Recombinant DNA by Jerilyn Nick

• Recombinant DNA


• Scientists involved: Proposed by graduate student Peter Lobban and A. Dale Kaiser at Stanford University Department of Biochemistry. Later realized by Stanley Norman Cohen, Herbert Boyer, Daniel Nathans, Hamilton Smith, Werner Arber, etc.




• Discovered: 1972-74
  
• Where: Proposed at Stanford University Department of Biochemistry


• Recombinant DNA is the process in which two portions of DNA are combined to create a new strand of DNA. The process is usually done within a host cell, commonly bacteria such as E. Coli. Rings of DNA inside bacteria are called vectors. Pieces of DNA from a donor cell are inserted into the vector in order to change the sequence of nitrogen bases that act as instructions on what proteins the cell should make. The new vector containing the DNA of both the host and the donor is called a "chimera". The chimera is then left in the host cell and allowed time for the new instructions the DNA codes for to take place. This makes the host cell produce proteins that it normally would not make if left in it's unaltered state.


• Awards: Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1978 by Hamilton Smith, Daniel Nathans, and Werner Arber.
  
• As stated in the previous paragraph, the process of creating Recombinant DNA allows host cells to produce proteins that it normally would not make. A well known example of that is when scientists use the method to breed bacteria containing insulin. The insulin is then harvested and used for human purposes, such as for people with diabeties. The discovery of Recombinant DNA has allowed medicine to create treatments an vaccines for medical conditions like that.

In addition, the process could also be used to alter the way organisms react to certain things or environments. Hybrid or super crops are an efficiant example, for now there are kinds of crops and other plants that are altered. Seedless crops or plants that produce their own pesticides are the result of Recombinant DNA. Crops that are more able to survive in droughts or heat than normal are also results of the process. Through Recombinant DNA, science is able to produce or genetically modify things that will benefit humans.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recombinant_DNA

http://rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/Projects00/rdna/rdna.html