DOCSLIB.ORG

Principles of Biotechnology

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Principles of Biotechnology Editor’s Introduction It’s Monday, around 6 p�m�, and like any other night, products taken from living organisms, in their nat- it is time to sit down and have dinner� This simple ural forms� event happens every night for millions of people In the United States, an entity, whether a research around the world with such consistency and regu- facility or a business, is considered as working in the larity that it is often taken for granted� One out of field of biotechnology if any of the following types of every eight people, about 795 million worldwide, research take place: however, is malnourished, meaning that he or she does not have enough food to maintain his or her • Researching the coding or sequencing of DNA: health and be active� As of 2016, that number rep- Genomics, pharmacogenetics, gene probes, resented about 12�9 percent of the world’s popula- DNA sequencing/synthesis/amplification, ge- tion� Making food more accessible to everyone in the netic engineering� world is a serious concern as populations continue to • Researching proteins and other biomolecules: grow while the land available to produce food to feed Protein/peptide, sequencing/synthesis, lipid/ those populations stays the same, or even decreases� protein glycoengineering, proteomics, hor- Many people believe that this issue is one of the many mones and growth factors cell receptors/ problems facing our globe that can be addressed by signaling/pheromones� means of biotechnology, along with other vital con- • Researching cell and tissue culture and engi- cerns including access to routine medications such as neering: Cell/tissue culture, tissue engineering, vaccinations or vitamin supplements� For many bio- hybridization, cellular fusion, vaccine/immune technologists, the goal is to save the world, one inven- stimulants, embryo manipulation� tion at a time� • Researching process biotechnologies: Bio- reactors, fermentation, bioprocessing, biole- What is Biotechnology? aching, bio-pulping, bio-bleaching, biodesul- Biotechnology is defined as the use of living organ- phurization, bioremediation, and biofiltration� isms, or substances obtained from living organ- • Researching subcellular organisms: Gene isms, to produce products or processes of value to therapy, viral vectors� humankind� While it is true that biotechnology has made tremen- Each of the research areas above can be studied in dous advances in the areas of human and veterinary any of the various fields of biotechnology� medicine, agriculture, food production, and other fields, these advances have also raised some genuine Branches of Biotechnology concerns about how biotechnology should be moni- Researchers who study biotechnology generally orga- tored� Ongoing debates continue the effort to balance nize themselves among five different branches of bio- the potential of biotechnology, in particular genetic en- technology: animal, bioinformatics, environmental, gineering, and its ability to produce organisms that may medical, and industrial� benefit humans, against growing concerns about the potential for these advances and inventions to disrupt • Animal biotechnology: This branch of biotech- ecosystems, negatively affect human health, or be used nology deals with the development of trans- in ethically inappropriate ways� genic animals� The research is focused in areas Many countries have different interpretations of such as the increase of milk or meat production the field� Australia, for example, defines biotech- with high resistance to various diseases� It also nology as any technological application that uses deals with in vitro fertilization of an egg and the biological systems, including living organisms or de- transfer of an embryo to the womb of female rivatives thereof, to make or modify products or pro- animal for further development� cesses for specific use� Canada defines biotechnology • Bioinformatics: Bioinformatics is a branch as the application of science and engineering to the of biotechnology that is a combination of direct or indirect use of living organisms, or parts or both computer science and biotechnology� ix Editor’s Introduction Principles of Biotechnology Bioinformatics helps us to develop tools Stepping Stones in Biotechnology to analyze data related to biotechnology� The term biotechnology itself is relatively new, but Bioinformatics is used in various research the practice of biotechnology is as old as civilization� studies aimed at goals such as the develop- In fact, it played a key role in the initial development ment of new and more effective medicines� It is of societies and civilizations, since they could only also used to increase the fertility of plants and start to evolve once humans learned to apply selec- to provide them with a defense against pest, tive breeding techniques--a basic biotechnological drought and diseases� Bioinformatics is vital in skill--to improve and increase the food crops they a number of areas that are key contributors to grew and livestock they raised� biotechnology and the pharmaceutical sector� Artificial insemination, the process in which • Environmental biotechnology: This branch of bio- semen is collected from the male animal and depos- technology is dedicated to promoting a healthy ited into the female reproductive tract through artifi- environment� With the help of the process called cial techniques rather than natural mating, emerged micropropagation (a practice of producing larger as a practical procedure roughly a century ago, al- number of plants through the existing stock of though as early as 1784, Italian biologist