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B6U5ARevolutioninBiology—andSociety?Procedures•1.Warmupactivity:ReadandDiscuss•2.Pre-readingActivities:•backgroundinformation•questionsandanswers•watchandimitate•3.GlobalReadingoftheTextReadanddiscussIthasbeenmorethan50yearssincescientistscametoknowaboutDNAandtheyhavebeenworkingeverhardertofindoutmoreaboutit.DNAtechnologycanbeappliedinawidevarietyoffields,frommedicineandbiologytoarcheologyandcriminology,justtonameafew.Thebenefitsitcanbringtohumanbeingsarealmosttoogoodtobetrue..Geneticengineersarestudyinglife’ssecretsandtryingtousethatknowledgetoreversethenaturalcourseofdisease.ReadanddiscussLikeamagicaldrug,DNAisasubstanceofextraordinarypotentialthatcantreatnotjustsymptomsorthediseasesthatcausethembutalsotheflawsinDNAthatmakepeoplesusceptibletoadisease.However,likeadouble-bladedsword,DNAtechnologyhasitsownproblemsandthemisuseofitcanbedisastrous.World-wide,thereareever-growingethicalconcernsaboutgenetechnology.Whileenjoyingitsbenefits,weshouldconsidermoreaboutthewaystoavoidthemisuseofthetechnologyandtrytofindwaystosolvethesocial,ethicalandmoralproblemsposedbyit.Nowdiscussthefollowingquestionswithyourpartner•1.WhatdoyouknowaboutDNA?•2.InwhichfieldcanDNAtechnologybeapplied?•3.WhatarethenegativeresultsDNAtechnologymaycontributeto?••Biotechnologywouldsoontransformthepharmaceuticalindustryandgeneticallymodifiedfoodwastoheraldthebiggestrevolutioninagriculturesincetheindustrializationoffarming.Yetthepublicwasskeptical,andsowerecertainscientists.Somefearedthatacancer-causinggenestitchedintotheDNAofabacteriummightbeaccidentallyabsorbedinthehumangut,enablingcancertobepassedonlikeaninfectiousdisease.BiologistsfromallovertheworldwerecalledtoameetinginCaliforniatodrawupastrictsetofsafetyguidelines.Whenthepanicsubsidedthestagewassetforabiotechnologybonanza.Aracebegantoproducegeneticallyengineeredinsulin['insjulin]胰岛素.AcoupleofyearslaterayoungresearchercalledRobHorsch,whoworkedforthechemicalgiantMonsanto,producedthefirstgeneticallyengineeredplant.Thebiotechrevolutionshadarrived.GoldenRice•In1999,IngoPotrykusoftheSwissFederalInstituteofTechnologyandDr.PeterBeyeroftheUniversityofFreiburginGermanyannouncedthattheyhadsplicedtwogenesfromadaffodilandonegenefromabacteriumintorice,thusengineeringastrainofricethatincludesbetacarotene.Whenconsumed,betacaroteneisconvertedbythehumanbodyintoVitaminA.Dubbedgoldenrice,thisnewstrainofricehasbeenhailedasthesolutiontoVitaminAdeficiency,aconditionthatthreatensmillionsofpeoplearoundtheworldwithblindnessordeath,particularlyindevelopingnations.Womenandchildrenaregenerallyimpactedthemost.Manyfeelgoldenricewillworktocounteracttheproblemofmalnourishmentinrice-eatingnationswheresupplementsandfortificationshavebeenineffective.GoldenRice•Othersaren'tsosure.Asinglenutrientapproachtowardsanutrition-relatedpublichealthproblemisusually,withtheexceptionofperhapsiodineorseleniumdeficiencies,neitherfeasiblenordesirable,saidJohnR.Lupien,directoroftheFoodandNutritionDivisionoftheUnitedNations'FoodandAgriculturalOrganization.Therearealsoconcernsthatsuchrelianceongeneticallyengineeredcropswouldresultinafurtherlossofbiodiversityandultimatelyunderminelocalfoodsecurity.GoldenRice•Althoughthedevelopmentofgoldenricecameaboutasaresultofpublicresearchandpublicfunding,purportedlyinthehopeofcontributingtothegreatergoodofworldhealth,criticsnotethatanumberofcompanieshavetakenoutpatentsonthericestrain.In2000,thebiotechcorporationMonsantoannounceditwasgivingawayitspatents,andwouldprovideroyalty-freelicencestohelpthedevelopmentofgoldenrice;yetcriticsremainskepticalofthefineprintintheselicensingagreements.Accordingtoa1999reportintheFINANCIALTIMES,Africancountriesinparticulararewaryofincreasingdependenceondevelopedcountriesandmultinationalcorporationsasaresultofgeneticallymodifiedcrops.SomebackgroundInformation•1.SiliconValleySiliconValleyisanicknameforaswathofcommunitiesengagedinhigh-technologyresearchandmanufacturing.ThisnameisalsogiventoonesuchregioninwesternCalifornia.Inthesecondhalfofthe20thcenturytheregionfromSanFranciscosouthtoSanJoseacquiredthenameSiliconValleyasatributetoitskeyroleintheemergenceofthepersonalcomputer,software,biotechnology,andotherhigh-technologyindustries.Importanthardwareandsoftwareinnovatorsdevelopedthere,includingAppleComputer,Inc.,CiscoSystems,Inc.,Hewlett-PackardCompany,NetscapeCommunicationsCorporation,and3ComCorporation,alongwithbiotechnologyleaderssuchasGenentech,Inc.ThesedevelopmentsjustdownthepeninsulahadamajorimpactonSanFranciscoaswell.Duringthe1990s,onepartoftheSouth-of-MarketareabecamehometosomanymultimediacompaniesthatitacquiredthenicknameMultimediaGulch.Inaddition,venturecapitalfirmsspecializinginhigh-technologystart-upcompanieshavelocatedinSanFranciscoaswellasinSiliconValley.HumanGenomeProject•HumanGenomeProjectistheinternationalscientificcollaborationthatseekstounderstandtheentiregeneticblueprintofahumanbeing.Thisgeneticinformationisfoundineachcellofthebody,encodedinthechemicaldeoxyribonucleicacid(DNA).Throughaprocessknownassequencing,theHumanGenomeProjecthassofaridentifiednearlyallof