WHAT IS BIOTECHNOLOGY

1. MULTI-SECTORAL COLLABORATIONIN BIOTECHNOLOGY.OPEN FORUM ON AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY IN AFRICA (OFAB), KENYA CHAPTER.NAIROBI SAFARI CLUB HOTEL, LILIAN TOWERS.26TH SEPTEMBER 2013PRESENTED BY DR. SIMON MWANGI

2. WHAT IS BIOTECHNOLOGY • Biotechnology applies the knowledge of biology to enhance and improve the environment, health, and food supply. • Using biotechnology, scientists work to develop environment-friendly alternatives to fossil fuels and plastics; new medicines, vaccines and disease diagnostic tools; and higher yielding and more nutrient-rich crop plants.

3. ABSTRACT • Having practiced medicine for over 20 years during which time major scientific advancements have been made by mankind, I have noted various set backs associated with these advancements . While specialization in various fields of science is desirable in order to solve a wide range of challenges facing mankind, the bigger picture is sometimes lost as experts concentrate in their areas of specialization . The problem is the elephant. Bizarre conclusions can be made by concentrating on the various parts of the elephant. This is compounded by the fact that scientific experts in various fields hardly ever meet to share experiences across sectors.

4. Sometimes even intra-sectoral meetings are hard to come by. Various reasons for this state of affairs include: • Cost of organizing such meetings. • Pride among experts. • Outright ignorance about the relevance of what other experts are doing in other sectors. • No structures in place for organizing the same. • Experts too busy to meet. • Others. This presentation is designed to bring out these challenges in the hope that we may all collectively begin searching for solutions.

5. The Applications of Biotechnology • Medical Biotechnology • Diagnostics • Therapeutics • Vaccines • Agricultural Biotechnology • Plant agriculture • Animal agriculture • Food processing • Environmental Biotechnology • Cleaning through bioremediation • Preventing environmental problems • Monitoring the environment

6. APPLICATIONS • Micro-organisms have been used for decades as living factories for the production of life-saving antibiotics including penicillin, from the fungus Penicillium, and streptomycin from the bacterium Streptomyces. • Modern detergents rely on enzymes produced via biotechnology, hard cheese production largely relies on rennet produced by biotech yeast and human insulin for diabetics is now produced using biotechnology.

7. AREAS OF COLLABORATION • SODIUM • IODINE • FLUORIDE • CHROMIUM • GMOS

12. NOT VERY PLEASANT!

13. AND IT CAN GET WORSE!

14. APPLICATIONS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY TYPES OF BIOTECHNOLOGY • White biotechnology – Industrial biotechnology • Green biotechnology- Agricultural biotechnology • Blue biotechnology- Marine and Aquatic biotechnology • Red biotechnology- Medical biotechnology

15. MEDICAL BIOTECHNOLOGY • Drug production e.g. penicillin from penicilliumand streptomycin from streptomycetes, Insulin. • Diagnostics – Easy and accurate disease detection • Pharmacogenomics • Gene therapy – treatment of genetic or acquired diseases e.g. HIV/AIDS, Cancer, FOP. • Therapeutics – e.g. cancer therapy • Gene screening/testing • Paternity determination • Forensics/DNA finger printing • Others

16. FOP

17. LIMITATIONS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY • Ethical issues • Low public acceptance of biotechnology • High cost of development • Poor regulation • Others

18. THANK YOU