Biotechnology
1. Analyzing Genes
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What are restriction enzymes. What is their normal
function
in bacteria? Why do biologists find them useful?
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How can macromolecules that differ in size (molecular weight) be
separated
from each other?
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What are plasmids? How can restriction enzymes, plasmids,
and DNA ligase be used to generate a genomic library?
Of what value is gene cloning?
-
In addition to cloning, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can
also be used to amplify a specific gene. How does this technique
work?
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What is Southern Blotting and what type of information can be
gained
from the use of this technique?
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How is the nucleotide sequence of a DNA molecule determined? Of
what
value is DNA sequence information? What is the Human Genome
Project
and what are the primary objectives of this initiative?
2. Practical Applications of
DNA Technology
-
How have recent advances in DNA technology led to breakthroughs in the
areas of:
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Medicine and Pharmaceuticals
-
Agriculture
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Environmental Technology
-
Forensics
- What are some of the important ethical and safety questions that
are associated
with this new technology?