Softcover

ISBN 10: 0534492967 ISBN 13: 9780534492960

Publisher: Brooks Cole, 2004

Biotechnology instructors require currency, sound pedagogy and a brief objective introduction to a broad range of topics and technologies. Students need an accessible and clear presentation along with hot topics and real-world examples. Susan Barnum meets all these requirements and needs in this second edition of her enormously popular text, BIOTECHNOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTION, Second Edition. Barnum offers a broad view of biotechnology, integrating historical and modern topics. She then describes the processes and methods used to manipulate living organisms or the substances and products from these organisms for medical, agricultural, and industrial purposes. Using case studies and examples, the author rounds out discussions by detailing the technology and how it is applied, including discussions on the implications of biotechnology in such areas as gene therapy, medicine, agriculture, marine biology, and forensics. More complex and difficult-to-teach topics are given special coverage, by providing outlines, bulleted lists, and tables for simplifying and clarifying topics such as immunology, construction of recombinant DNA molecules, relevant lab techniques, monoclonal antibodies, and plant transformation/regeneration. Besides the addition of color, this new edition places more information in boxes to focus on the process of science, the accomplishments of researchers in the field, and real-world examples of biotechnology. In addition, Susan Barnum extends her already excellent objective coverage of the ethical and social implications of biotechnology by focusing on the most relevant topics in a sidebar in each chapter. Commercial, economical, and medical effects of current biotechnology practices are also made clearer and more relevant for students.

About the Author:

Susan Barnum received her Ph.D. from Iowa State University and currently teaches in the Botany Department at Miami University in Ohio. Her research focuses on the evolution of cyanobacteria, the molecular evolution of nitrogen fixation genes, and the molecular response to stress.

Review:

1. Biotechnology: Old and New. 2. From DNA to Proteins. 3. Basic Principles of Recombinant DNA Technology. 4. Basic Principles of Immunology. 5. Microbial Biotechnology. 6. Plant Biotechnology. 7. Animal Biotechnology. 8. Marine Biotechnology. 9. Genomics. 10. Medical Biotechnology. 11. DNA Profiling, Forensics, and Other Applications. 12. Regulation, Patents, and Society.