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OCR for page 39
Introduction
RALPH HARDY
To provide an overview of what is called the new biotechnology, we
have assembled three of the leaders in this field from bioengineering,
health care, and agriculture. But first a brief introduction.
The reality of biotechnology is strikingly shown in Figure 1. Genes
that direct the synthesis of the animal growth hormone were injected
into the embryo of the rodent pictured on the left-hand side of the
figure. The addition of genetic material by the new biotechnology led
to a very substantial change up to a doubled size in this organism.
Clearly, then, there is a reality to biotechnology.
As discussed by Charles L. Cooney in the first of the three papers
that follow, processes for many of the biotechnology applications require
engineering input. Some believe, in fact, that the process aspect of this
research may be more demanding than is the genetic manipulation as-
pect.
The reality of biotechnology in agriculture is illustrated by the knowl-
edge that the change of a single amino acid in a protein that occurs in
the membrane of the chloroplast, the light-gathering area of a plant,
led to resistance to a major herbicide called atrazine. In fact, rapeseed
with this resistant gene is now being aggressively used by farmers on
the North American continent. Charles J. Arntzen provides an overview
of this and other aspects of biotechnology in agriculture in the second
paper.
The reality of biotechnology in health care is demonstrated by the
clinical use begun in 1982 of human insulin produced in a fermentation
39
OCR for page 40
40
NEW FRONTIERS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
FIGURE 1 Size of organism doubled as a result of the addition of genetic
material by the new biotechnology. Reprinted, with permission, from
Science, Vol. 222, No. 4625, Nov. 18, 1983. (a) 1983 by American As-
sociation for the Advancement of Science.
vat in a microorganism into which had been inserted the genes for human
insulin. J. Paul Burnett discusses this and other aspects of biotechnology
in the health care area in the third paper.
The examples mentioned thus far clearly show that there is a reality
to biotechnology. And clearly the fundamental, pervasive ability of this
technology the ability to manipulate in a directed sense the infor-
mational system, or genes, of all living cells suggests that the reality
of biotechnology will have impacts in a number of industries. These
industries range from the nearer-term health care and agricultural areas
through food, industrial chemicals, energy, forestry, pollution control,
and mining, and possibly in time to bioelectronics.
However, such a pervasive capability has unfortunately led to many
unrealistic expectations. It seems that countries without substantial bio-
OCR for page 41
INTRODUCTION
41
technological capability feel that they are not first-class countries, and
the same thing has happened in many industries, among the public
investors, and so forth. In the first six months of 1983, for example, the
public committed about $250 million to new stock offerings to small
biotechnology companies, almost all of which have no product now and
which probably will not have a product for some time. Limited R&D
partnerships in this area are beginning to become very popular.
What we would like to do here, then, is to provide an analysis of
what the reality is in this exciting field with the tremendous potential.
Clearly the new biotechnology is in its very early stages.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
pervasive ability
