Feed the world, Fuel the world and Heal the world

Why do our cell multiply?

Cells multiply in order for the organism to grow,develop,repair and for the organism to produce
offspring.What limits the size of a cell and forces it to divide rather than keep getting larger is the
ratio of surface area to volume of the cell.
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What are Bacteria?
Single-celled microorganisms which can exist as independent organisms or as parasites.They
are microscopic organisms whose single cells neither have a membrane-enclosed nucleus nor
other membrane enclosed organelles like mitochondria and chloroplasts.They have a single
chromosome, a closed circle of double-stranded DNA with no associated histones.

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What are Fungi?
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that include microorganisms
such as yeasts and moulds, as well as mushrooms.One unique feature is that fungal cell walls
have chitin.(Study of Fungi-Mycology).
As other eukaryotes, fungal cells contain membrane-bound nuclei with chromosomes that
contain DNA with noncoding regions called introns and coding regions called exons.
Most fungi grow as hyphae, which are cylindrical, thread-like structures 210 m in diameter
and up to several centimeters in length.
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What is a Virus?
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of
organisms.(Study of virus - Virology).
Virus particles (known as virions) consist of two or three parts: the genetic material made from
either DNA or RNA, long molecules that carry genetic information; a protein coat that protects
these genes; and in some cases an envelope of lipids that surrounds the protein coat when they
are outside a cell. The shapes of viruses range from simple helical and icosahedral forms to
more complex structures. The average virus is about one one-hundredth the size of the average
bacterium. Most viruses are too small to be seen directly with a light microscope.
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Why is virus non-living?
Viruses are complicated assemblies of molecules, including proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and
carbohydrates, but on their own they can do nothing until they enter a living cell. Without cells,
viruses would not be able to multiply. Therefore, viruses are not living things.
Viruses are passive, completely at the mercy of their environment.

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What are the major Biotech companies in India?
Biocon,Serum Institute of India,Panacea biotech,Nicholas Piramal,Wockhadrt
Limited,GlaxoSmithKline,Bharat Serum,Krebs Biochemicals and Industries limited,Zydus
Cadila,Indian Immunologicals,Ranbaxy,Novozymes.
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What is the use of biotech in agriculture and dairy industries?
The most widespread application of genetic engineering in agriculture by far is in genetically
engineered crops.The traits most commonly introduced into crops are herbicide tolerance,
insect tolerance, and virus tolerance.When seed is sown in the soil,bacteria play an important
role in its germination.
Bacteria play their role in making of yoghurt from milk.
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What are proteins?
They are macromolecules composed of long chain of amino acids linked by peptide
bonds(between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid residues).They
are essential parts of organisms and take part in energy metabolism.They are enzymes
that catalyze biochemical reactions.Structural or mechanical function- actin and myosin in
muscle,proteins in cytoskeleton.
Proteins are assembled from amino acids using information encoded in genes.

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What is a gene?
A gene is a unit of heredity in a living organism. It is normally a stretch of DNA that codes for a
type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism.
The total complement of genes in an organism or cell is known as its genome, which may be
stored on one or more chromosomes; the region of the chromosome at which a particular gene
is located is called its locus.
Danish botanist Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word "gene".

The genes lie in long strands of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) called chromosomes. Humans
have 23 pairs of chromosomes - or a total of 46. A donkey has 31 pairs of chromosomes, a
hedgehog has 44, and a fruit fly has just 4.

A gene consists of a long combination of four different nucleotide bases (chemicals). There are
many possible combinations. The four nucleotides are:

A (adenine)
C (cytosine)
G (guanine)
T (thymine)
Different combinations of the letters ACGT give people different characteristics.

Chromosomes are the long strands of DNA.Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes.

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What is Gene Amplification?
An increase in the number of copies of a gene in a cell, resulting in an elevation in the level of
the RNA or protein encoded for by the gene and a corresponding amplification of the phenotype
that the gene confers on the cell. Drug resistance in cancer cells is linked to amplification of the
gene that prevents absorption of the chemotherapeutic agent by the cell.
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What is Gene Bank?
Gene banks are a type of biorepository which preserve genetic material. In plants, this could be
by freezing cuts from the plant, or stocking the seeds. In animals, this is the freezing of sperm
and eggs in zoological freezers until further need.
Types of Gene Banks: Seed Bank, Tissue Bank, Cryobank, Pollen Bank, Field Gene Bank.
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What is Gene Pool?
A gene pool is the complete set of unique alleles(one of the alternative forms of a gene) in a
species or population. Gene pool increases when mutation occurs and survives.
Gene pool decreases when the population size is significantly reduced. Some of the
consequences when gene pool is small are low fertility, and increased probability of acquiring
genetic diseases and deformities.
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What is DNA?
It is Deoxyribonucleic acid.It is the carrier of genetic information.Human DNA consists of about 3
billion bases, and more than 99 percent of those bases are the same in all people.

