase

Polygalacturonase

Nitrogenase

ATP synthase

It is used to produce large amounts of flowers.

It is used to induce 'hairy root' cultures which are efficient in producing secondary metabolites.

It is used to kill weeds in the field.

It is used to make the plant grow taller.

The formation of a whole new organism from a single cell without passing through an embryo-like stage.

The development of organs like roots or shoots from a callus mass.

The process of cleaning the laboratory equipment.

The growth of plants in organic soil.

Genetically Modified Organism

Greatly Modified Object

General Medical Operation

Genetically Mixed Oxygen

Telescope

Electron Microscope

Stethoscope

Magnifying glass

To store energy

To act as a messenger between DNA and ribosomes

To form the cell wall

To store minerals

Fuel derived from living matter

Fuel made from rocks

Fuel from outer space

Fuel that never burns

To increase the speed at which the virus infects all the patient's healthy organs

To remove harmful viral DNA and make space for the therapeutic human gene

To allow the virus to produce its own antibodies to fight the disease

To transform the virus from a biological entity into a non-living mineral

Blood grouping

DNA Fingerprinting

Tissue culture

Organ transplant

White Biotechnology

Green Biotechnology

Red Biotechnology

Blue Biotechnology

The donor DNA and vector DNA are cut into pieces.

The gene of interest is joined to the vector DNA to form a single circular molecule.

The recombinant DNA is forced into a host cell using heat shock.

The host cells are grown in a large bioreactor.

Using bacteria to produce human growth hormone.

Using genetically modified bacteria to clean up oil spills in the ocean.

Using viruses to deliver healthy genes to a patient.

Using high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells.

To stop the replication of the plasmid.

To signal the end of transcription for the RNA polymerase.

To kill the host cell after the protein is produced.

To prevent other genes from being inserted into the plasmid.

Solvent extraction

Hand squeezing

Boiling in water

Fermentation

Lactic acid

Phosphoric acid

Hydrochloric acid

Sulfuric acid

Milling

Malting

Mashing

Maturing

Vitamin C

Vitamin K

Vitamin D

Vitamin B12

$O_2$

$C_2H_5OH$

$H_2SO_4$

$CH_4$

Growing fish in tanks

Producing enzymes or fermented foods like Tempeh on solid substrates

Purifying water

Freezing food

By making food more expensive

By developing varieties with delayed ripening and better resistance

By banning the use of plastic

By reducing the nutritional value

Enhanced Vitamin A content

Herbicide tolerance (e.g., Glyphosate resistance)

Vaccine delivery via fruit

Reduced acrylamide production in potatoes

The liver

The mammary gland

The pancreas

The small intestine

Anaerobic fermentation

Aerobic oxidation

Photosynthesis

Nitrogen fixation

Lipase

Amylase

Protease

Cellulase

They are very acidic and burn through dirt

They are generally pH neutral and safe for many surfaces

They only work on glass

They are made of plastic

They are highly specific

They are consumed in the reaction

They are proteinaceous in nature

They speed up chemical reactions

Adds dye to the clothes

Removes micro-fibrels that trap dirt and dull colors

Bleaches the fabric

Changes the light reflection

Starch

Hemoglobin (a protein)

Cholesterol

Cotton fibers

Green Chemistry

Heavy Metallurgy

Synthetic Physics

Organic Mining

Its color

The unique shape and chemical environment of its active site

The size of the detergent bottle

The speed of the washing machine

It relies on renewable biological catalysts instead of non-renewable petroleum-based surfactants

It uses more electricity

It requires the mining of more metals

It increases the use of synthetic plastics

To prevent 'dye transfer' by oxidizing loose dye molecules in the wash water

To break down protein stains

To make the water more bubbly

To repair holes in the clothes

Iron

Calcium

Magnesium

Sodium

Red biotechnology

Green biotechnology

White biotechnology

Blue biotechnology

Filtering air through leaves

Using plant roots to filter pollutants from water

Using rocks to filter water

Using chemicals to clean roots

Biodesulfurization

Biomagnification

Biosynthesis

Biodiversity

Electronic waste

Organic manure/fertilizer

Building material

Drinking water

It is the layer of the atmosphere where ozone is found

It is the area of soil surrounding plant roots where microbial activity is high and pollutants can be degraded

It is the deepest part of the ocean where no life exists

It is the part of the plant that produces flowers

Switching from chemical catalysts to biocatalysts (enzymes) that require less energy

Building taller chimneys for factories

Using more plastic in packaging

Moving factories to the mountains

Using magnets to pull out metal

A mixture of bacteria and protozoa that are constantly aerated to break down organic waste

Adding thick oil to the water to trap dirt

Using radioactive waves to sterilize the sewage

It makes the organisms move faster

It can cause a trait to spread through an entire wild population rapidly, potentially causing irreversible ecological changes

It is too expensive to use in the wild

It only works on bacteria, not insects

Bio-accumulation

Bioredox transformation

Bio-magnification

Bio-volatilization

Using heavy water

Molecular markers like the 'lux' gene (bioluminescence)

