Biotechnology, Genetics, and Earth's Vital Systems

Biotechnology and Genetic Innovations

Biotechnology

A set of techniques that leverage biochemical transformations to improve the performance of certain food processes, create substances with therapeutic activity, or resolve environmental alterations.

Genetic Engineering

Technology involving the manipulation and transfer of DNA from one organism to another, enabling the creation of new lineages of a given species.

Transgenic Organism

Hereditary material that has been modified by inserting a foreign gene or deleting one of its own.

Creating Transgenic Animals

The most commonly used technique is microinjection. It consists of obtaining the fertilized egg of the animal before it splits, and injecting DNA (containing the desired gene) into it.

Stem Cells

Embryonic cells with surprising potential because their fate is not yet "determined." They are therefore called totipotent cells: they can become any cell in an organism through a process called differentiation.

Clonal Organisms

Organisms that possess completely identical genetic material.

Human Genome Project (HGP)

An international project aiming to decipher the entire human genome sequence and obtain a complete map.

Gene Therapy

A method to correct a problem at its root: if a gene does not work, the same gene is inserted into the patient's hereditary material, and the problem is solved.

Our Living Planet and Environmental Dynamics

Conditions for a Living Planet

• Right Temperature: Must allow the operation of metabolic processes.
• Tectonic Activity: Essential for geological cycles.
• Presence of Liquid Water: Crucial for life.
• Protection Against High-Frequency Photochemical Radiation: Provided by three protective barriers:
  • Magnetosphere
  • Ionosphere
  • Ozone Layer

Malthusian Theory

Thomas Malthus stated that one of humanity's greatest population problems is overcrowding. While Malthus identified overcrowding, the actual problem is often the excessive aggregation of humans in cities.

Service-based Economy

A society where the largest population is employed in sectors such as health, education, and security.

Systems Theory

A method of study that approaches the understanding of complex phenomena with the support of new technologies.

Gaia Hypothesis

A theory that interprets nature as a complex whole, an interrelationship between environmental systems (atmosphere, hydrosphere, etc.) that form a kind of self-regulated superorganism.

Climate

The long-term weather pattern in a wide area over many years.

Greenhouse Effect

The overheating of the atmosphere due to the presence of various gases (greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide) which trap radiation in the form of heat.

Biological Diversity or Biodiversity

Reflects the amount and variability of living organisms, serving as a measure of the number of species living in a particular place relative to the total individuals in the community.

Causes of Biodiversity Loss

• Overexploitation (e.g., excessive hunting/harvesting)
• Habitat destruction
• Introduction of new species
• Genetic erosion
• Pollution
• Climate change