Lazzaro plants), scientists are better able to select the right Spallanzani successfully inseminated a dog� quality of plants and crops for specific growing While genetic engineering is often considered conditions and environments� Transgenic plants a phenomenon of the late twentieth century, the (plants whose DNA is modified) can also be de- building blocks for such technology began with the signed to grow in a specified environment with first isolation of DNA in 1869 and the subsequent the help of certain chemicals� awareness of its relevance to heredity starting in • Medical biotechnology: This branch of bio- 1928� The first accurate double-helix model of DNA technology focuses on improving the health of was developed in 1953 by James D� Watson and humans and animals by developing the tech- Francis Crick, and the first gene sequence and re- nology necessary to produce medicines� It also combinant DNA was created in 1972 by researchers helps to create or design organisms meant to from Stanford University� The latter discovery truly more effectively treat diseases and conditions� heralded the beginning of the biotechnological in- Through the process of genetic manipulation, dustry and the development of genetically modified it can be used to cure genetic issues in organ- organisms (GMOs)� isms� Medical biotechnologists research dis- In 1963, Margaret Oakley Dayhoff, an American eases in organisms in order to develop new ways physical chemist and a major figure in the evolving to achieve an accurate diagnosis through the science of bioinformatics, began compiling protein use of more accurate testing protocols� Stem sequences into a series of books titled Atlas of Protein cell therapy is one area that continues to show Structure and Function� By 1978, however, the Atlas of great potential to either generate new organs Protein Structure and Function had grown too large and or repair the damaged tissues in organisms� cumbersome to permit comparisons and analyses to • Industrial biotechnology: This kind of biotech- be easily performed� Her second major contribution nology is used and applied in various industries was to create a database infrastructure to convert the and their processes� The development of bio- atlas to the first online biological database, making it polymer (plastics) substitutes has allowed the au- accessible to researchers who used it to sort, manipu- tomobile industry to invent improved parts and late, and align multiple protein sequences� The da- fuels for the vehicles of the future� The creation tabase developed by Dr� Dayhoff and her successors, of "high-tech" fibers has had an impact on the Dr� Winona Barker and Dr� Robert Ledley, became clothing industry as well as the sports and fitness know as the Protein Information Resource (PIR)� In sectors� There may be other broad impacts across 2002 PIR, along with its international partners, EBI all industries, from energy to entertainment, as (European Bioinformatics Institute) and SIB (Swiss industrial biotechnology develops new chemicals Institute of Bioinformatics), were awarded a grant and production processes� from NIH to create UniProt, a single worldwide data- base of protein sequence and function� x Principles of Biotechnology Editor’s Introduction Biotechnology has played a significant role in to nerve regeneration, this field appears to be lim- treating serious medical conditions, including dia- ited only by the imagination of the scientist working betes� The first effective treatment called for the ex- within it� Cloning, for example, was a subject only traction of insulin from cattle and pigs and while it talked about in science fictions books and movies� saved millions of lives, it wasn’t perfect, as it caused Now, as cloning technologies continue to advance, allergic reactions in many patients� The first recom- scientists in South Korea have managed to not only binant DNA-produced synthetic “human” insulin was clone a dog, but also
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Problem Statement 1
    DATA BASE LEGISLATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE: BALANCING THE PUBLIC GOOD AND THE OWNERS' RIGHTS By Lynn M. Kennedy A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Communication, Information and Library Studies Written under the direction of Montague Kern, Ph. D. and approved by ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey May 2013 Abstract of the Dissertation DATA BASE LEGISLATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE: BALANCING THE PUBLIC GOOD AND THE OWNERS' RIGHTS By Lynn M. Kennedy Dissertation Director: Montague Kern, Ph. D. This dissertation is a study of the impact of federal legislative proposals considered between 1997 and 2004 that offer protection to databases. It investigates the effect that the proposals had on the balance between the economic interests of owners and the right of the public to unfettered access to information. This identified legislation included proposed amendments to copyright law and laws that were proposed to specifically protect databases via misappropriation or unfair trade practices. The legislative proposals originated in the U.S House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary and Commerce Committee. ii The study identifies approaches to protection proposed by different constituent groups. For this work, witnesses testifying at Congressional hearings are categorized and associations are made between these categories and positions on the bills, views of the issue, and potential solutions are presented. The testimonies are analyzed by extracting the witnesses‘ descriptions of the issue, the source of the issue and recommended policy solutions.
