 |  Biology Laboratory Manual, 6/e Darrell S. Vodopich,
Baylor University
Randy Moore,
University of Minnesota--Minneapolis
The Golden Age of Biotechnology| Some writers have referred to the latter part of the 20th Century as the “Golden Age of Biology”. This is because of the incredible amount of discoveries rising from the fast growth of biotechnology and molecular biology. Since the discovery of the helical structure of DNA by Watson and Crick in 1953, we have slowly, but steadily, increasing our knowledge about the genes which life is based upon. However, it wasn’t until the 1990’s that our knowledge of genetics grew to exponential proportions.
Since the days of wire models of DNA just a generation ago, we have mapped the entire sequence of the human genome, cloned a large mammal, and engineered bacteria to produce drugs and chemicals useful to us. So far, there is no end in sight. We are beginning to raise animals that can be used for human organ transplants, develop gene therapies for a variety of diseases, and determine and prevent birth defects at early stages of development.
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education