Biotechnology

About Biotechnology
This is a wonderful site maintained by Genentech, Inc.,"a pioneer biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and markets human pharmaceuticals for significant unmet medical needs." There is a lot of interesting information here about biotechnology (click here for an introduction to the topic), including Biotech Chronicles, which provides the history of biotechnology including timelines, introductions to pioneering biotech scientists and discussion of major historical events. There is also an introduction to the Human Genome Project, a career center (providing information on students interested in pursuing a career in biotech), Science Updates (weekly updates from laboratories around the world), and a nice image library of various molecular processes (e.g., DNA replication).

PCR and Gel Analysis Animations
This site provides some nice animations on PCR, Southern Blot gel analysis and cycle sequencing technology.

Biotech Applied
This is a page devoted to discussions of the practical applications of biotechnology.

From Maps to Medicine
This page discusses how a genetic disease is tracked and studied.

Issues Relating to Biotechnology
An introduction to the ethical and legal implications of biotechnology. Also check out this series of articles dealing with these issues.

Beyond Discovery: The Path from Research to Human Benefit
From the main page:

"Beyond Discovery: The Path from Research to Human Benefit is a project of the National Academy of Sciences. It is a series of case studies that identify and trace origins of important recent technological and medical advances. Each case study reveals the crucial role played by basic science, the applications of which could not have been anticipated at the time the original research was conducted."

The site discusses a number of issues relating to biology including human gene testing, ozone depletion, curing childhood leukemia, development of cochlear implants, lasers and eye surgery and designer seeds.