    [Show full text]
  • January, 1971 Vol
    SCIENCE &S!gCHNOLOGY , ESEiS irSll JliL ! 5 January, 1971 Vol. 20, No.1 CD Computer Chooses Carnations ~---------~~---------- PER I ODIC ALS SEC 1263 399045 ...................... 01 0 4 1 80 W SAN CARLO S ST *0 1271 S AN J OSE CA 95113 Now. A monolithic memory lets you forget stop-and-go keypunching. IBM announces a keypunch that isn't stop-and­ The U9's monolithic memory will store up to six different go. It's another reason we're the company behind card formats so your operators can change them easily the computer. without interrupting their work flow. We have a keypunch that's designed to help your people Exclusive options: An "accumulate" feature will total become more productive. selected card fields. Another feature provides a count of It's called the IBM 129 Card Data Recorder. keystrokes and cards. It comes in models that both punch and verify cards. It has all these new advantages. Yet it has the same And it lets your operators key data into a monolithic familiar keyboard. So your operators won't have to be memory that serves as a buffer before the cards are punched. retrained to use it. What does this new technology mean to you? We believe our job is to help you get the most out of your It means that your operators can key data continuollsly. computer. Even while another card is being punched and stacked. And that is another reason we're the company behind It means that thev can make corrections before a card is the computer.
    [Show full text]
  • Information Theory, Evolution, and the Origin of Life
    Information theory, evolution, and the origin of life HUBERT P. YOCKEY CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS CA\15RIDG£ \J);IVE;<SITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo, Mexico City Cambridge University Press 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473• USA wv1rw.cambridge.org Information on this tide: www.cambridge.org/978opu69585 © Hubert P. Yockey 2005 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2005 Reprinred 2006 First paperback edition 2010 A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data Yockey, Hubert P. Information theory, evolution, and the origin of life I Huberr P. Yockey. p. em. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) . ISS� 0·521·80293-8 (hardback: alk. paper) r. Molecular biology. 2. Information theory in biology. 3· Evolution (Biology) 4· Life-Origin. r. Title. QHso6.Y634 2004 572.8 dc22 2004054518 ISBN 978-0·)21-80293-2 Hardback ISBN 978-0-52H6958-5 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for rhe persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Information theory, evolution, and the origin of life Information TheOI)\ Evolution, and the Origin of Life presents a timely introduction to the use of information theory and coding theory in molecular biology.
    [Show full text]
  • Open Source Bioinformatics:The Intersectionbetween Formal Intellectual Property Laws and User Generated Laws in the Scientific Research Commons
    OPEN SOURCE BIOINFORMATICS:THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN FORMAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS AND USER GENERATED LAWS IN THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH COMMONS Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Law at the University of Tasmania for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by James Scheibner, BComp-LLB (Hons), Grad Cert Research Centre for Law and Genetics,University of Tasmania November 2018 99,950 Words Declaration of Originality This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University of Tasmania or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in this thesis, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of this thesis, nor does the thesis contain any material which infringes copyright Authority of Access This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copyright and communication in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. Statement of Ethical Conduct The research associated with this thesis abides the international and Australian cods on human and animal experimentation, the guidelines by the Australian Government’s Office of the Gene Technology Regulator and the rulings of the Safety, Ethics and Institutional Biosafety Committees of the University. DATE OF SUBMISSION 26 November 2018 SIGNED DATE - JAMES KEVIN SCHEIBNER i Open Source Bioinformatics: The Intersection between Formal Intellectual Property Laws and User Generated Laws in the Scientific Research Commons This thesis examines the interplay between national copyright and patent laws, and informal user generated norms in the governance of open source bioinformatics projects.