DNA consists of two long polymers of simple units called nucleotides, with backbones made
of sugars and phosphate groups joined by ester bonds. These two strands run in opposite
directions to each other and are therefore anti-parallel. Attached to each sugar is one of four
types of molecules called nucleobases (informally, bases). It is the sequence of these four
nucleobases along the backbone that encodes information. This information is read using the
genetic code, which specifies the sequence of the amino acids within proteins. The code is read
by copying stretches of DNA into the related nucleic acid RNA in a process called transcription.

An important property of DNA is that it can replicate, or make copies of itself. Each strand of
DNA in the double helix can serve as a pattern for duplicating the sequence of bases. This
is critical when cells divide because each new cell needs to have an exact copy of the DNA
present in the old cell.

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What is RNA?
It is Ribonucleic acid.Like DNA, RNA is made up of a long chain of components called
nucleotides. Each nucleotide consists of a nucleobase a ribose sugar, and a phosphate group.
The chemical structure of RNA is very similar to that of DNA, with two differences: (a) RNA
contains the sugar ribose, while DNA contains the slightly different sugar deoxyribose (a type of
ribose that lacks one oxygen atom), and (b) RNA has the nucleobase uracil while DNA contains
thymine. Unlike DNA, most RNA molecules are single-stranded and can adopt very complex
three-dimensional structures.
adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), or uracil (U). Adenine and guanine are purines, cytosine,
and uracil are pyrimidines.

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How does DNA duplicate itself?
The process starts with one double-stranded DNA molecule and produces two identical copies
of the molecule. Each strand of the original double-stranded DNA molecule serves as template
for the production of the complementary strand, a process referred to as semiconservative
replication. Cellular proofreading and error toe-checking mechanisms ensure near perfect
fidelity for DNA replication.
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What is a DNA chip?
A DNA microarray (also commonly known as gene chip, DNA chip, or biochip) is a collection of
microscopic DNA spots attached to a solid surface. Scientists use DNA microarrays to measure
the expression levels of large numbers of genes simultaneously or to genotype multiple regions
of a genome.


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What is terminator gene technology?
The terminator gene is a specific genetic sequence inserted by scientists into a seed's DNA that
renders the seed and the crop it produces sterile. The seed company initiates the terminator
process before selling the seeds by adding an inducer.

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What is a chromosome?
Threadlike strand of DNA in the cell nucleus that carries the genes.Each chromosome is made
up of DNA tightly coiled many times around proteins called histones that support its structure.
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What do you know about the Human Genome Project?
The Human Genome Project (HGP) was the international, collaborative research program
whose goal was the complete mapping and understanding of all the genes of human beings.The
HGP has revealed that there are probably about 20,500 human genes. The completed human
sequence can now identify their locations. This ultimate product of the HGP has given the
world a resource of detailed information about the structure, organization and function of
the complete set of human genes. This information can be thought of as the basic set of
inheritable "instructions" for the development and function of a human being.
Completed in 2003, the Human Genome Project (HGP) was a 13-year project coordinated by
the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health.
Project goals were to :
identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA,
determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA,
store this information in databases,
improve tools for data analysis,
transfer related technologies to the private sector, and
address the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that may arise from the project
.
Though the HGP is finished, analyses of the data will continue for many years.
Key Findings:
1. There are approximately 23,000 genes in human beings, the same range as in mice and
roundworms. Understanding how these genes express themselves will provide clues to how
diseases are caused.[citation needed]
2. Between 1.1% to 90% of the genome sequence codes for proteins
3. The human genome has significantly more segmental duplications (nearly identical, repeated
sections of DNA) than other mammalian genomes. These sections may underlie the creation of
new primate-specific genes
4. At the time when the draft sequence was published less than 7% of protein families appeared
to be vertebrate specific

