New achievements in the field of biology since 1990s.

Human genome map,

The study of biological evolution, the progress of biological classification and so on.

In recent years, the development of biotechnology has made great progress. The technology of gene isolation, amplification, recombination and somatic cell cloning was realized, and the structure and synergy of a certain protein were proved. Techniques such as virus-free rapid propagation, tissue culture, embryo transfer, embryo cutting and monoclonal antibody have entered the practical stage, and it is estimated that the output value will exceed $654.38+000 billion by 2000.

Scientists have shifted from sequencing a single gene to mapping the genes of important organisms such as humans and rice on a planned and large scale. More than 6,000 research results of crop biotechnology have been put into field trials around the world, and insect-resistant transgenic rice, corn, potato, cotton and pumpkin have been planted in large areas in the United States and Canada. There are more and more genetically modified crops in the United States. 1998 planted 70 million mu of genetically modified corn and soybeans, compared with a few years ago. The "super rice" cultivated by the Philippine International Rice Research Institute can be popularized in three years, which can increase rice production by 20%-25%. According to a recent report in the French Tribune, the textile industry has adopted biotechnology cotton that uses neither chemical fertilizer nor pesticide. Since 1996, the cotton used by Pata Gogna Company, which specializes in producing "outdoor clothes" in the United States, 100% is cotton produced by biotechnology. At present, the United States is the main producer of biological cotton in the world, with an annual output of 2,800 tons, followed by India (with an annual output of 930 tons), Turkey (with 800 tons) and Peru (with 650 tons).

According to the Associated Press, American scientists used biotechnology to make a mouse grow an elephant's egg, which can help save some endangered animals in the world in the future. Rats can be used as "factories" to make eggs of other animals, which can be used to fertilize endangered animals and get pregnant.

2. The human genome project was completed at the beginning of this century.

The completion of the human genome project at the beginning of this century will greatly promote the research activities in the medical field, change the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and benefit people's health. Professor Carol Siraco, a research scientist at the British Imperial Cancer Research Foundation, said: "In the next 50 years, the main killers may be eliminated.

In a few decades, gene bar code will have more far-reaching significance. Once scientists know more about the biological pathways that lead to cancer or stroke, this barcode will become a "crystal ball" to predict the future. In the interwoven DNA chain, gene barcode will be possible to determine the diseases that people may suffer in the future and the possibility of people suffering from these diseases.

Biotechnology can effectively prevent and treat many diseases.

Due to the completion of the genome project and the progress of biotechnology, cancer patients in the future will not need to go through a painful treatment process, and they will use a treatment method based on gene screening. Genetic analysis will make it possible for doctors to evaluate the problem that chemotherapy kills both healthy cells and cancer cells at the molecular level, and make it possible for them to correct the specific conditions of different patients. Scientists are gradually unraveling the biochemical pathways of cancer, blood vessel blockage and Alzheimer's disease. They can transplant new genes into the human body to treat diseases. Many diseases that are harmful to human beings, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, AIDS, diabetes and so on. Will be effectively prevented, treated and controlled. Dozens of companies in the United States have used the "rational drug design" method to design super drugs. This method combines biotechnology and chemistry closely, and can cure deadly diseases such as cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis, some of which have entered the stage of human trials. Experts predict that this study will have a better understanding of genetic mechanism, developmental mechanism and immune mechanism, which will not only help to treat some genetic diseases, but also be of great significance to understand biological processes. Scientists may finally find a way to prevent heart disease and cancer.

4. Humans will enter the era of cloning in an all-round way.

Cloning is an epoch-making breakthrough in the field of biotechnology. With the birth of Dolly the cloned sheep in Britain, people all over the world attach great importance to it. Scientists believe that it indicates that "mankind will enter the era of cloning in 2 1 century". Dolly successfully gave birth to her first lamb in April, 1998, which indicated that sheep cloned from mature cells could be pregnant and give birth to healthy lambs at full term. PPL Pharmaceutical Company, which helped to clone Dolly sheep, also cloned a calf this year.

Scientists at the Roslin Institute, which cloned Dolly, say that cloning to produce healthy offspring is very important for the commercialization of nuclear transplantation technology. The advantages of adopting cloning technology are: it can speed up the reproduction of improved livestock, which may lead to a revolution in animal husbandry; Can cultivate batches of high-quality cattle and sheep varieties to meet people's needs; Can save endangered wild animals and maintain ecological balance; It can mass-produce many precious drugs that people in the medical field urgently need. In addition, using cloning technology, cells, tissues or organs of plants can be cloned, and the traditional agriculture of "depending on the weather" in the past can be changed. In a word, at the turn of the century, the development of science and technology in Chengdu will change the living environment of mankind and greatly benefit mankind.

Cloning technology can also bring medical breakthroughs. Scientists who cloned Dolly sheep say that if ethics and law allow, cloning babies for infertile couples will eventually appear. Ian Wilmut, the breeder of Dolly the cloned sheep, said: "Many things in life have two sides. Now, I have no doubt that the potential benefits of this technology far outweigh its potential disadvantages. As far as human cloning is concerned, this research will greatly extend human life. "

Biotechnology will be combined with computer technology.

The combination of biotechnology and computer technology has gradually become a new trend in the field of biotechnology. The biochip computer is under development. Effie Metrix Company of the United States announced that it has successfully made a biochip from DNA, which can be used to read the information flow of biological tissue genes surging with evolution. This is the crystallization of the integration of biotechnology and computer technology. Motorola, Baird Instruments and argon National Laboratory of the U.S. government announced that they have established a cooperative relationship to produce biochips on a large scale.

Biochip is of great significance to medicine and agriculture. It can carry out thousands of biological reactions in a few seconds. The biochip adopts "microgel" technology, in which a piece of glass with the area equivalent to a microscope slide-the number exceeds 654.38+00,000-acts as a miniature test tube. These chips work faster than traditional methods. The biochip project may give birth to a new industry with a market scale of billions of dollars.

6. Biotechnology is widely used in the field of environmental protection.

Scientists also use biotechnology in the field of environmental protection to curb the trend of environmental deterioration. At present, the main technologies developed are: biological treatment of sewage, microbial desulfurization to prevent air pollution, bacterial degradation to remove pollutants, pollution-free biological pesticides to prevent crop diseases and insect pests, cultivation of insect-resistant crops and development of practical biodegradable plastics.