Painting the bacteria with dye

Counting them with a magnifying glass

Inoculation

Harvesting and Purification

Sterilization

Mixing

Telescope

Spectrophotometer

Stethoscope

Thermometer

The period where cells die rapidly

The period of rapid cell division and growth

The time when the machine is turned off

The time spent cleaning the tank

Ammonium salts

Table salt

Glucose

Vegetable oil

Rapid cell division

The phase where the population size is stable and nutrients are limited

The very beginning of the culture

The breakdown of the product into waste

To remove dust particles that might clog the sparger

To prevent the introduction of airborne contaminants like mold spores and bacteria

To increase the concentration of oxygen in the air

To cool down the air before it enters the medium

The cooling jacket

The air outlet valve/control

The impeller motor

The pH sensor

The volume increases by the cube ($r^3$) while the surface area only increases by the square ($r^2$).

The stainless steel becomes thinner as the reactor gets larger.

Water flows slower in larger pipes.

Large microbes produce colder heat.

The cost of repairing the bioreactor every year.

The amount of substrate consumed by the microbes just to stay alive without growing.

The amount of oxygen needed to spin the impeller.

The number of technicians required to run the fermenter.

Aluminum

316L Stainless Steel

Copper

Iron

Opens the cold water valve for the cooling jacket

Turns off the motor

Adds more nutrients

Increases the speed of the impeller

The Impeller

The Cooling Jacket

The Baffles

The Sparger

To change the color of the product

To keep the pH at a constant, optimal value

To kill the microbes at the end

To provide the main source of carbon

Planting seeds in the fermenter

Collecting the biomass or product from the vessel

Adding more water to the vessel

Turning off the lights

To clean the outside of the vessel only

To automatically clean and sanitize the internal surfaces without dismantling the equipment

To clean the laboratory floor around the fermenter

To purify the final product

It is easier to clean

It provides a more uniform distribution of air bubbles across the vessel

It uses less air

It is made of plastic

To make it look better

To facilitate easy drainage and prevent 'dead zones' where mixing is poor

To allow it to stand on the floor without a base

To focus light into the center

A high-pressure sparger

A light source (LEDs or sunlight) and a transparent surface

A larger harvest valve

An extra pH probe

Oxygen starvation

Cell lysis due to hydrodynamic shear stress

Temperature drop due to wind chill

Precipitation of nutrients

To double the pressure capacity

To protect the relief valve from corrosion by the fermenter environment until an overpressure occurs

To serve as a backup if the relief valve is too small

To measure the pressure more accurately

Bio-ethanol

Lactic acid

Butyric acid

Nitric acid

To cool the tank

To sterilize the vessel with heat

To add oxygen

To stir the liquid

Ammonia or Urea

Pure Gold

Distilled Water

Carbon Dioxide

Making clothes

Production of beer through fermentation

Baking bread

Mining for minerals

The color of the medium

Uniform oxygen transfer and heat dissipation

The price of the sugar

The size of the microbes

Production of plastic from petroleum

Biogas production from organic waste

Mining of gold from ores

Desalination of sea water

The temperature is too low

The glucose concentration is very high

The pH is highly acidic

The yeast cells are dying

Nitrogen

Methane

Helium

Chlorine

As part of the cell wall.

Secreted into the medium.

As intracellular inclusion bodies (granules) acting as energy reserves.

Attached to the flagella.

Homofermentative produce only lactic acid; heterofermentative produce lactic acid plus $CO_{2}$ and ethanol.

Homofermentative are only found in milk; heterofermentative are found everywhere.

Homofermentative require oxygen; heterofermentative do not.

There is no difference; they are synonyms.

It requires more manual labor

It allows for large-scale, consistent production of biological products

It only works for one specific type of bacteria

It cannot be used for medicines

To prevent the leakage of nutrients

To prevent contamination and maintain internal pressure/environment

To keep the microbes from seeing the light

To make them waterproof

To provide food for the microbes

To adjust the pH of the culture broth

To wash the floor

To make the broth taste better

Only water

Only microbes

Water, nutrients, and microbes

Metal and plastic parts

To decrease the hydrostatic pressure at the base, preventing damage to the sparger.

To increase the residence time of air bubbles in the liquid, improving oxygen ($O_2$) transfer.

To maximize the surface-area-to-volume ratio for more efficient heat loss to the surroundings.

To reduce the length of the impeller shaft, which minimizes mechanical vibration at high speeds.

