Dance

Dance does not leave behind clearly identifiable physical artifacts such as stone tools, hunting implements or cave painting. It is not possible to say when dance became part of human culture. Dance has certainly been an important part of ceremony, rituals, celebrations and entertainment since before the birth of the earliest human civilizations. Archeology delivers traces of dance from prehistoric times such as Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures from circa 3300 BC and the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka paintings in India.

One of the earliest structured uses of dance may have been in the performance and telling of myths. Before the introduction of written languages, dance was one of the methods of passing these stories down from generation to generation. [1]

Another early use of dance may have been as a precursor to ecstatic trance states in healing rituals. Dance is still used for this purpose by cultures from the Brazilian rainforest to the Kalahari Desert.[2]

Sri Lankan dances goes back to the mythological times of aboriginal yingyang twins and "yakkas" (devils). According to a Sinhalese legend, Kandyan dances originate, 2500 years ago, from a magic ritual that broke the spell on a bewitched king. Many contemporary dance forms can be traced back to historical, traditional, ceremonial, and ethnic dances.

Dancing and music

See also: List of dances and :Category:Music genres

Many early forms of music and dance were created and performed together. This paired development has continued through the ages with dance/music forms such as: Jig, Waltz, Tango, Disco, Salsa, Electronica and Hip-Hop. Some musical genres also have a parallel dance form such as Baroque music and Baroque dance whereas others developed separately: Classical music, Classical ballet.

Although dance is often accompanied by music, it can also be presented independently or provide its own accompaniment (tap dance). Dance presented with music may or may not be performed in time to the music depending on the style of dance. Dance performed without music is said to be danced to its own rhythm.

Dance by ethnicity or region

Main article: :Category:Dance by ethnicity or region

Dance in South Asia

India

Main article: Dance in India

Dance in Indian canonical literature

In the first millennium BCE in India many texts were composed which sought to state the rules of social management, private life, linguistic discipline, public finance, state policy, poetics, and dramatics. In the matter of dance, Bharata Muni's Natyashastra (literally "the art of dance") is the one of the earlier texts.

Though the main theme of Natyashastra deals with drama, dance also finds mention. It elaborates various gestures of hands and classifies such gestures and movements as either graceful or vigorous, defining the lalita form of dance - lasya; and the vigorous form 'tandava'.

Dance is classified under four categories and into four regional varieties. Natyashastra names these categories as secular, ritual, abstract, and, interpretive. Regional geography has altered since ancient India's time and so have regional varieties of Indian dances. Dances like "Odra Magadhi", which after decades long debate, has been traced to present day Mithila-Orissa region's dance form of Odissi, indicate influence of dances in cultural interactions between different regions.[3]

The roots of the present day Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Mohini Attam and Kuchipudi are found in ancient Indian civilization. Abstractness is now the feature of almost all classical Indian dance forms.

Classical Indian dance since 1947

During the reign of the last Mughals and Nawabs of Oudh dance fell down to the status of 'nautch', a sensuous dance of courtesans.

Later, linking dance with immoral trafficking and prostitution, British rule prohibited public performance of dance. Many disapproved it. In 1947, India won her freedom and for dance an ambience where it could regain its past glory. Classical forms and regional distinctions were re-discovered, ethnic specialties were honored.

Archaeology delivers traces of dance from prehistoric times such as Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures from circa 3300 BC and the Bhimbetka rock-shelter paintings in India.

Bhangra in the Punjab

Main article: Bhangra

The Punjab area overlapping India and Pakistan is the place of origin of Bhangra. It is widely known both as a style of music and a dance. It is mostly related to ancient harvest celebrations, love, patriotism or current social issues. Its music is coordinated by a musical instrument called the 'Dhol'. Its beats is what gives the human body the vibes in the dance movements. Bhangra isn't just music but a dance. It's actually the celebration of the harvest where people beat the dhol (drum), sing Boliyaan (lyrics) and dance!

Dances of Sri Lanka

Main article: Dances of Sri Lanka

The devil dances of Sri Lank] or "yakun natima" are a carefully crafted ritual with a history reaching far back into Sri Lanka's pre-Buddhist past. It combines ancient "Ayurvedic" concepts of disease causation with psychological manipulation. The dance combines many aspects including Sinhalese cosmolgy, the dances also has an impact on the classical dances of Sri Lanka.[4]

In Europe and North America

Concert (or performance) dance

Main article: Concert dance

Ballet developed first in Italy and then in France from lavish court spectacles that combined music, drama, poetry, song, costumes and dance. Members of the court nobility took part as performers. During the reign of Louis XIV, himself a dancer, dance became more codified. Professional dancers began to take the place of court amateurs, and ballet masters were licensed by the French government. The first ballet dance academy was the Académie Royale de Danse (Royal Dance Academy), opened in Paris in 1661. Shortly thereafter, the first institutionalized ballet troupe, associated with the Academy, was formed; this troupe began as an all-male ensemble but by 1681 opened to include women as well.[1]

During the 18th century, ballets were still mainly performed alongside opera or poetry, but the idea of dance performance as separate from sung or spoken word began to be experimented with. Mime, instead, was used to tell the stories of these ballets. Female professional dancers began to take their place onstage, having previously been hampered by social norms; they performed in high-heeled shoes and long, full skirts. Later they wore short, stiff, yet fluffy, skirts called tutus.

