9 Biotechnology

1. 9 Biotechnology • Teaching Objectives • Topic: Science and technology (especially biotechnologies) • Grammar points: Relative clauses involving the use of whose, whom, which and that: relative clauses specifying the time: when, the place: where, the reason: why, the way (manner): in which/that • Vocabulary: manipulation, profound, identical, yield, implant, screen, relevance, potential, within limits, other than, capable of, fall into, pass on, have an effect on, resistant to, give birth to, convert into • Writing: ABC of journalistic writing

2. P2 Reading Comprehension and Language Activities • Pre-reading activity • Have the students explain the idea and meaning of “biotechnology”. • Notes for the title: • Biotechnology = bio (meaning life) + technology = science/technology of life • Have the students make observations about biotechnologies. • Notes for the pre-reading task: • 1.Observations of biotechnologies: Biotechnology is not a simple combination of biology and technology. It is concerned with the application of advances made in life science to the technology industry to manufacture patentable and commercial products.

3. In the modern scientific circle today the subject of biology is being merged with other subjects such as chemistry and medicine to form the new branch of science, ‘biotechnology’Today, biotechnology has found a wide range of applications in agriculture, the pharmaceutical industry, medicine, chemical industries, and many others

4. 2.Patentable and commercial products and services include: soybean milk, soybean oil (example of GM food), IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) babies (known as ‘test tube babies’), AI (artificial intelligence), artificial insemination, organ transplant, biochip (for speed detection and analysis of viruses, chemical agents, genes, DNA) etc. (For details of this technology, see Note 3.)

5. 3.Biochip: A biochip is a collection of miniaturized test sites (microarrays) arranged on a solid substrate that permits many tests to be performed at the same time in order to achieve higher throughput and speed. Typically, a biochip's surface area is no larger than a fingernail. Like a computer chip that can perform millions of mathematical operations in one second, a biochip can perform thousands of biological reactions, such as decoding genes, in a few seconds. A genetic biochip is designed to "freeze" into place the structures of many short strands of DNA, the basic chemical instruction that determines the characteristics of an organism. Effectively, it is used as a kind of "test tube" for real chemical samples.

6. Questions for general comprehension • Questions for general comprehension • What are the three branches of biotechnology? • Answer: genetics, embryology and microbiology • Give one example of the applications for each branch? • Examples for genetics: GM (Genetically Modify) (produce animals and plants which have desired characteristics); cloning (producing plants or animals which are genetic copies of other living organisms, with identical DNA); medical treatment (identify harmful genes in unborn babies ornewly married husband and wife, treat AIDS patients)

7. Examples for embryology: IVF (In Vitro Fertilization); artificial insemination Examples for microbiology: make use of the positive advantages of the microbes (producing oil, eating toxic waste, helping manufacture plastic, help coal mining, help power generating by converting sunlight to electricity in biological solar cells) Explain the language and content by using the notes below. Have the students complete the 1 Comprehension work individually. Have 4 students present their summaries on board/OHP.

8. Notes: 1.clone: a biological term, meaning reproducing something non-sexually with the result that the thing reproduced is identical to the original, and has identical DNA. 2.a couple could be screened for …: a couple cold be examined medically… so that there would be no biological risks in their marriage. Screen means to examine something or somebody carefully in order to make sure they don’t have a disease. E.g. Women should be regularly screened for breast cancer. 3.within limits: The expression is used to indicate that a statement is true only in certain situations or applies only in reasonable and normal situations. E.g. The government is ready to accept, within limits, any suggestion for a peaceful settlement of the labor dispute.

9. by sperm other than her partner’s: by sperm that is not from her partner. Other than refers to someone or something else. E.g. Children often reveal their true feelings to people other than their own parents. When other than is used in a negative sentence, it means except. E.g. I never discus the problem with anyone other than my father. surrogate motherhood: In modern science it refers to the process in which a woman contributes her egg to be fertilized in the test tube and then the fertilized egg is transplanted into another woman’s uterus.

10. bacteria: Bacteria is regularly a plural in scientific and pedagogical use; in speech and in journalism it is also used as a singular, and it is sometimes pluralized as bacterias (e.g. caused by a bacteria borne by certain tiny ticks).

11. Summaries for reference • A Summarize the story • The passage briefly introduces biotechnological information about genetics, embryology and microbiology and explains how these new sciences will influence the life of human beings. These three areas of modern biotechnology will enable human beings to produce new living organisms as desired, carry out artificial insemination, and make use of bacteria to the advantage of humans

12. B Summarize the paragraphs • The fifth paragraph: • Genetic science, especially the technique of genetic screening, can help human beings detect hereditary problems in potential parents and unborn children. • The sixth paragraph: • The technique of IVF enables couples who would otherwise remain childless, to have babies.

13. The last paragraph: The last paragraph explains what bacteria are and how they can be used in industrial processes to benefit human beings. C Study the story Have the students prepare to answer the questions. Have the students give answers according to the reading passage. Use the following suggested points for reference.