    [Show full text]
  • Cancer Letter May 16 1997
    Vol. 23 No. 19 May 16, 1997 © Copyright 1997 The Cancer Letter Inc. All rights reserved. Price $265 Per Year US $285 Per Year Elsewhere Senators Urge Grassroots Support For Health Research Fund Legislation Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) last week urged cancer researchers and patient advocates to generate grassroots support for legislation that would institute a 1 percent surcharge on Professional Societies: insurance premiums and channel these new funds to medical research. ASCO Opposes FDA The bill to create the National Fund for Health Research (S. 441), On Stem Cell introduced by Specter and Harkin, seeks to raise as much as $6 billion Transplant Regs annually for NIH, of which about $1.1 billion, would go to NCI, the . Page 4 bill’s sponsors say. The two senators requested grassroots support for the trust fund at (Continued to page 2) Haylock, Krebs Lead Oncology Nurses In Brief . Page 5 Baltimore Named President, Caltech; Watson, Weinberg, Win National Medals of Science DAVID BALTIMORE has been appointed president of the NCI Programs: California Institute of Technology. Baltimore, professor at the Institute Partners Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will assume the post this fall, With Two Groups according to a statement by the Caltech Board of Trustees. Baltimore On Psychosocial Issues succeeds Thomas Everhart, who has been president for the past 10 years. Page 6 Baltimore, who received a Nobel Prize in 1975 for his work in virology, was founding director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT from 1982 to 1990, and president of Rockefeller University, until he was forced to resign in 1991 after defending a colleague, Theresa ORI Finds Hopkins Imanishi-Kari, from allegations of scientific fraud.
    [Show full text]
  • THE MANY STEPS and EVOLUTION in the DEVELOPMENT of COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY TECHNOLOGY and IMAGING METHODS, the QUEST for ENHANCED VISIBILITY the First Fifty Years
    MEDICAL PHYSICS INTERNATIONAL Journal, Special Issue, History of Medical Physics 4, 2020 THE MANY STEPS AND EVOLUTION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY TECHNOLOGY AND IMAGING METHODS, THE QUEST FOR ENHANCED VISIBILITY The First Fifty Years Perry Sprawls Emory University and Sprawls Educational Foundation, www.sprawls.org. USA • Abstract— Computed Tomography (CT) is considered the second most significant contribution of physics and technology to medicine following Roentgen’s discovery and introduction of x-ray imaging, radiography. CT is an x-ray imaging process but greatly extends the scope of structures, functions, and conditions within a human body that can be visualized for medical diagnosis. Compared to radiography CT provides two major advantages, It is a tomographic method that provides close viewing (within millimeters) of objects and locations within a human body without interference from overlying body sections. The second value is its high contrast sensitivity, the ability to produce visible contrast among different soft tissues, even when enclosed within a dense bony skull. The production of CT images is a sequence of two distinct phases. The first is scanning an x-ray beam around a patient body and measuring the total attenuation along different pathways through the slice of tissue that is to be imaged. This produces a data set consisting of large number (1000s) of measurements. The second phase is a mathematical process of calculating, generally referred to as “reconstructing” a digital image from the acquired data set. Allan Cormack, a physicist, first developed a mathematical process for calculating the distribution of x-ray attenuation values throughout a simulated body section.
    [Show full text]
  • Early Days of CT: Innovations (Both Good and Bad)