During the Pre-Romantic era in ballet, the art form changed rapidly. Costume reforms were made, especially for women; these reforms were in part a result of the French Revolution. Heeled street shoes were replaced by slippers, and corsets and heavy petticoats were discarded, and tights were invented. Simple en pointe work was introduced by ballerinas such as Fanny Elssler and Marie Taglioni, who heavily darned their slippers in order to be able to rise up briefly on their toes. The seven movements of dance (to bend, to rise, to stretch, to glide, to jump, to turn, and to dart) were codified in 1796.

The period of time between 1830 and 1870 is classified as the Romantic era of ballet. A format developed for ballets crafted in this period: the first act was set in the real world and the second in a supernatural or otherworldly setting. Most ballerinas portrayed creatures such as wilis, sylphs and nymphs wearing long white skirts, today called Romantic tutus. Ballets choreographed during this time period included Giselle in 1841, La Sylphide in 1832, and Coppelia in 1870. The Romantic Era came to a close when ballet lost popularity in Western Europe due to competition by music halls and a lack of strong male dancers and choreography.

St. Petersburg became the center of ballet during the second half of the 19th century; the art form was supported by the patronage of the czars and the success of the Imperial Ballet, its school (forerunner of the Kirov Ballet) and the talent of Marius Petipa. Hard or blocked pointe shoes were introduced during this period, as were short tutus (today known as classical tutus, these skirts take their name from this era, which was the Russian Classical). Many story ballets (The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Le Corsaire) were produced during this period. Although the coming of the Russian Revolution boded ill for the art form, Nicholas Sergeyev, last régisseur of the Imperial Ballet, smuggled the choreographic notation documenting the Imperial Ballet's repertory out of Russia and into the West. Hence many of the ballets survived, and are still performed today.

The Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev was instrumental in bringing ballet back to Western Europe and allowing for its evolution into a 20th century art form. Although not a dancer nor a choreographer, Diaghilev was an avid dance and music patron. He assembled a troupe of Russian composers, dancers, choreographers and designers; as the Diaghilev Ballet Russes, this troupe toured Europe and the United States. Diaghilev was one of the foremost influences upon ballet in the new century, and he helped to launch the careers of such artists as Anna Pavlova, Michel Fokine, Vaslav Nijinsky, and George Balanchine, among others. After Diaghilev's death, the company disbanded. Many of his dancers settled in Western Europe and the United States. Michel Fokine joined American Ballet Theatre in 1940 as its resident choreographer; George Balanchine also came to America and founded the New York City Ballet in 1934. It was Balanchine who developed what is now known as the "neo-classical" style of ballet.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there was an explosion of innovation in dance style characterized by an exploration of freer technique. Early pioneers of what became known as modern dance include Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, Mary Wigman and Ruth St. Denis. The relationship of music to dance serves as the basis for Eurhythmics, devised by Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, which was influential to the development of Modern dance and modern ballet through artists such as Marie Rambert.

Eurythmy, developed by Rudolf Steiner and Lori Maier-Smits, combines formal elements reminiscent of traditional dance with the new freer style, and introduced a complex new vocabulary to dance. In the 1920s, important founders of the new style such as Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey began their work. Since this time, a wide variety of dance styles have been developed; see Modern dance.
Cartoon of a breakdancer displaying a basic freeze, complete with stereotypical boombox.
Cartoon of a breakdancer displaying a basic freeze, complete with stereotypical boombox.

Biotechnology

Early cultures also understood the importance of using natural processes to breakdown waste products into inert forms. From very early nomadic tribes to pre-urban civilizations it was common knowledge that given enough time organic waste products would be absorbed and eventually integrated into the soil. It was not until the advent of modern microbiology and chemistry that this process was fully understood and attributed to bacteria.

The most practical use of biotechnology, which is still present today, is the cultivations of plants to produce food suitable to humans. Agriculture has been theorized to have become the dominant way of producing food since the Neolithic Revolution. The processes and methods of agriculture have been refined by other mechanical and biological sciences since its inception. Through early biotechnology farmers were able to select the best suited and high-yield crops to produce enough food to support a growing population. Other uses of biotechnology were required as crops and fields became increasingly large and difficult to maintain. Specific organisms and organism byproducts were used to fertilize, restore nitrogen, and control pests. Throughout the use of agriculture farmers have inadvertently altered the genetics of their crops through introducing them to new environments, breeding them with other plants, and by using artificial selection. In modern times some plants are genetically modified to produce specific nutritional values or to be economical.

The process of Ethanol fermentation was also one of the first forms of biotechnology. Cultures such as those in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Iran developed the process of brewing which consisted of combining malted grains with specific yeasts to produce alcoholic beverages. In this process the carbohydrates in the grains were broken down into alcohols such as ethanol. Later other cultures produced the process of Lactic acid fermentation which allowed the fermentation and preservation of other forms of food. Fermentation was also used in this time period to produce leavened bread. Although the process of fermentation was not fully understood until Louis Pasteur’s work in 1857, it is still the first use of biotechnology to convert a food source into another form.