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What are the applications of Human Genome in pharmaceuticals?
Pharmaceutical companies will be able to create drugs based on the proteins, enzymes, and
RNA molecules associated with genes and diseases. This will facilitate drug discovery and allow
drug makers to produce a therapy more targeted to specific diseases. This accuracy not only
will maximize therapeutic effects but also decrease damage to nearby healthy cells.
Instead of the standard trial-and-error method of matching patients with the right drugs, doctors
will be able to analyze a patient's genetic profile and prescribe the best available drug therapy
from the beginning.
Current methods of basing dosages on weight and age will be replaced with dosages based
on a person's genetics --how well the body processes the medicine and the time it takes to
metabolize it.
Vaccines made of genetic material, either DNA or RNA, promise all the benefits of existing
vaccines without all the risks. They will activate the immune system but will be unable to cause
infections. They will be inexpensive, stable, easy to store, and capable of being engineered to
carry several strains of a pathogen at once.
Pharmaceutical companies will be able to discover potential therapies more easily using
genome targets.
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What is genetic engineering?
Genetic engineering Genetic engineering refers to a set of technologies that are used for the
alteration of genetic code. Through genetic engineering, organisms are given new combinations
of genesand therefore new combinations of traitsthat do not occur in nature and, indeed,
cannot be developed by natural means.
Genetic engineering techniques have been applied in numerous fields including research,
biotechnology, and medicine. Medicines such as insulin and human growth hormone are now
produced in bacteria, experimental mice such as the oncomouse and the knockout mouse are
being used for research purposes and insect resistant and/or herbicide tolerant crops have been
commercialized. Genetically engineered plants and animals capable of producing biotechnology
drugs more cheaply than current methods (called pharming) are also being developed and in
2009 the FDA approved the sale of the pharmaceutical protein antithrombin produced in the
milk of genetically engineered goats.
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What is Hybridization?
Hybrid
A cross-bred, heterozygot organism or cell, an individual from any cross involving parents of
differing genotypes. Offspring of unlike parents.Hybridisation Used in molecular biology to
describe the process of annealing one strand of a polynucleotide (DNA or RNA), the probe, to a
strand of complementary sequence (again either DNA or RNA), the target.
What is the difference between genetic engineering and hybridisation?
In a sense genetic engineering and hybridization both accomplish the same thing - they both
result in new genetic types.The difference is in how they acccomplish this.
Hybrids come from seeds that are developed by cross-pollinating specific parental types so that
the next generation will be a very uniform crop withhybrid vigor.Hybrid vigor is typically observed
in outcrossing species(grasses and grains for example) when two very different inbred lines are
cross pollinated. The hybrid gets half of its genes from each parent.
Genetic engineering usually refers to biotechnological methods that can be used to insert a very
small piece of genetic material (DNA) so that the resulting plants can be nearly identical to the
parent, except for the gene or genes that were inserted.
Nowadays, some hybrids may have genes that are artificially inserted,using high tech
biotechnology methods.But, generally speaking, hybrids are not genetically engineered, that is ,
not using high-tech or biotechnology.
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What are amino acids?
Amino acids are molecules containing an amine group, a carboxylic acid group, and a side-
chain that is specific to each amino acid. The key elements of an amino acid are carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.Amino acids serve as the building blocks of proteins, which are
linear chains of amino acids. Amino acids can be linked together in varying sequences to form a
vast variety of proteins.Twenty amino acids are naturally incorporated into polypeptides and are
called proteinogenic or standard amino acids. These 20 are encoded by the universal genetic
code. Nine standard amino acids are called "essential" for humans because they cannot be
created from other compounds by the human body, and so must be taken in as food.

Essential Nonessential
Histidine Alanine
Isoleucine Arginine*
Leucine Asparagine
Lysine Aspartic acid
Methionine Cysteine*
Phenylalanine Glutamic acid
Threonine Glutamine*
Tryptophan Glycine
Valine Ornithine*
Proline*
Selenocysteine*
Serine*
Taurine*
Tyrosine*
(*) Essential only in certain cases

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Name some inherited diseases?
Cystic fibrosis, sickle-cell anaemia, polydactyly, and Huntingdon's disease.
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Is Haemophilia an inheriable disease?
Yes, it is a group of hereditary genetic disorders that impair the body's ability to control blood
clotting or coagulation, which is used to stop bleeding when a blood vessel is broken.