    Early Days of CT: Innovations (Both Good and Bad) Robert G. Gould Department of Radiology University of California San Francisco The Names: An Incomplete List • Johann Karl August Radon 1887‐1956 • William Henry Oldendorf 1925‐1992 • Allan McLeod Cormack 1919‐2004 • Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield 1919‐2004 • Robert Ledley 1924‐ Sir Godfrey Hounsfield • Elected to Royal Society 1975 • Nobel prize 1979 shared with Allan Cormack 1919‐2004 EMI Head Scanner First clinical image (Atkinson‐ Morley Hospital London EMI Head Scanner Dose information 1972 sales brochure EMI Head Scanner Geometry: Translate rotate, pencil beam Scan time: 4.5‐20 min Rotation Angle: 1° Number of views: 180 Samples per view: 160 Total samples: 28,800 Matrix: 80 x 80 FOV: 23.5 cm Pixel size: 3 x 3 mm Slice thickness: 13 mm or 8 mm X‐ray tube: Fixed anode Technique Factors: 100 (40), 120 (32), 140 (27) [ KVp (mA)] X‐Ray Controls Detectors: NaI‐PMT Cost: ~$350,000 Question: What machine was the first multislice CT? Answer: EMI head scanner! It had 2 detectors along the Z‐axis. EMI Head Scanner • ‘Print out scale’ + 500 First truly digital device in radiology 1972 sales brochure EMI Head Scanner 1972 sales brochure EMI: Rise and Fall 1971: Prototype head scanner installed at Atkinson Morley Hospital 1972: First clinical results presented by James Ambrose, MD on 70 patients 1973: Clinical production, two units installed in the US at Mayo Clinic and at MGH 1974: ACTA whole body scanner installed 1975: 3rd generation machines installed 1975: 10 companies now make CT scanners including
    [Show full text]
  • History and Epistemology of M Olecular Biology and Beyond
    M A X - P L A N C K - I N S T I T U T F Ü R W I S S E N S C H A F T S G E S C H I C H T E M ax Pl anc k Ins t i tut e for the His tory of Sc i enc e 2 0 0 6 P R E P R I N T 3 1 0 W o r k s h o p H i s t o r y and Ep i s t e m o logy of M o lecu la r B i o logy and Beyond : P r ob le m s and Pe r spec t i ves Collecting and Experimenting: The Moral Economies of Biological Research, 1960s-1980s. Bruno J. Strasser I. Introduction Experimentation is often singled out as the most distinctive feature of modern science. Our very idea of modern science, that we trace back to the Scientific Revolution, gives a central place to this particular way of producing knowledge. The current epistemic, social and cultural authority of science rests largely on the possibility of experimentation in the laboratory. The history of the sciences over the last four centuries reminds us that experimentation has only been one out of many ways in which scientific knowledge has been produced. However, by most accounts, experimentation has progressively come to dominate all the others, in most fields of science, from high energy physics to molecular biology. In the life sciences, the rise of experimentalism has been cast against the natural history tradition, leading to its progressive demise.
    [Show full text]
  • The American Mathematical Society
    AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY V OLUME 8 , NUMBER 2 ISSUE NO. 5 3 APRIL 1961 THE AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY Edited by GORDON L. WALKER CONTENTS MEETINGS Calendar of Meetings . • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • . • . • • • . • • • • • • • 84 Program of the April Meeting in New York . • • • . • . • • • . • • • . • . • . • . 85 Abstracts for the Meeting- pages 139-155 Program of the April Meeting in Chicago • . • • • • • • • • . • • . • • . • . • • • • 94 Abstracts for the Meeting- pages 156-165 Program of the April Meeting in Stanford • • • • . • • • • . • • . • • • • • • . • • 98 Abstracts for the Meeting - pages 166-173 PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENT OF MEETINGS • • • • • • • • . • • • • . • . • • • . 101 ACTIVITIES OF OTHER ASSOCIATIONS • • • • . • • • • • • • . • . • • . • • • . • • • • • . 102 NEWS AND COMMENT FROM THE CONFERENCE BOARD OF THE MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES • • • • • • • • • . • • • . • • • . • • . • • . • • 103 MATHEMATICS IN TRANSLATION • . • • • . • . • • . • • • • • • . • • • • . • • • • • . • 111 THE PROPOSED DOCTOR OF ARTS DEGREE - B.y E. E. Moise • • • • • • • • • • • • 112 RUSSIAN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY OF MATHEMATICAL TERMS........ • • • • 116 REPORT ON RECIPROCITY AGREEMENTS. • . • . • • • • • . • . • • • • • . • • • • • 119 NEWS ITEMS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS , , •• , , , •••••••••• , ••• 115,137,155,125 PERSONAL ITEMS • • . • • • . • • . • . • • • • • . • • • • • . • . • • • • . • . • . • . 127 ERRATA. • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • . • . • . • . • • . • . • • • . • • . • . • • • • • • 132,130 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ••••••...••...••••••.