Combinations of plants and other organisms were used as medications in many early civilizations. Since as early as 200 BC people began to use disabled or minute amounts of infectious agents to immunize themselves against infections. These and similar processes have been refined in modern medicine and have lead to many developments such as antibiotics, vaccines, and other methods of fighting sickness.

In the early twenthieth century, our society gained a greater understanding of biochemical and genetic mechanisms, and we began to explore ways of manufacturing specific products using microbiology techniques. In 1917, Chaim Weizmann first used a pure culture in an industrial process, that of manufacturing corn starch using Clostridium acetobutylicum to produce acetone, which the United Kingdom desperately needed to manufacture explosives during World War I.[3]

The field of modern biotechnology is thought to have largely began on June 16, 1980, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that a genetically-modified microorganism could be patented in the case of Diamond v. Chakrabarty.[4] Indian-born Ananda Chakrabarty, working for General Electric, had developed a bacterium (derived from the Pseudomonas genus) capable of breaking down crude oil, which he proposed to use in treating oil spills.

[edit] Applications

Biotechnology has applications in four major industrial areas, including health care, crop production and agriculture, non food uses of crops (e.g. biodegradable plastics, vegetable oil, biofuels), and environmental uses. For example, one application of biotechnology is the directed use of organisms for the manufacture of organic products (examples include beer and milk products). Another example is using naturally present bacteria by the mining industry in bioleaching. Biotechnology is also used to recycle, treat waste, clean up sites contaminated by industrial activities (bioremediation), and produce biological weapons.

Red biotechnology is applied to medical processes. Some examples are the designing of organisms to produce antibiotics, and the engineering of genetic cures through genomic manipulation.

White biotechnology also known as grey biotechnology, is biotechnology applied to industrial processes. An example is the designing of an organism to produce a useful chemical. Another example is the using of enzymes as industrial catalysts to either produce valuable chemicals or destroy harzadous/polluting chemicals (examples using oxidoreducatses are given in Feng Xu (2005) “Applications of oxidoreductases: Recent progress” Ind. Biotechnol. 1, 38-50 [1]). White biotechnology tends to consume less in resources than traditional processes used to produce industrial goods.

Green biotechnology is biotechnology applied to agricultural processes. An example is the designing of transgenic plants to grow under specific environmental conditions or in the presence (or absence) of certain agricultural chemicals. One hope is that green biotechnology might produce more environmentally friendly solutions than traditional industrial agriculture. An example of this is the engineering of a plant to express a pesticide, thereby eliminating the need for external application of pesticides. An example of this would be Bt corn. Whether or not green biotechnology products such as this are ultimately more environmentally friendly is a topic of considerable debate.

The term blue biotechnology has also been used to describe the marine and aquatic applications of biotechnology, but its use is relatively rare.

Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field which addresses biological problems using computational techniques, and makes the rapid organization and analysis of biological data possible. The field may also be referred to as computational biology, and can be defined as, "conceptualizing biology in terms of molecules and then applying informatics techniques to understand and organize the information associated with these molecules, on a large scale."[5] Bioinformatics plays a key role in various areas, such as functional genomics, structural genomics, and proteomics, and forms a key component in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector.

[edit] Medicine

In medicine, modern biotechnology finds promising applications in:

* pharmacogenomics;
* drug production;
* genetic testing; and
* gene therapy.

[edit] Pharmacogenomics

Main article: Pharmacogenomics

Pharmacogenomics is the study of how the genetic inheritance of an individual affects his/her body’s response to drugs. It is a coined word derived from the words “pharmacology” and “genomics”. It is therefore the study of the relationship between pharmaceuticals and genetics. The vision of pharmacogenomics is to be able to design and produce drugs that are adapted to each person’s genetic makeup.[6]

Pharmacogenomics results in the following benefits:[7]

1. Development of tailor-made medicines. Using pharmacogenomics, pharmaceutical companies can create drugs based on the proteins, enzymes and RNA molecules that are associated with specific genes and diseases. These tailor-made drugs promise not only to maximize therapeutic effects but also to decrease damage to nearby healthy cells.

2. More accurate methods of determining appropriate drug dosages. Knowing a patient’s genetics will enable doctors to determine how well his/ her body can process and metabolize a medicine. This will maximize the value of the medicine and decrease the likelihood of overdose.

3.Improvements in the drug discovery and approval process. The discovery of potential therapies will be made easier using genome targets. Genes have been associated with numerous diseases and disorders. With modern biotechnology, these genes can be used as targets for the development of effective new therapies, which could significantly shorten the drug discovery process.

4. Better vaccines. Safer vaccines can be designed and produced by organisms transformed by means of genetic engineering. These vaccines will elicit the immune response without the attendant risks of infection. They will be inexpensive, stable, easy to store, and capable of being engineered to carry several strains of pathogen at once.

[edit] Pharmaceutical products

Traditional pharmaceutical drugs are small chemicals molecules that treat the symptoms of a disease or illness - one molecule directed at a single target. Biopharmaceuticals are large biological molecules known as proteins and these target the underlying mechanisms and pathways of a malady; it is a relatively young industry. They can deal with targets in humans that are not accessible with traditional medicines. A patient typically is dosed with a small molecule via a tablet while a large molecule is typically injected.

Small molecules are manufactured by chemistry but large molecules are created by living cells: for example, - bacteria cells, yeast cell,animal cells.

