Vaccination / Immunization
Biology and the Service of Mankind: Many diseases such as polio, whooping cough, measles, mumps etc can easily be controlled by vaccination or “shots”.
Edward Jenner first developed the technique of vaccination in 1976. Cowpox pus in known a vacca (from latin vacca=cow). From this word evolved the present term vaccination and vaccine. You will learn more about vaccination in chapter 6.
Since then, inoculation or vaccination is carried out to make the people immune from viral or bacterial epidemics or, for some disease the individuals are vaccinated in their early life to make them immune to those diseases.
It is claimed that small pox has been totally eliminated form the world by using this method. Scientists are making continuous efforts to develop vaccine against other diseases. Even vaccine against AIDS is being administered in humans on experimental basis.
Drug treatment / Gene therapy
If a person becomes sick with diseases, he is subjected to the action of antibiotics which can kill bacteria. The antibiotics are, however, useful in bacterial disease and that only when bacteria have not developed resistance to antibiotics. In cancer, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are also used. In radiotherapy, the cancerous part is exposed to short wave radiations from the radioactive material repeatedly at regular intervals. These chemicals may kill both cancerous and normal cells.
Recently a new technique has been developed to repair defective genes. This consists of isolating the normal gene and inserting it into the host through bone marrow cells. This is called gene therapy.
Combating disease utilizing all methods as and when required and ensuring a participation of community in this programme is known as integrated disease management. This requires awareness of the community about the severity of the problem, its causes and its remedies. This is a very effective programme for elimination and control of dangerous diseases from the human society.
Besides its contribution to food production and health of man, biology has discovered number of means and developed technologies for the welfare of mankind as for example cloning, protection and conservation etc.
Cloning: cloning is a technology for achieving eugenic aims. A clone is defined as a cell or individual and al its asexually produced offspring. All members of clone are genetically identical except when mutation occurs.
Generally no normal animal reproduces naturally by cloning. Several insects and many plants do, in some circumstances whereas few do so regularly.
In 1997 scientists in Scotland succeeded in cloning a sheep. Other mammalian species (mice and cows) have since been cloned. In this procedure the nucleus from a fertilized egg is removed and a nucleus from a cell a fully developed individual is inserted in its place. The altered zygote is then implanted in a suitable womb where is completers its development. The new individual formed in this way a genetically identical clone of the individual whose nucleus was used. Thus cloning could make mlutipcopies of a desired genotype.
Another type of cloning is the division of a single egg or early embryo into one or more separate embryos. This is the same process that normally creates identical twins. Offspring from this type of cloning are genetically identical but carry chromosomes from each of the two parents. This type of cloning has already been used to produce genetically identical cattle and other farm animals.
Man is likely to adopt cloning techniques for commercial production of valuable animals of known pedigree such as horses etc.
At some places scientists are making attempts to clone human embryo which they believe can serve as transplant donor. There is a lot of controversy on this issue as to whether human cloning should be attempted or not.