MARASIGAN, Marinella V.1A141. Describe briefly the science and technology behind:a. GenomicsGenomics provides a glimpse of the entire landscape of organism’s genes, allowing people to see a bigger picture of not only what DNA is and how it works, but also on how the whole genome interacts with the factors outside the organism. In other words, Genomics is mainly concerned in determining and analyzing the interrelationship of these genes with other genes, or with the proteins they produced, or with the environmental factors.
The sequencing of genome is deemed as the starting point of genomics and with the emergence of technology, sequencing has become more efficient and accurate.b. BiotechnologyBased from the word itself, it can be deducted that Biotechnology focuses on the correlation of life (bio) and technology. In specific terms, biotechnology refers to the technological application that utilizes biological function in order to develop useful products. In its early history, zymotechnology paved the way for its further development, as it was discovered to be classified as applied sciences as biological molecules such as amino-acids, proteins and enzymes were utilized in industrial production.
This proved how biotechnology plays a major role in enhancing people’s quality of life.c. Synthetic BiologySynthetic Biology aims to construct or re-design biological systems, which includes enzymes, genetic circuits, cells, and other biological entities. It is closely related to genetic engineering, which in turn refers to manipulating and analyzing the DNA. Synthetic Biology is deemed as the product of re-engineered genetic engineering and it different from genetic engineering in such a way that it involves creating biological parts that don’t already exist in nature. Brought by the emergence of a more sophisticated technology, synthetic biology made it possible for DNA sequence to be copied and produced through a machine.2. Evaluate the impacts of genomics, biotechnology and synthetic biology, in terms of:a) Quality of life With the discovery of Copy Number Variation, Genomics have paved the way in understanding individual’s uniqueness and susceptibility to some disorders such as athritis, autism, bipolar disorder, diabetes, heart disease and many more. According to Canadian studies, examination of CNV establish the importance of understanding genomics in order to improve human health. Another example that can show the importance of Genomics is the Oncotype DX breast cancer test which is useful in predicting the aggressiveness of one’s tumor and whether or not one will benefit from chemotherapy. Genomics is also deemed useful in developing forestry management strategies since it can help researchers to analyze the interaction of animals to its environment. Just like what Canadian researchers have found, they are able to draw an analysis regarding the relationship of pine beetle, fungus and the trees at the genome level. Protecting the environment also improves the quality of life since it is where we get our resources.Biotechnology also improves quality of life, especially in the enhancing the aspect of environment, in which it helps to reduce the utilization of pesticides since there is a significant emphasis put on the pest- and disease-resistant crops. Additionally, it also promotes the use of tillage techniques, which in turn mitigate the environmental problems such as soil erosion, water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Prevalent social problems, such as energy and food shortages, during the early periods were address through the emergence of biotechnology.The potential applicability for human of Synthetic Biology in the aspect of life science provides a significant information in such a way that through this, cells are utilized to produce special high-tech products which people can harvest and use. Additionally, synthetic systems also paved the way for researchers to identify various ways in producing low-cost drugs that will help people to overcome diseases such as malaria. Another example of its applicability includes turning sugar cane to jet fuel.b) Economics/ politicsThe Human Genome project have faced a lot of criticisms and one of which includes the opposition of many critics who stated that the project may lead to possible exploitation of indigenous peoples and racial and ethnic groups, as the project can earn profit from their genes. Additionally, since genetic information has commercial value, companies will attempt to use patents and other forms of intellectual property to control this valuable resource and through this, they are able to make profit out of it. This controversy regarding corporate interests and control stirred a massive debate whether gene patenting is good or bad.c) Ethical concernsAs mentioned above, Human Genome project received massive opposition since the project involves gathering data from indigenous peoples. People from different race and ethnicity have argued that the project smacks of racism, exploitation, crass capitalism, and cultural imperialism.