Modern biotechnology is often associated with the use of genetically altered microorganisms such as E. coli or yeast for the production of substances like insulin or antibiotics. It can also refer to transgenic animals or transgenic plants, such as Bt corn. Genetically altered mammalian cells, such as Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells, are also widely used to manufacture pharmaceuticals. Another promising new biotechnology application is the development of plant-made pharmaceuticals.

Biotechnology is also commonly associated with landmark breakthroughs in new medical therapies to treat diabetes, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, cancers, arthritis, haemophilia, bone fractures, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular as well as molecular diagnostic devices than can be used to define the patient population. Herceptin, is the first drug approved for use with a matching diagnostic test and is used to treat breast cancer in women whose cancer cells express the protein HER2.

Modern biotechnology can be used to manufacture existing drugs more easily and cheaply. The first genetically engineered products were medicines designed to combat human diseases. To cite one example, in 1978 Genentech joined a gene for insulin and a plasmid vector and put the resulting gene into a bacterium called Escherichia coli. Insulin, widely used for the treatment of diabetes, was previously extracted from sheep and pigs. It was very expensive and often elicited unwanted allergic responses. The resulting genetically engineered bacterium enabled the production of vast quantities of human insulin at low cost.[8]

Since then modern biotechnology has made it possible to produce more easily and cheaply the human growth hormone, clotting factors for hemophiliacs, fertility drugs, erythropoietin and other drugs.[9] Most drugs today are based on about 500 molecular targets. Genomic knowledge of the genes involved in diseases, disease pathways, and drug-response sites are expected to lead to the discovery of thousands more new targets.[10]

[edit] Genetic testing

Genetic testing involves the direct examination of the DNA molecule itself. A scientist scans a patient’s DNA sample for mutated sequences.

There are two major types of gene tests. In the first type, a researcher may design short pieces of DNA (“probes”) whose sequences are complementary to the mutated sequences. These probes will seek their complement among the base pairs of an individual’s genome. If the mutated sequence is present in the patient’s genome, the probe will bind to it and flag the mutation. In the second type, a researcher may conduct the gene test by comparing the sequence of DNA bases in a patient’s gene to a normal version of the gene.

Genetic testing can be used to:

* Diagnose a disease.
* Confirm a diagnosis.
* Provide prognostic information about the course of a disease.
* Confirm the existence of a disease in individuals.

With varying degrees of accuracy, predict the risk of future disease in healthy individuals or their progeny.

Genetic testing is now used for:

* determining sex
* carrier screening, or the identification of unaffected individuals who carry one copy of a gene for a disease that requires two copies for the disease to manifest
* prenatal diagnostic screening
* newborn screening
* presymptomatic testing for predicting adult-onset disorders
* presymptomatic testing for estimating the risk of developing adult-onset cancers
* confirmational diagnosis of symptomatic individuals
* forensic/identity testing

Some genetic tests are already available, although most of them are used in developed countries. The tests currently available can detect mutations associated with rare genetic disorders like cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, and Huntington’s disease. Recently, tests have been developed to detect mutation for a handful of more complex conditions such as breast, ovarian, and colon cancers. However, gene tests may not detect every mutation associated with a particular condition because many are as yet undiscovered, and the ones they do detect may present different risks to different people and populations.[11]

[edit] Gene therapy

Main article: Gene therapy

Gene therapy may be used for treating, or even curing, genetic and acquired diseases like cancer and AIDS by using normal genes to supplement or replace defective genes or to bolster a normal function such as immunity. It can be used to target somatic (i.e., body) or germ (i.e., egg and sperm) cells. In somatic gene therapy, the genome of the recipient is changed, but this change is not passed along to the next generation. In contrast, in germline gene therapy, the egg and sperm cells of the parents are changed for the purpose of passing on the changes to their offspring.

There are basically two ways of implementing a gene therapy treatment:

1. Ex vivo, which means “outside the body” – Cells from the patient’s blood or bone marrow are removed and grown in the laboratory. They are then exposed to the virus carrying the desired gene. The virus enters the cells, and the desired gene becomes part of the DNA of the cells. The cells are allowed to grow in the laboratory before being returned to the patient by injection into a vein.

2. In vivo, which means “inside the body” – No cells are removed from the patient’s body. Instead, vectors are used to deliver the desired gene to cells in the patient’s body.

Currently, the use of gene therapy is limited. Somatic gene therapy is primarily at the experimental stage. Germline therapy is the subject of much discussion but it is not being actively investigated in larger animals and human beings.

As of June 2001, more than 500 clinical gene-therapy trials involving about 3,500 patients have been identified worldwide. Around 78% of these are in the United States, with Europe having 18%. These trials focus on various types of cancer, although other multigenic diseases are being studied as well. Recently, two children born with severe combined immunodeficiency disorder (“SCID”) were reported to have been cured after being given genetically engineered cells.

Gene therapy faces many obstacles before it can become a practical approach for treating disease.[12] At least four of these obstacles are as follows:

1. Gene delivery tools. Genes are inserted into the body using gene carriers called vectors. The most common vectors now are viruses, which have evolved a way of encapsulating and delivering their genes to human cells in a pathogenic manner. Scientists manipulate the genome of the virus by removing the disease-causing genes and inserting the therapeutic genes. However, while viruses are effective, they can introduce problems like toxicity, immune and inflammatory responses, and gene control and targeting issues.

2. Limited knowledge of the functions of genes. Scientists currently know the functions of only a few genes. Hence, gene therapy can address only some genes that cause a particular disease. Worse, it is not known exactly whether genes have more than one function, which creates uncertainty as to whether replacing such genes is indeed desirable.

3. Multigene disorders and effect of environment. Most genetic disorders involve more than one gene. Moreover, most diseases involve the interaction of several genes and the environment. For example, many people with cancer not only inherit the disease gene for the disorder, but may have also failed to inherit specific tumor suppressor genes. Diet, exercise, smoking and other environmental factors may have also contributed to their disease.

4. High costs. Since gene therapy is relatively new and at an experimental stage, it is an expensive treatment to undertake. This explains why current studies are focused on illnesses commonly found in developed countries, where more people can afford to pay for treatment. It may take decades before developing countries can take advantage of this technology.

[edit] Human Genome Project

The Human Genome Project is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) that aims to generate a high-quality reference sequence for the entire human genome and identify all the human genes.

The DOE and its predecessor agencies were assigned by the U.S. Congress to develop new energy resources and technologies and to pursue a deeper understanding of potential health and environmental risks posed by their production and use. In 1986, the DOE announced its Human Genome Initiative. Shortly thereafter, the DOE and National Institutes of Health developed a plan for a joint Human Genome Project (“HGP”), which officially began in 1990.

The HGP was originally planned to last 15 years. However, rapid technological advances and worldwide participation have accelerated the expected completion date to 2003. In June 2000, scientists announced the generation of a working draft sequence of the entire human genome. The draft provides a road map to an estimated 90% of genes on every human chromosome. Already it has enabled gene hunters to pinpoint genes associated with more than 30 disorders.[13]

[edit] Cloning

Human cloning is one of the techniques of modern biotechnology. It involves the removal of the nucleus from one cell and its placement in an unfertilized egg cell whose nucleus has either been deactivated or removed.

There are three types of cloning:

1. Reproductive cloning. After a few divisions, the egg cell is placed into a uterus where it is allowed to develop into a fetus that is genetically identical to the donor of the original nucleus.

2. Therapeutic cloning.[14] The egg is placed into a Petri dish where it develops into embryonic stem cells, which have shown potentials for treating several ailments.[15]

The major differences between these two types are shown Table 1.

In February 1997, cloning became the focus of media attention when Ian Wilmut and his colleagues at the Roslin Institute announced the successful cloning of a sheep, named Dolly, from the mammary glands of an adult female. The cloning of Dolly made it apparent to many that the techniques used to produce her could someday be used to clone human beings.[16] This stirred a lot of controversy because of its ethical implications.

[edit] Concerns regarding the use of modern biotechnology techniques in medicine

Several issues have been raised regarding the use of modern biotechnology in the medical sector. Many of these issues are similar to those facing any new technology that is viewed as powerful and far-reaching. Some of these issues are:[17]

1. Absence of cure. There is still a lack of effective treatment or preventive measures for many diseases and conditions now being diagnosed or predicted using gene tests. Thus, revealing information about risk of a future disease that has no existing cure presents an ethical dilemma for medical practitioners.

2. Ownership and control of genetic information. Who will own and control genetic information, or information about genes, gene products, or inherited characteristics derived from an individual or a group of people like indigenous communities? At the macro level, there is a possibility of a genetic divide, with developing countries that do not have access to medical applications of biotechnology being deprived of benefits accruing from products derived from genes obtained from their own people. Moreover, genetic information can pose a risk for minority population groups as it can lead to group stigmatization.

At the individual level, the absence of privacy and anti-discrimination legal protections in most countries can lead to discrimination in employment or insurance or other misuse of personal genetic information. This raises questions like, is genetic privacy different from medical privacy?[18]

3. Reproductive issues. These include the use of genetic information in reproductive decision-making and the possibility of genetically altering reproductive cells that may be passed on to future generations. For example, germline therapy forever changes the genetic make-up of an individual’s descendants. Thus, any error in technology or judgment may have far-reaching consequences. Ethical issues like designer babies and human cloning have also given rise to controversies between and among scientists and bioethicists, especially in the light of past abuses with eugenics.[19]

4. Clinical issues. These center on the capabilities and limitations of doctors and other health-service providers, people identified with genetic conditions, and the general public in dealing with genetic information. For instance, how should the public be prepared to make informed choices based on the results of genetic tests? How will genetic tests be evaluated and regulated for accuracy, reliability, and usefulness?

5. Effects on social institutions. Genetic tests reveal information about individuals and their families. Thus, test results can affect the dynamics within social institutions, particularly the family.

6. Conceptual and philosophical implications regarding human responsibility, free will vis-à-vis genetic determinism, and the concepts of health and disease. Do genes influence human behavior? If so, does genetic testing mean controlling human behavior? What is considered acceptable diversity? What is normal and what is a disability or disorder, and who decides these matters? Are disabilities diseases that need to be cured or prevented? Where should the line between medical treatment and enhancement be drawn? Who will have access to gene therapy?

[edit] Agriculture

There are many applications of biotechnology in agriculture.

One is improved yield from crops. Using the techniques of modern biotechnology, one or two genes may be transferred to a highly developed crop variety to impart a new character that would increase its yield.30 However, while increase in crop yield is the most obvious application of modern biotechnology in agriculture, it is also the most difficult one. Current genetic engineering techniques work best for effects that are controlled by a single gene. Many of the genetic characteristics associated with yield (e.g., enhanced growth) are controlled by a large number of genes, each of which has a minimal effect on the overall yield.31 There is, therefore, much scientific work to be done in this area.

Another is the reduced vulnerability of crops to environmental stresses. Crops containing genes that will enable them to withstand biotic and abiotic stresses may be developed. For example, drought and excessively salty soil are the two most important limiting factors in crop productivity. Biotechnologists are studying plants that can cope with these extreme conditions in the hope of finding the genes that enable them to do so and eventually transferring these genes to the more desirable crops. One of the latest developments is the identification of a plant gene, At-DBF2, from thale cress, a tiny weed that is often used for plant research because it is very easy to grow and its genetic code is well mapped out. When this gene was inserted into tomato and tobacco cells, the cells were able to withstand environmental stresses like salt, drought, cold and heat, far more than ordinary cells. If these preliminary results prove successful in larger trials, then At-DBF2 genes can help in engineering crops that can better withstand harsh environments.32

Researchers have also created transgenic rice plants that are resistant to rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV). In Africa, this virus destroys majority of the rice crops and makes the surviving plants more susceptible to fungal infections.33

Increased nutritional qualities of food crops. Proteins in foods may be modified to increase their nutritional qualities. Proteins in legumes and cereals may be transformed to provide the amino acids needed by human beings for a balanced diet.34 A good example is the work of Professors Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer on the so-called Goldenrice™(discussed below).

Improved taste, texture or appearance of food. Modern biotechnology can be used to slow down the process of spoilage so that fruit can ripen longer on the plant and then be transported to the consumer with a still reasonable shelf life. This improves the taste, texture and appearance of the fruit. More importantly, it could expand the market for farmers in developing countries due to the reduction in spoilage.

The first genetically modified food product was a tomato which was transformed to delay its ripening.35 Researchers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam are currently working on delayed-ripening papaya in collaboration with the University of Nottingham and Zeneca.36

Reduced dependence on fertilizers, pesticides and other agrochemicals. Most of the current commercial applications of modern biotechnology in agriculture are on reducing the dependence of farmers on agrochemicals. For example, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a soil bacterium that produces a protein with insecticidal qualities. Traditionally, a fermentation process has been used to produce an insecticidal spray from these bacteria. In this form, the Bt toxin occurs as an inactive protoxin, which requires digestion by an insect to be effective. There are several Bt toxins and each one is specific to certain target insects. Crop plants have now been engineered to contain and express the genes for Bt toxin, which they produce in its active form. When a susceptible insect ingests the transgenic crop cultivar expressing the Bt protein, it stops feeding and soon thereafter dies as a result of the Bt toxin binding to its gut wall. Bt corn is now commercially available in a number of countries to control corn borer (a lepidopteran insect), which is otherwise controlled by spraying (a more difficult process).

Crops have also been genetically engineered to acquire tolerance to broad-spectrum herbicide. The lack of cost-effective herbicides with broad-spectrum activity and no crop injury was a consistent limitation in crop weed management. Multiple applications of numerous herbicides were routinely used to control a wide range of weed species detrimental to agronomic crops. Weed management tended to rely on preemergence — that is, herbicide applications were sprayed in response to expected weed infestations rather than in response to actual weeds present. Mechanical cultivation and hand weeding were often necessary to control weeds not controlled by herbicide applications. The introduction of herbicide tolerant crops has the potential of reducing the number of herbicide active ingredients used for weed management, reducing the number of herbicide applications made during a season, and increasing yield due to improved weed management and less crop injury. Transgenic crops that express tolerance to glyphosphate, glufosinate and bromoxynil have been developed. These herbicides can now be sprayed on transgenic crops without inflicting damage on the crops while killing nearby weeds.37

From 1996 to 2001, herbicide tolerance was the most dominant trait introduced to commercially available transgenic crops, followed by insect resistance. In 2001, herbicide tolerance deployed in soybean, corn and cotton accounted for 77% of the 62.6 million hectares planted to transgenic crops; Bt crops accounted for 15%; and stacked genes for herbicide tolerance and insect resistance used in both cotton and corn accounted for 8%.38

Production of novel substances in crop plants. Modern biotechnology is increasingly being applied for novel uses other than food. For example, oilseed is at present used mainly for margarine and other food oils, but it can be modified to produce fatty acids for detergents, substitute fuels and petrochemicals.39 Banana trees and tomato plants have also been genetically engineered to produce vaccines in their fruit. If future clinical trials prove successful, the advantages of edible vaccines would be enormous, especially for developing countries. The transgenic plants may be grown locally and cheaply. Homegrown vaccines would also avoid logistical and economic problems posed by having to transport traditional preparations over long distances and keeping them cold while in transit. And since they are edible, they will not need syringes, which are not only an additional expense in the traditional vaccine preparations but also a source of infections if contaminated.40

Medicine

Medicine

Medicine (or biomedicine), is derived from the Latin ars medicina, "the art of healing". Medicine is a branch of the health sciences, and is the sector of public life concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, treatment and possible prevention of disease and injury. It is both an area of knowledge – a science of body systems, their diseases and treatment, studied by medical researchers (Biomedicians) – and the applied practice of that knowledge, which principally constitutes a physician's work in clinical medicine.


Overview

Since the nineteenth century, only those with a medical degree have been considered to practice medicine. Clinicians (licensed professionals who deal with patients) can be physicians, physical therapists, physician assistants, nurses or others. The medical profession is the social and occupational structure of the group of people formally trained and authorized to apply medical knowledge. Many countries and legal jurisdictions have legal limitations on who may practice medicine.

Medicine comprises various specialized sub-branches, such as cardiology, pulmonology, neurology, or other fields such as sports medicine, research or public health.

Human societies have had various different systems of health care practice since at least the beginning of recorded history. Medicine, in the modern period, is the mainstream scientific tradition which developed in the Western world since the early Renaissance (around 1450). Many other traditions of health care are still practiced throughout the world; most of these are separate from Western medicine, which is also called biomedicine, allopathic medicine or the Hippocratic tradition. The most highly developed of these are traditional Chinese medicine, Traditional Tibetan medicine and the Ayurvedic traditions of India and Sri Lanka. Various non-mainstream traditions of health care have also developed in the Western world. These systems are sometimes considered companions to Hippocratic medicine, and sometimes are seen as competition to the Western tradition. Few of them have any scientific confirmation of their tenets, because if they did they would be brought into the fold of Western medicine.

"Medicine" is also often used amongst medical professionals as shorthand for internal medicine. Veterinary medicine is the practice of health care in animal species other than human beings.

Osteopathic medicine is another approach to disease and treatment. Osteopathy claims that much disease results from problems with bones and joints. Treatment consists in the main of various manipulations. A practitioner of osteopathic medicine receives a D.O. degree (doctor of osteopathy).


History of Western medicine

The earliest type of medicine in most cultures was the use of plants (Herbalism) and animal parts. This was usually in concert with 'magic' of various kinds in which: animism (the notion of inanimate objects having spirits); spiritualism (here meaning an appeal to gods or communion with ancestor spirits); shamanism (the vesting of an individual with mystic powers); and divination (the supposed obtaining of truth by magic means), played a major role.

The practice of medicine developed gradually, and separately, in ancient Egypt, India, China, Greece, Persia and elsewhere. Medicine as it is practiced now developed largely in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century in England (William Harvey, seventeenth century), Germany (Rudolf Virchow) and France (Jean-Martin Charcot, Claude Bernard and others). The new, "scientific" medicine (where results are testable and repeatable) replaced early Western traditions of medicine, based on herbalism, the Greek "four humours" and other pre-modern theories.[citation needed] The focal points of development of clinical medicine shifted to the United Kingdom and the USA by the early 1900s (Canadian-born) Sir William Osler, Harvey Cushing). Possibly the major shift in medical thinking was the gradual rejection in the 1400s during the Black Death of what may be called the 'traditional authority' approach to science and medicine. This was the notion that because some prominent person in the past said something must be so, then that was the way it was, and anything one observed to the contrary was an anomaly (which was paralleled by a similar shift in European society in general - see Copernicus's rejection of Ptolemy's theories on astronomy). People like Vesalius led the way in improving upon or indeed rejecting the theories of great authorities from the past such as Galen, Hippocrates, and Avicenna/Ibn Sina, all of whose theories were in time almost totally discredited. Such new attitudes were also only made possible by the weakening of the Roman Catholic church's power in society, especially in the Republic of Venice.

Evidence-based medicine is a recent movement to establish the most effective algorithms of practice (ways of doing things) through the use of the scientific method and modern global information science by collating all the evidence and developing standard protocols which are then disseminated to healthcare providers. One problem with this 'best practice' approach is that it could be seen to stifle novel approaches to treatment.

Genomics and knowledge of human genetics is already having some influence on medicine, as the causative genes of most monogenic genetic disorders have now been identified, and the development of techniques in molecular biology and genetics are influencing medical practice and decision-making.

Pharmacology has developed from herbalism and many drugs are still derived from plants (atropine, ephedrine, warfarin, aspirin, digoxin, vinca alkaloids, taxol, hyoscine, etc). The modern era really began with Robert Koch's discoveries around 1880 of the transmission of disease by bacteria, and then the discovery of antibiotics shortly thereafter around 1900. The first major class of antibiotics was the sulfa drugs, derived originally from azo dyes. Throughout the twentieth century, major advances in the treatment of infectious diseases were observable in (Western) societies. The medical establishment is now developing drugs that are targeted towards one particular disease process. Thus drugs are being developed to minimise the side effects of prescribed drugs, to treat cancer, geriatric problems, long-term problems (such as high cholesterol), chronic diseases type 2 diabetes, lifestyle and degenerative diseases such as arthritis and Alzheimer's disease.

Practice of medicine

The practice of medicine combines both science as the evidence base and art in the application of this medical knowledge in combination with intuition and clinical judgment to determine the treatment plan for each patient.