Like most recessive sex-linked, X chromosome disorders, haemophilia is more likely to occur in
males than females. This is because females have two X chromosomes while males have only
one, so the defective gene is guaranteed to manifest in any male who carries it.
Haemophilia A is a recessive X-linked genetic disorder involving a lack of functional clotting
Factor VIII and represents 80% of haemophilia cases.
Haemophilia B is a recessive X-linked genetic disorder involving a lack of functional clotting
Factor IX. It comprises approximately 20% of haemophilia cases.
Haemophilia C is an autosomal genetic disorder (i.e. not X-linked) involving a lack of functional
clotting Factor XI. Haemophilia C is not completely recessive, as heterozygous individuals also
show increased bleeding.
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What is the contribution of Watson and Crick?
James D. Watson and Francis Crick were the two co-discoverers of the structure of DNA in
1953.They used x-ray diffraction data collected by Rosalind Franklin and proposed the double
helix or spiral staircase structure of the DNA molecule.They were, with Maurice Wilkins,
awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962.

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What is Mitosis?
Mitosis is the process by which a eukaryotic cell separates the chromosomes in its cell nucleus
into two identical sets, in two separate nuclei.It is generally followed immediately by cytokinesis,
which divides the nuclei, cytoplasm, organelles and cell membrane into two cells containing
roughly equal shares of these cellular components.
Interphase
Preprophase
Prophase
Prometaphase
Metaphase
Anaphase
Telophase
Cytokinesis
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What is Meiosis?
A type of cell division that results in four daughter cells each with half the number of
chromosomes of the parent cell, as in the production of gametes and plant spores
It is necessary for sexual reproduction.
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What is alcoholic fermentation?
It is a process in which some sugars (as glucose) are converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide
by the action of various yeasts, molds, or bacteria on carbohydrate materials (as dough or sugar
solutions) some of which do not themselves undergo fermentation but can be hydrolyzed into
fermentable substances (as in the production of alcohol and alcoholic beverages).Also known
as Ethanol Fermentation.
C12H22O11 +H2O + invertase 2 C6H12O6
C6H12O6 + Zymase 2C2H5OH + 2CO2

The fermentation process does not require oxygen. If oxygen is present, some species of yeast
(Kluyveromyces lactis, Kluyveromyces lipolytica) oxidize pyruvate completely to carbon dioxide
and water. This process is called respiration. Thus these yeasts produce ethanol only in an
anaerobic environment.
However, many yeasts such as the commonly used baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae,
and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, prefer fermentation to respiration. These yeasts will produce
ethanol even under aerobic conditions given the right sources of nutrition.
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What are enzymes?
Enzymes are globular proteins that catalyze (i.e., increase the rates of) chemical reactions.
Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates
sufficient for life.
Like all catalysts, enzymes work by lowering the activation energy (Ea) for a reaction, thus
dramatically increasing the rate of the reaction. As a result, products are formed faster and
reactions reach their equilibrium state more rapidly. Most enzyme reaction rates are millions of
times faster than those of comparable un-catalyzed reactions.
An example of an enzyme that contains a cofactor is carbonic anhydrase.
Coenzymes are small organic molecules that can be loosely or tightly bound to an enzyme.
Tightly bound coenzymes can be called allosteric groups. Coenzymes transport chemical
groups from one enzyme to another.
Proteases
Amylases
Trypsin
Renin
Lipases
Lactases
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What is Dextran?
Dextran is a complex, branched glucan (polysaccharide made of many glucose molecules)
composed of chains of varying lengths (from 3 to 2000 kilodaltons). It is used medicinally as an
antithrombotic (anti-platelet), to reduce blood viscosity, and as a volume expander in anemia.
The straight chain consists of -1,6 glycosidic linkages between glucose molecules, while
branches begin from -1,3 linkages.
The antithrombotic effect of dextran is mediated through its binding of erythrocytes, platelets,
and vascular endothelium, increasing their electronegativity and thus reducing erythrocyte
aggregation and platelet adhesiveness. Dextrans also reduce factor VIII-Ag Von Willebrand
factor, thereby decreasing platelet function. Clots formed after administration of dextrans are
more easily lysed due to an altered thrombus structure (more evenly distributed platelets with
coarser fibrin). By inhibiting -2 antiplasmin, dextran serves as a plasminogen activator and
therefore possesses thrombolytic features.
Dextran has been used in immobilization in biosensors.
Dextran is used to make microcarriers for industrial cell culture.