    [Show full text]
  • Computed Tomography: an Overview
    Computed Tomography: An Overview CLRS 408: Introduction to CT Rebecca Keith, MS, RT(R)(CT) Outline: 1. Meaning 2. Process 3. How CT Scanners Work 4. Historical Perspective 5. Digital Image Processing 6. Applications of Volume Scanning CT is a Key Diagnostic and Imaging Tool Cross-sectional imaging Cancer treatment planning Trauma / Emergency Vascular imaging Cardiology ‘Fusion’ imaging 1 In the beginning, there was Radiography … Discovered by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895 ◦ 2D photo of a 3D structure ◦ Great for internal anatomy X-ray tube Image receptor (IR) Limitations of Radiography ◦Superimposed anatomic structures ◦Hard to differentiate similar tissues (poor contrast resolution) ◦Not quantitative Tomography “Process of recording a section” ◦ Body Section Radiography and Stratigraphy 1920s ◦ Tomography - 1935 Uses motion of x-ray tube and IR to blur out structures above & below level set by technologist ◦ Contrast resolution better than radiography but not as good as CT imaging ◦ Limited use today ◦ Nephrotomograms ◦ Digital Tomosynthesis (breast, chest, bone) 2 Conventional Tomography Beginning of exposure End of exposure Anatomy at this level will appear sharp on radiograph ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Anatomy above and below will be blurred End of exposure Beginning of exposure Simulation Patient with Right Flank Pain ◦Radiography order of KUB (Kidneys, Ureters, Bladder) ◦Radiopague structure seen overlying right transverse process of L3 and psoas muscle ◦Stone in the kidney? Ureter? Artifact from GI tract? ◦Poor Contrast Resolution
    [Show full text]
  • Development of Computed Tomography
    Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances: Development of Computed Tomography Amar Bhidé Srikant Datar Katherine Stebbins Working Paper 20-004 Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances: Development of Computed Tomography Amar Bhidé Harvard Business School Srikant Datar Harvard Business School Katherine Stebbins Harvard Business School Working Paper 20-004 Copyright © 2019, 2020, 2021 by Amar Bhidé and Srikant Datar Working papers are in draft form. This working paper is distributed for purposes of comment and discussion only. It may not be reproduced without permission of the copyright holder. Copies of working papers are available from the author. Case Histories of Significant Medical Advances Development of Computed Tomography Amar Bhidé, Harvard Business School Srikant Datar, Harvard Business School Katherine Stebbins, Harvard Business School Abstract: We describe how Computed Tomography (CT) scanners - that combine x-rays and computers to image soft tissues of the brain and other organs -- have become a widely used diagnostic tool. Specifically, we chronicle the: 1) the initial development of CT technology and markets (in the 1960s and 1970s); 2) Broadening of uses and users (in the 1980s); and 3) introduction and adoption of combination scanners (in the 1990s). Note: This case history, like the others in this series, is included in a list compiled by Victor Fuchs and Harold Sox (2001) of technologies produced (or significantly advanced) between 1975 and 2000 that internists in the United States said had had a major impact on patient care. The case histories focus on advances in the 20th century (i.e., before this millennium) in the United States, Europe, and Japan -- to the degree information was available to the researchers.
    [Show full text]
  • Medical Informatics Defined
    Medical Informatics Defined http://prezi.com/cgtbsvhuzzyt/copy-of-the-history-of-health-informatics/ 15 Intriguing Facts About the History of Informatics http://mastersinhealthinformatics.com/2011/15-intriguing-facts-about-the-history-of-informatics/ 1. The first computer is widely considered to be the Abacus. However, an interesting bronze construction, with a crank, might actually be a computer of sorts. It’s called the Antikythera Mechanism, and it was dated to as far back as 100 B.C. There is speculation that it might have provided mechanical (albeit analog) computation. 15 Intriguing Facts About the History of Informatics http://mastersinhealthinformatics.com/2011/15-intriguing-facts-about-the-history-of-informatics/ 2. The first modern computer is credited to John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry. The first electronic-digital computer was built sometime between 1939 and 1942. It was a collaboration between professor Atanasoff and his graduate student, Berry, at Iowa State university. 15 Intriguing Facts About the History of Informatics http://mastersinhealthinformatics.com/2011/15-intriguing-facts-about-the-history-of-informatics/ 3. The first professional informatics organization was started in 1949 — even before computers gained widespread acceptance (although computers did exist). Gustav Wagner founded a professional organization in Germany, and from there it spread. 4. Countries that first embraced specialized training for informatics included Germany, France, Belgium and The Netherlands. These specialized informatics training programs became popular during the 1960s. 5. Health care informatics started out with a variety of different names. Some of these names included medical computing (which is still used today), computer medicine, medical electronic data processing, medical information science, and medical automatic data processing.
    [Show full text]