14. Questions for discussion • 1.How many areas does biotechnology cover? And what are the respective concerns of these areas? • Suggested points • Biotechnology falls into three main distinctive areas: genetics, embryology and microbiology. They are concerned respectively with the study and manipulation of genes in plants and animals, the fertilization of human eggs outside the body and the study of microbes and their use in industrial processes.

15. 2.How are the characteristics of a living organism determined? Suggested points When a living organism comes into being, its characteristics, including shape, size, color and intelligence are determined by the genes passed on to it from its parents.

16. 3. What is DNA? Why do people study it? Suggested points DNA is a complex chemical which carries a long chain of genes. To understand DNA is to understand the secrets of life: to be able to alter DNA is the basis of the new science of genetic engineering.

17. 4.What are the implications of DNA? Suggested points DNA is the basis of genetic engineering. Ggenetic engineering makes it possible to produce identical animals in endless numbers known as “cloning”. 5.What relevance does genetic science have for human beings? Suggested points Genetic science can help identify the presence of harmful genes in unborn children or in potential parents so that many hereditary diseases and handicaps can be prevented from being passed on to the next generation.

18. 6.What is the concept of “test tube babies”? Suggested points “Test tube babies” refers to the fertilization of human eggs outside the body. The process is to have some of a woman’s eggs removed from her body and fertilized in the laboratory by the sperm of her partner or of somebody else, and then re-implanted in her or someone else’s uterus. 7.What is the positive effect of IVF? And what moral and legal problems could arise? Suggested points

19. IVF offers hope to many couples who would otherwise remain childless. However, his technique may also lead to moral and legal problems because a woman’s egg could be fertilized by sperm other than her partner’s or implanted in a body other than her own. 8.What is the practical use of microbiology? Suggested points Microbiology, the study of bacteria, could find its use in industrial processes, for example, to manufacture plastic, to liquefy coal underground so that it could be pumped up to the surface, and to convert sunlight into electrochemical energy.

20. 2 Language work • A In other words • Check if the students understand the meanings of the expressions in the word box. • Set the task for group work. • Have the students discuss the answers. • Have them report. • Check the answers for the class.

21. Answers • 1.manipulation • 2.profound • 3.identical • 4.have yielded • 5.implanted • 6.screened • 7.relevance • 8.potential

22. B Work with sentences • 1.Television commercials can sometimes have an important effect on people when they are deciding what to purchase. • 2.Manufacturers and shop owners are accused of passing on their cost increases to the customers. • 3.In North America, some Indian communities are resisting Western culture because they want to uphold their own traditions.

23. 4.Her pent-up emotions and her experience as a governess gave birth to the autobiographic novel Jane Eyre. 5.In Transforming Mars, the recommended program falls into five stages. 6.To accommodate my great uncle, the woman converted the study into a guest room. 7Scientists are experimenting with a device capable of purifying sea water.

24. C Word study • Guidelines of the usage • virtually: almost, used as an adverb • virtually non-existent; virtually impossible etc. • have a relevance for: be important/useful for/to something/somebody • What relevance does that question have to the discussion? • He believes that these ideas do not have relevance to/for us today. • go ahead with: continue doing something; other verbs that can be used here include: press, and move.

25. in particular: in a single part or special detail, used as adverbial phrase in a sentence What did she have to say? – Oh, nothing in particular. otherwise: used as an adverb/adjective to show that something is completely different, especially about a non-gradable matter The police believe that he is the thief, but the truth suggests otherwise. Have the students make one sentence for each expression. Have them present their work on the board/OHP. Comment on their presentation.

26. Sentences for reference • 1. • Virtually illiterate, those farmers can’t benefit from scientific magazines. • Having tried virtually all means of transport, the American found that riding a bicycle is the best way of traveling in this city. • The twins are so alike that it is virtually impossible for anyone other than their family to tell one from the other. • 2. The teacher explained to his students that their present study would have a relevance to their future work. • The experimental results obtained from laboratory animals have some relevance for the treatment of some human diseases. • The tough environmental regulations have relevance for every citizen, as they are all entitled to clean air.

27. 3. The mathematical problems must be examined every time you go ahead with the next step. We should go ahead with our management system even though we are now facing a lot of difficulties. Despite setbacks in space programs, scientists are determined to go ahead with their exploration of the space. 4. Before you ride a bicycle, you have to make sure that it is in good conditions, in particular the brakes and tires. Many Chinese dialects are so different that their speakers, in particular those in the south, find it hard to understand each other. In the past few years, a lot of outdated pieces of equipment that cause heavy pollution made their way into the rural areas, in particular into those areas without regulations for environment protection.

28. 5. There are a few spelling mistakes in an otherwise flawless piece of writing. In many Chinese villages straws and stalks which could otherwise be used as fodder were consumed as fuel in the past. Bargains and sales are commercial tricks that fool those who otherwise behave sensibly into buying things they don’t need at all.