Medical biotechnology

Medical biotechnology is the use of living cell materials to research and produce pharmaceutical and diagnostic products that help to treat and prevent humane diseases. Most medical biotechnologists work in academic of industrial settings.

Medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology can speed diagnosis, prevention, and certain therapies. Biotech medicine includes the creation of new vaccines, neutraceuticals, cosmetics with active biological ingredients, and medicines from transgenic animals and plants.

Due to the new basis, lack of experience and ignorance, the implementation of results of some areas of biotechnology (such as about stem cells, genetic enhancement, cell cloning, testing of new drugs in developing nations, controls of transgenic crops, and

international regulation and enforcement) met severe resistance of society. Recombinant DNA and hybridoma technologies have been applied long time ago for manufacturing of rare and unique drugs (mainly protein) for human and veterinary medicine.

Presently more than 150 recombinant proteins are approved or are in clinical trials for medical use.

Biotechnology met new challenges after the year 2000 when the human genome was sequenced. Although the function of 95% of the human 31 000 genes is still obscure, they all are of potential interest for the pharmaceutical biotechnology. The sequencing of human genome laid the foundations of a new branch of biotechnology called “genomic technologies”. They include not only sequencing of new genes and genomes but also development of molecular(DNA and RNA) markers and microarray chips

for detecting mutant genes and methods for specific gene silencing (suppression) and/or repair of defective genes for the purposes of gene therapy.

The fields of application of modern biotechnology techniques are medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, gene therapy, bioactive therapeutic, clinical and contract research and neutraceuticals.

13. Give Russian equivalents for the following words:

powerful techniques, recombinant DNA, hybridoma technologies, fermentation technologies, natural materials, achievements of genetic and cell engineering, medical and pharmaceutical biotechnology, diagnosis, prevention, biotech medicine, creation of new vaccines, active biological ingredients, transgenic animals and plants, stem cells, genetic enhancement, cell cloning, veterinary medicine, recombinant proteins, human genome, pharmaceutical biotechnology, genomic technologies, development of molecular markers and microarray chips, gene therapy, bioactive therapeutic.