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Running Head: CARLETON PRIZE FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY

The Carleton Prize for Biotechnology Muhammad Taqi Raza BIOL 1010: Biotechnology and Society Prof. James Cheetham

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This paper gives an overview of the works and efforts by a group of scientists who paved the way for Biotechnology to expand and advance into what it is today. These Scientists developed recombinant-DNA technology or rDNA which jump-started the biotechnology industry, which also led to the creation of one of the biggest and the most advanced Biotech companies in the world, Genentech, which creates various important applications for a wide range of medical uses. ("Herbert W. Boyer and Stanley N. Cohen", 2017). Recombinant DNA technology is a major DNA-based tool that opens a new age for modern biotechnology. With this technology, a gene or multiple genes can be identified, cut, and inserted into the genome of another organism. Using this technology, the first drugs of medical biotechnology were produced, namely human insulin. ("Recombinant DNA Technology", n.d.). Although this technology was invented largely through the work of the chosen nominees but many other scientists also made contributions to the advancement of Recombinant DNA technology in the later years. With the help of rDNA technology, many diseases have been diagnosed. Some of the applications of rDNA technology include the test for the genes causing sickle cell disease, Huntington’s disease, and dozens of other Mendelian disorders. Recombinant DNA technology has also been used in forensic science to identify a criminal suspect using DNA samples obtained from various biological sources at the crime scene; this test is called genetic fingerprinting. This technology also enabled the manufacture of proteins and antibodies with a defined specificity and uniformity, which is a vast improvement over previous methods of production by extraction and purification from human or animal blood and tissues. ("Recombinant DNA Technology", n.d.)

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The scientists that deserve this award for their work in rDNA technology and revolutionizing the Biotech Industry are Herbert Wayne Boyer and Stanley Cohn. Their work on rDNA technology allowed the development of many recent medical products and applications. A gene-splicing experiment carried out by Paul Berg in 1971 led to the discovery of rDNA technology as the next step in the development of Biotechnology was the insertion of rDNA into bacteria in such a way that the foreign DNA would replicate naturally .This step was taken in 1972 by Boyer (b. 1936) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), in collaboration with Cohen (b. 1935) of Stanford University. ("Herbert W. Boyer and Stanley N. Cohen", 2017). While Boyer was an assistant professor in UCSF, he became interested in the bacteria E. coli, specifically in the restriction enzymes that could be isolated from E. coli. The enzyme discovered by Boyer in his lab was EcoRI which could be used to cut strings of DNA into precise and cohesive segments. The segments would carry the code for a predetermined protein and could also be attached to other strands of DNA. ("MIT Program", n.d.). While on the other hand, when Cohen was in Stanford university, he began to explore the field of bacterial plasmids, seeking to understand how the genes of plasmids could make bacteria resistant to antibiotics. In November 1972, there was a plasmid conference was held in Honolulu, Hawaii. Boyer had been invited to the meeting to talk about EcoR1. He met Cohen, who described his work. Boyer offered to send EcoR1, and they began to brainstorm about possible experiments. The group took a stroll on the streets running along Waikiki beach. They stopped at a delicatessen, where topics in plasmid genetics were discussed over sandwiches and beer. The talk centered on the new horizon of experiments that EcoR1 had brought into view. Cohen and Boyer sketched a possible method for cloning genes in E. coli. By the end of the meal, they had reached a solid agreement to collaborate. (Life Sciences, "The Invention of Recombinant DNA Technology", 2015).

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Boyer’s enzymes allowed Cohen to introduce specific DNA segments to plasmids and then use the resulting plasmids as a vehicle for precise cloning of previously targeted strands of DNA. Within four months they had a breakthrough. They had succeeded in cloning predetermined patterns of DNA and hence the technique of recombinant DNA was born. Bera, R. (2009). Cohen and Boyer's technique were immediately understood to have major practical applications. The advantage of their method was that it could be deployed by scientists in any laboratory with modest genetic and biochemical facilities. Within a short space of time academic and industrial laboratories were using the technique to genetically modify Escherichia coli (E. coli) to produce human proteins such as insulin and growth hormone for therapeutic purposes. This laid the foundation for the creation of Genentech and the rise of the modern biotechnology industry. ("Professor Stanley Cohen: Biographical summary", n.d.). In 1975, Boyer met Robert Swanson who worked for a venture capital company. Swanson believed in the burgeoning biotech industry and in 1976, Genentech was born. Genentech cloned and later developed the method for synthesizing human insulin using recombinant DNA technology. ("Concept 34 Genes can be moved between species.", n.d.). The production of Human insulin was an important development for the Biotech industry as well as for the modern world. Along with this, rDNA technology also allowed to produce many other medical products such as a clot-dissolving agent for heart attack victims, and a growth hormone for underdeveloped children and many more. These and other lifesaving substances are now produced worldwide by Boyer's and Cohen's cloning methodology. These are just some of the inventions that are a direct result of rDNA technology. There are new discoveries still being made with the help of rDNA technology and shall continue to do so.

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Amongst the recent discoveries, a major one is Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR). It has brought out solutions to several problems in different species. This system can be used to target destruction of genes in human cells. Activation, suppression, addition, and deletion of genes in human's cells, mice, rats, zebrafish, bacteria, fruit flies, yeast, nematodes, and crops proved the technique a promising one. Mouse models can be managed for studying human diseases with CRISPR, where individual genes study becomes much faster and the genes interactions studies become easy by changing multiple genes in cells. (Khan, et al., "Role of Recombinant DNA Technology to Improve Life", 2016). Another one is Gene therapy which is a recombinant DNA process in which cells are taken from the patient and altered by adding genes, and replaced in the patient, where the genes provide the genetic codes for proteins the patient is lacking. The chart below gives a good representation of the various uses of rDNA technology.

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Because of the works and efforts of Boyer and Cohen, Biotechnology has advanced and will continue to do so in time as well. This field of Biotechnology has always been growing but due to the invention of rDNA technology it has made advancements in this field easier and faster. Not only people but rDNA technology has helped improved the environment by making it cleaner and safer. All the improvements and growth in Biotechnology have been made possible by the work of Boyer and Cohen and have made the field of Biotechnology into what it is today.

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References 1-Herbert W. Boyer and Stanley N. Cohen. (2017, December 11). Retrieved from, https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/herbert-w-boyer-and-stanley-n-cohen 2-Recombinant DNA Technology. (n.d). Retrieved from, https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecularbiology/recombinant-dna-technology. 3-Recombinant DNA Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved from,

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecularbiology/recombinant-dna-technology. 4- Herbert W. Boyer and Stanley N. Cohen. (2017, December 11). Retrieved from, https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/herbert-w-boyer-and-stanley-n-cohen 5-MIT Program. (n.d.). Retrieved from, https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/herbert-boyer-and-stanley-cohen. 6-Life Sciences. (2015, November 12). The Invention of Recombinant DNA Technology. Retrieved from, https://medium.com/lsf-magazine/the-invention-of-recombinant-dnatechnology-e040a8a1fa22. 7-Bera, R. (2009). The story of the Cohen–Boyer patents. Current Science, 96(6), 760-763. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24104507. 8- Professor Stanley Cohen: Biographical summary. (n.d.). Retrieved from, https://www.whatisbiotechnology.org/index.php/people/summary/Cohen

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9- Concept 34 Genes can be moved between species. (n.d.). Retrieved from, http://www.dnaftb.org/34/bio-2.html. 10- Khan, S., Ullah, M. W., Siddique, R., Nabi, G., Manan, S., Yousaf, M., & Hou, H. (2016). Role of Recombinant DNA Technology to Improve Life. Retrieved from, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5178364/ 11- Chart is also taken from (10). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5178364/...