Headline March 16, 2016/ ''' *O' GENES* : THY SPLICERS & *DICERS* '''

''' *O' GENES* : 

THY SPLICERS & *DICERS* '''

AS THE DEVELOPED WORLD   -continues to splice and clone genes, a riveting real-life saga of great scientific accomplishments-  All and all, in the best servings of overcoming human sufferings-

The , *the developing world*  continues to battle and struggle with life's very basics, hygiene, toilets, and drinking water and garbage collection......  

''There are tremendous amounts of money to be made, and it is the first time that biologists have had a chance to get a super cut of the pie,'' says Harvard biologist Richard Goldstein.

Major drug companies, with a history of working with microorganisms, have a proven safety records. But the small companies springing up overnight have no history of dealing with such organisms.

And the consequences of a mistake are unforeseeable.

Already, dizzying progress has been made in transplanting into bacteria [and recently into yeast cells] human genes responsible for manufacturing many critical biochemicals.

Today, hundreds of labs around the world have become germ farms, all growing human genes, mostly for research purposes, but in some cases for the valuable medical substances they create. These include:

.- Endorphin, the neurotransmitter called the brain's opiate. Research had been limited because the substance is difficult to synthesize. 

Now scientists at the  University of  California at San Francisco say  beta-endorphin-  which may prove effective in the treatment of schizophrenia, depression and pain  -could be available in abundance for definitive tests because bacteria can be used to mass produce it.

.- Human growth hormone to treat children with dwarfism. The hormone is rare and expensive because the only current source is the pituitary gland taken from cadavers. About 50 pituitaries are needed to produce enough of the hormone to treat one child for one year.

.- Interferon, a protein produced by the body as part of its response to viral infection. Currently, researchers produce interferon for about $100 a gram. 

Because it may have some anti-cancer potential, it is being used experimentally to treat few cancer patients  -at a cost of up to $30,000 a year per patient.

Enough interferon for wide-scale experiments may eventually become available because Swiss researchers have managed to use bacteria to grow the protein.

In addition, intensive efforts are being made to use recombinant DNA to combat diabetes.  In the United States, {in the 80s}, 1.8 million people depend on animal insulin to control diabetes. Experts have long sought a cheaper, easier alternative. 

In the late 1970s, researchers at the University of California at San Francisco, the City of Hope National Medical Center near Los Angeles. and Genentech, a new San Francisco gene-splicing firm, went to work.

They used the DNA code to  construct an artificial human-insulin gene  -geneticists had never isolated the natural-insulin gene  and then spliced it into bacteria  to multiply. It worked.

It is hoped that large-scale production of bacterially made insulin will be possible within two to five years.

Safer vaccines are also coming from recombinant DNA. Some vaccines are used with reluctance today because the germs that make them work are still virulent enough to cause side effects.

Recombinant DNA can sidestep this problem by programming bacteria to manufacture only the disease germ's protein coating   -enough to trigger the human immune system to produce antibodies against the germ, without having to inject any of its disease making capacity. 

Drug houses are gearing up to manufacture recombinant  DNA products. Eli Lilly & Company, for example, has announced plans to mass produce recombinant DNA insulin.

Genetic researchers are forming their own small corporations to take economic advantage of some of the discoveries. 

Experts predict a multibillion dollar - market for nonmedical applications for recombinant DNA -the creation of bacteria to clean up oil spills, the organisms to help manufacture synthetic chemicals, a substance able to turn waste product into fuel.

But Dangers Lurk. Some scientists fear  that the rush to exploit recombinant DNA financially is eroding safety concerns.

The Honour and Serving of Advance Medical Research continues. Thank You all for reading and sharing forward.

With respectful dedication to the whole of mankind. See Ya all on !WOW! the World Students Society and the Ecosystem 2011:

''' Show Stopper '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless