WhatIsBiotechnology
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WhatIsBiotechnology
@wibiotechnology.bsky.social
WhatIsBiotechnology is a leading educational and public engagement platform that brings together the stories about the sciences, people and places that have enabled biotechnology to transform medicine and the world we live in today.
2/ Before Ames developed his test carcinogenic testing was reliant on using live animals and was a time-consuming and expensive process.
December 16, 2025 at 9:02 AM
3/ Wilkins became profoundly disillusioned with nuclear weapons after the bombing of Japan and was the president of the British Society for Social Responsibility in Science from 1969 to 1991
December 15, 2025 at 11:11 AM
2/ Following his work on DNA, Wilkins directed his attention to studying the structure of various forms of RNA and a wide group of genetic problems, like ageing. In his younger years, Wilkins was recruited to work on the Manhattan atomic bomb project during the war.
December 15, 2025 at 11:11 AM
3/ Smith also helped to discover rare and unexpected modifications of DNA bases in bacterial genomes which are now understood to prevent attack from DNA viruses.
December 8, 2025 at 1:46 PM
2/ Smith helped to elucidate the structure of ribonucleic acid molecules (RNA), the genetic material of many plant and animal viruses. This was helped by his development of paper chromatographic methods for analysing nucleosides and other units which make up DNA
December 8, 2025 at 1:46 PM
3/Cech discovered that unprocessed RNA molecules could splice themselves and showed that RNA molecules are not restricted to being passive carriers of genetic information.
December 8, 2025 at 1:45 PM
2/ Cech made the discovery while investigating the splicing RNA in Tetrahymena thermophila, a unicellular organism, during the 1970s.
December 8, 2025 at 1:45 PM
2/ In 1929 Moore played a pivotal role in isolating the testicular secretion containing the male sex hormones andresterone and testosterone. This discovery opened up the path to researching the chemical composition of the hormones and their production.
December 5, 2025 at 8:43 AM
3/ The Cori's work earned them the 1947 the #NobelPrize for Medicine together with Bernando Hossay.
December 5, 2025 at 8:41 AM
2/ In 1943 Carl and Gerty managed to isolate and purify glycogen phosphorylase. They hypothesised that liver glycogen first converts to blood glucose and then reconverts to glycogen in the muscle, where it is broken down into lactic acid which provides the energy used in muscle contraction.
December 5, 2025 at 8:41 AM
4/ Born to Jewish parents, Koprowski was forced to flee Poland in 1939 after Germany invaded the country. For more about his life and work see 'https://www.whatisbiotechnology.org/index.php/people/summary/Koprowski'
December 5, 2025 at 8:40 AM
3/ Koprowski went on to become the director of the Wistar Institute where in the 1960s he led efforts to improve the rabies vaccine. He subsequently became the first scientist, together with colleagues, to hold a patent for monoclonal antibodies.
December 5, 2025 at 8:40 AM
2/ In January 1948 Koprowski injected the vaccine into himself. The vaccine had the advantage that it directly entered the intestinal tract and provided long-lasting immunity. Within a decade the vaccine had been adopted on four continents
December 5, 2025 at 8:40 AM
3/ For more about phages and how they have become an important therapeutic tool see www.whatisbiotechnology.org/index.php/sc...
Phage therapy uses viruses that attack bacteria to treat bacterial infections
How phage therapy is used as an alternative to antibiotics to treat bacterial infections
www.whatisbiotechnology.org
December 4, 2025 at 8:47 AM
2/ Twort's finding was initially ignored until after Félix d'Herelle independently also noted phages in 1917. Phages are now an important tool in molecular biology.
December 4, 2025 at 8:47 AM
2/ Hershey shared the 1969 #NobelPrize for Medicine for 'discoveries concerning the replication mechanism and the genetic structure of viruses.' For about Chase and Hershey's famous experiment see www.whatisbiotechnology.org/index.php/ex...
December 4, 2025 at 8:46 AM