‘Biotechnology’ generally refers to the use of a living organism or part of a living organism or process for a specific purpose. This broad definition includes both modern and ancient ...
Your body has a two-line defence system against pathogens (germs) that make you sick. Pathogens include bacteria, viruses, toxins, parasites and fungi. The first line of defence (or outside ...
PCR is shorthand for a simple but very useful procedure in molecular biology called the polymerase chain reaction. It is a technique used to amplify a segment of DNA of interest or produce lots ...
Nitrogen is the most abundant element in our planet’s atmosphere. Approximately 78% of the atmosphere is made up of nitrogen gas (N2). Nitrogen is a crucially important component for all life. It ...
DNA extraction is a routine procedure used to isolate DNA from the nucleus of cells. Scientists can buy ready-to-use DNA extraction kits. These kits help extract DNA from particular cell types or ...
Plant propagation is the process of increasing the number of plants of a particular species or cultivar. Propagation can be via sexual or asexual means. Over the years, horticulturalists have ...
Like other organisms, bacteria use double-stranded DNA as their genetic material. However, bacteria organise their DNA differently to more complex organisms. Bacterial DNA – a circular chromosome ...
Gel electrophoresis is used to separate macromolecules like DNA, RNA and proteins. DNA fragments are separated according to their size. Proteins can be separated according to their size and their ...
If the pathogens are able to get past the first line of defence, for example, through a cut in your skin, and an infection develops, the second line of defence becomes active. Through a sequence ...
Sexual reproduction is a way of making a new individual by joining two special sex cells, called gametes. In the sexual reproduction of animals and plants, the male and female gametes join to ...
An interactive showing the main components of the terrestrial nitrogen cycle. Select one of the buttons to find out more.
In the laboratory, restriction enzymes (or restriction endonucleases) are used to cut DNA into smaller fragments. The cuts are always made at specific nucleotide sequences. Different restriction ...
Bacteria are commonly used as host cells for making copies of DNA in the lab because they are easy to grow in large numbers. Their cellular machinery naturally carries out DNA replication and ...
DNA cloning is the starting point for many genetic engineering approaches to biotechnology research. Large amounts of DNA are needed for genetic engineering. Multiple copies of a piece of DNA can ...
Proteins are the key working molecules and building blocks in all cells. They are produced in a similar two-step process in all organisms – DNA is first transcribed into RNA, then RNA is ...
The discovery that genes are made up of DNA and can be isolated, copied and manipulated has led to a new era of modern biotechnology. New Zealand has many applications for modern biotechnologies ...
Cheesemaking is the controlled process of removing water from milk. This process concentrates the milk’s protein, fat and other nutrients and increases its shelf life. Cheesemaking is one of the ...
The bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli for short) is crucial in modern biotechnology. Scientists use it to store DNA sequences from other organisms, to produce proteins and to test protein ...
We can’t see them. We can’t hear them or feel them, but they are with us. There are 10 trillion (10 x 1,000,000,000,000 or a million million) cells in the average body. For every cell, we have 10 ...
Cheese comes in numerous varieties of different styles, textures and flavours, but it’s all made from the same basic ingredient – milk. So what are the differences and how are they created ...
Biotechnology has helped improve the quality of people’s lives for over 10,000 years. Today’s biotechnologies vary in application and complexity. However, they all have potential to change our ...
Using modern laboratory techniques, it is relatively easy to add pieces of foreign DNA to bacteria. To do this, scientists first package their DNA of interest within a circular DNA molecule (a ...
Early examples of biotechnology include breeding animals and crops, and using microorganisms to make cheese, yoghurt, bread, beer and wine. Biotechnology can be broadly defined as purposefully ...
Scientists at AgResearch in New Zealand have successfully produced healthy transgenic cows that make modified milk or human therapeutic proteins in their milk. What is a transgenic cow ...