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Name the different Vitamins?
An organic chemical compound (or related set of compounds) is called a vitamin when it cannot
be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet.

Vitamin A (Retinol) a vitamin for growth and body repair.
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) an energy building vitamin which helps you to digest carbohydrates.
Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) is very essential as it protects your bones, teeth and gums(curing Scurvy)
Vitamin D (Calciferol) Lack of it leads to Rickets in children,Bones cannot grow in a normal way
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
Vitamin E (Tocopherol) is a wound treating vitamin.
Vitamin B12 (Cobalamins) is required for carbohydrate and fat metabolism.
Vitamin K1 (Phylloquinone)
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid)
Vitamin B7 (Biotin)
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) is necessary for production of antibodies.

Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
Vitamin B9 (Folic acid) is necessary for production of antibodies.

Water-soluble vitamins cannot be stored in the body, so you need to get them from food every
day. They can be destroyed by overcooking. These are easily absorbed by the body. Human
body doesn't store large amounts of water-soluble vitamins. B-complex vitamins and vitamin C
are water-soluble vitamins.
The fat-soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E and K - since they are soluble in fat and are
absorbed by the body from the intestinal tract. The human body has to use bile acids to absorb
fat-soluble vitamins. Once these vitamins are absorbed, the body stores them in body fat.
Fat soluble vitamins should not be consumed in excess as they are stored in the body and an
excess can result in side effects. An excess of vitamin A may result in irritability, weight loss, dry
itchy skin in children and nausea, headache, diarrhea in adults.
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What is a Steroid?
A steroid is a type of organic compound that contains a characteristic arrangement of four
cycloalkane rings that are joined to each other. Examples of steroids include the dietary fat
cholesterol, the sex hormones estradiol and testosterone, and the anti-inflammatory drug
dexamethasone.
Hundreds of distinct steroids are found in plants, animals, and fungi. All steroids are made in
cells either from the sterols lanosterol (animals and fungi) or from cycloartenol (plants).
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What is PNA(Peptide Nucleic Acid)?
Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is an artificially synthesized polymer similar to DNA or RNA.The
name is somewhat of a misnomer as PNA is not an acid.Synthetic peptide nucleic acid
oligomers have been used in recent years in molecular biology procedures, diagnostic assays
and antisense therapies.
Anticancer agent
Antigene and antisense therapeutic agent
Detection of DNA sequences
Alteration of gene expression - both as inhibitor and promoter in different cases
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What is an Interferon(IFNs)?
Cytokinin Proteins released by cells in response to viral infection; activate the synthesis and
secretion of antiviral proteins.
About ten distinct IFNs have been identified in mammals; seven of these have been described
for humans. They are typically divided among three IFN classes: Type I IFN, Type II IFN, and
Type III IFN. IFNs belonging to all IFN classes are very important for fighting viral infections.
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What is Humulin?
It is recombinant human insulin: a form of insulin (trade name Humulin) made from recombinant
DNA that is identical to human insulin; used to treat diabetics who are allergic to preparations
made from beef or pork insulin.
Humulin is synthesized in a laboratory strain of Escherichia coli bacteria which has been
genetically altered with recombinant DNA to produce biosynthetic human insulin.
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What are polysaccharides?
Polysaccharides are long carbohydrate molecules of repeated monomer units joined together
by glycosidic bonds.When all the monosaccharides in a polysaccharide are the same type, the
polysaccharide is called a homopolysaccharide or homoglycan, but when more than one type of
monosaccharide is present they are called heteropolysaccharides or heteroglycans.
Polysaccharides have a general formula of Cx(H2O)y where x is usually a large number
between 200 and 2500. Considering that the repeating units in the polymer backbone are often
six-carbon monosaccharides, the general formula can also be represented as (C6H10O5)n
where 40n3000.
Polysaccharides are common sources of energy. Many organisms can easily break down
starches into glucose, however, most organisms cannot metabolize cellulose or other
polysaccharides like chitin and arabinoxylans. These carbohydrates types can be metabolized
by some bacteria and protists. Ruminants and termites, for example, use microorganisms to
process cellulose.
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