Baffles

Mechanical seal

Sparger

Valve

The amount of oxygen the motor needs to run

The amount of oxygen required by the microbial population for optimal growth and metabolism

The pressure of oxygen in the headspace

The time it takes to fill the tank with oxygen

The cells are dead

The cells are adapting to the new environment and synthesizing necessary enzymes

The substrate concentration is too high

The toxins produced by the cells inhibit their own growth

A continuous culture where the flow rate is adjusted to maintain constant biomass density

A batch culture where the temperature is varied to maximize growth

A system where oxygen is the only limiting nutrient

A fermenter used only for anaerobic bacteria

Total oxygen consumed by the fermenter per hour

Oxygen consumed per unit of biomass per unit of time

The rate of oxygen diffusion through the cell wall

The concentration of oxygen in the air feed

By increasing chemical pesticide use

By creating crops that require fewer chemical inputs and are more resilient

By decreasing the yield of crops

By making farming more difficult

Study of the ethical issues emerging from advances in biology and medicine

Study of how to make more money from plants

Study of how to use biology to destroy things

Study of the history of biology

Animal welfare/health problems

Ethical 'playing God' arguments

Ecological imbalance if they escape

They might become invisible

To encourage biopiracy

To ensure the safe handling, transport, and use of living modified organisms

To ban all biotechnology

To make sure every country has a laboratory

Recombination

Redesign

Replacement

Reproduction

To increase the profit of the hospital

To resolve moral dilemmas and ensure ethical standards are met

To decide which scientist gets a promotion

To design the architectural layout of the biology lab

Scientists have to pay high fees to study certain genes, slowing down medical progress

Patented genes stop working after 20 years

Only the person who patented the gene can have that gene in their body

Patents make genes mutate faster

The human genome belongs to the UN

The human genome is, in a symbolic sense, the heritage of humanity and should not be used for profit in its natural state

Every human must have their genome sequenced

Genetically modified humans are not humans

The plant fails to grow

The toxin produced by the plant kills beneficial insects (like butterflies) along with the pests

The plant targets the wrong field

The plant grows too many leaves

The pink color of the cotton

The high cost of seeds and the reported link to farmer distress and indebtedness

The cotton being too soft

The lack of water in the seeds

Using antibiotics for every small cold

Using antibiotics only when prescribed by a professional

Sharing antibiotics with friends

Stopping antibiotics as soon as you feel better

Easy

Escherichia

Energy

Element

The plant becomes too tall

Transfer of genes from GMOs to conventional or wild crops

The fruit becomes too small

The leaves fall off in summer

They make medicine cheaper

They increase costs due to longer hospital stays and expensive treatments

They have no impact on costs

They help hospitals save money on electricity

The soil will become toxic to all future crops due to bacterial overgrowth.

The pathogenic bacteria will lose their ability to infect humans.

Common bacterial infections may become untreatable with existing medicines.

The human body will develop a natural immunity to the transgene.

Improvement of local biodiversity in saline areas

Ecological niche expansion leading to the displacement of native species

The natural evolutionary process of genetic conservation

Increased agricultural efficiency through wild-crop hybridization

To count how many seeds are sold

To detect long-term, unforeseen impacts on the environment such as 'super-bugs' or biodiversity loss

To make sure the farmers are happy

To take photos of the crops for advertisements

The Paris Agreement

The Cartagena Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol

The Geneva Convention

A $Bt$ crop killing the specific pest it was designed to kill.

A crop designed for drought tolerance also becoming more sensitive to high temperatures due to metabolic changes.

A scientist wearing a lab coat while working.

A plant growing towards the light.

They will bite more people than normal mosquitoes.

The removal or drastic reduction of a mosquito species might disrupt food webs where they are a primary food source for fish, birds, or bats.

The mosquitoes will grow to the size of birds.

The mosquitoes will stop carrying any diseases but will become very aggressive.

It allows anyone to use scientific discoveries for the common good

It keeps all discoveries hidden

It makes everything more expensive

It only allows governments to see research

The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act

The Motor Vehicles Act

The Forest Conservation Act

The Information Technology Act

Crops becoming more nutritious

The spread of modified genes to wild relatives or weeds

Crops growing shorter

Seeds becoming cheaper

Bt Maize

Organic Wheat

Wild Rice

Hybrid Tomato

It is a place where only the richest nations can store seeds.

It serves as a global insurance policy to protect crop diversity for all humanity.

It is a laboratory where new GMOs are created to take over the world.

It is a vault where gold is stored to pay for biotech research.

Passing genes from parents to offspring.

The movement of genetic material between unicellular and/or multicellular organisms other than via transmission from parent to offspring.

Drawing a horizontal line across a DNA sequence diagram.

The transfer of genes from one laboratory to another on the same street.

CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing

Traditional fermentation for making curd or bread

Synthetic genomics

X-ray crystallography of proteins

To ensure that everyone in the world is genetically identical.

To ensure that the benefits of biotechnology are used to solve the world's most pressing problems in a way that is accessible and affordable to all.

To make sure that biotech companies are the most profitable in the world.

To replace all natural ecosystems with genetically engineered ones.

The North is biodiversity-rich and technology-poor; the South is biodiversity-poor and technology-rich.

The South is biodiversity-rich and technology-poor; the North is biodiversity-poor and technology-rich.

Both are equally rich in biodiversity and technology.

The North has no interest in the genetic resources of the South.

Synthetic biology will make the natural products grow faster.

Biosynthetic versions of these products can be 'brewed' in vats in developed nations, potentially destroying the economies of the natural exporters.

Synthetic biology will make people allergic to chocolate.

The technology only works for producing plastic, not food.