Central to medicine is the patient-physician relationship established when a person with a health concern seeks a physician's help; the 'medical encounter'. Other health professionals similarly establish a relationship with a patient and may perform various interventions, e.g. nurses, radiographers and therapists.

As part of the medical encounter, the healthcare provider needs to:

* develop a relationship with the patient
* gather data (medical history, systems enquiry, and physical examination, combined with laboratory or imaging studies (investigations))
* analyze and synthesize that data (assessment and/or differential diagnoses), and then:
* develop a treatment plan (further testing, therapy, watchful observation, referral and follow-up)
* treat the patient accordingly
* assess the progress of treatment and alter the plan as necessary (management).

The medical encounter is documented in a medical record, which is a legal document in many jurisdictions.


Health care delivery systems

Medicine is practiced within the medical system, which is a legal, credentialing and financing framework, established by a particular culture or government. The characteristics of a health care system have significant effect on the way medical care is delivered.

Financing has a great influence as it defines who pays the costs. Aside from tribal cultures, the most significant divide in developed countries is between universal health care and market-based health care (such as practiced in the U.S.). Universal health care might allow or ban a parallel private market. The latter is described as single-payer system.

Transparency of information is another factor defining a delivery system. Access to information on conditions, treatments, quality and pricing greatly affects the choice by patients / consumers and therefore the incentives of medical professionals. While US health care system has come under fire for lack of openness, new legislation may encourage greater openness. There is a perceived tension between the need for transparency on the one hand and such issues as patient confidentiality and the possible exploitation of information for commercial gain on the other.


Health care delivery

Medical care delivery is classified into primary, secondary and tertiary care.

Primary care medical services are provided by physicians or other health professionals who has first contact with a patient seeking medical treatment or care. These occur in physician offices, clinics, nursing homes, schools, home visits and other places close to patients. About 90% of medical visits can be treated by the primary care provider. These include treatment of acute and chronic illnesses, preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes.

Secondary care medical services are provided by medical specialists in their offices or clinics or at local community hospitals for a patient referred by a primary care provider who first diagnosed or treated the patient. Referrals are made for those patients who required the expertise or procedures performed by specialists. These include both ambulatory care and inpatient services, emergency rooms, intensive care medicine, surgery services, physical therapy, labor and delivery, endoscopy units, diagnostic laboratory and medical imaging services, hospice centers, etc. Some primary care providers may also take care of hospitalized patients and deliver babies in a secondary care setting.

Tertiary care medical services are provided by specialist hospitals or regional centers equipped with diagnostic and treatment facilities not generally available at local hospitals. These include trauma centers, burn treatment centers, advanced neonatology unit services, organ transplants, high-risk pregnancy, radiation oncology, etc.

Modern medical care also depends on information - still delivered in many health care settings on paper records, but increasingly nowadays by electronic means.

Search engine

A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system, such as on the World Wide Web, inside a corporate or proprietary network, or in a personal computer. The search engine allows one to ask for content meeting specific criteria (typically those containing a given word or phrase) and retrieves a list of items that match those criteria. This list is often sorted with respect to some measure of relevance of the results. Search engines use regularly updated indexes to operate quickly and efficiently.

Without further qualification, search engine usually refers to a Web search engine, which searches for information on the public Web. Other kinds of search engine are enterprise search engines, which search on intranets, personal search engines, and mobile search engines. Different selection and relevance criteria may apply in different environments, or for different uses.

Some search engines also mine data available in newsgroups, databases, or open directories. Unlike Web directories, which are maintained by human editors, search engines operate algorithmically or are a mixture of algorthmic and human input.

Niche market

A niche market is a focused, targetable portion (subset) of a market sector.By definition, then, a business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers. A niche market may be thought of as a narrowly defined group of potential customers.A distinct niche market usually evolves out of a market niche, where potential demand is not met by any supply.

Such ventures are profitable because of disinterest on the part of large businesses and/or lack of awareness on the part of other small companies. The key to capitalizing on a niche market is to find or develop a market niche that has customers who are accessible, that is growing fast enough, and that is not owned by one established vendor already.

EtymologyThe term "niche" was first used by ecologists to describe a species' position and use of resources within its environment. When used in business the term implies a situation or an activity perfectly suited to a person or a given type of personality. This concept has been extended from persons to products on the market. Whereas a niche in the strict sense can be a working position or an area suited to a person who occupies it, the market niche is perfectly suited for a product of human labour.

Marketing in and for niche marketsNiche marketing is the process of finding and serving small but potentially profitable market segments and designing custom-made products or services for them. For big companies those market segments are often too small in order to serve them profitably as they often lack economies of scale. Niche marketers are often reliant on the loyalty business model to maintain a profitable volume of sales. On the Internet, niche marketing becomes interesting because the playing field is leveled for all online businesses. Niche marketing on the Internet means that one needs extensive keyword research and KOI analysis.

Searching

Searching is the act of trying to find something or someone. One can distinguish between two forms of search. One may search for something that is known to exist, with the intent to locate it, and one may search for something whose existence is uncertain in order to ascertain whether it exists or not. Searching can also be a metaphorical act, most frequently in reference to intangibles such as memories and emotions. Web searching benefits from specific techniques, which are detailed in the search engine article. A search engine is any device that allows the user to quickly search and view multiple articles/websites.