Category Archives: Biotechnology

What is potassium cyanide??

A chemical compound with the chemical formula KCN is commonly known as the Potassium cyanide. This is a colorless crystalline compound, highly soluble in water and is similar in appearance as that of sugar. Potassium cyanide is considered to be highly toxic in nature. Potassium cyanide is considered to be one of the most deadly compounds being discovered till date.

Production of Potassium Cyanide:

Potassium Cyanide can be produced mainly by treating hydrogen cyanide in the presence of a fifty percent of an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide. After that the aqueous solution is either evaporated in a vacuum or by treating the form amide in the presence of potassium hydroxide. On an average per year approximately fifty thousand tons of potassium cyanide are being produced all over the world.

Use of Potassium Cyanide:

Potassium Cyanide is mainly used for the purpose of electroplating, organic synthesis of a number of chemical compounds, gold mining and so on. In accordance with the large scale use of Potassium Cyanide, it is also used in smaller scale applications like in the jewelry manufacturing industry for chemical buffing and gliding. Other than those mentioned earlier, Potassium Cyanide is also used by the entomologists as it is an excellent killing agent, and it has the unique capability of causing minimum damage to the highly fragile specimens.

Mystery about Potassium Cyanide:

Since, the time of its invention, the biggest mystery that has been surrounded with Potassium Cyanide, is about the taste of it. Due to the fact that Potassium Cyanide is exceedingly poisonous substance and can cause death of a person in seconds, the taste of it has remained a mystery or a fact yet to be known to the world. Though, many researches and tests have been conducted to find the taste of Potassium Cyanide but none of them could come up with the appropriate result.

Different views about the taste of Potassium Cyanide:

There has been number of views among the scientists about the taste of the Potassium Cyanide, some of them are as follows:

· Since on hydrolysis of KCN, the resultant compound that are formed are KOH and HCN, which are strong base and weak base respectively, Potassium Cyanide is confirmed to be basic nature. Since at room temperature HCN is a gas which evolves and the solution is expected to have more KOH, so the taste of Potassium Cyanide is assumed to be bitter.

· Some, scientists who have died while finding the taste of Potassium cyanide, could only write the alphabet “S” before dying, so it is not conclusive whether it is sour, sweet or salty in taste.

Conclusion:

Though, a huge number of scientists sacrificed their lives in order to find the taste of Potassium cyanide, but it remained a mystery for long, until and unless a goldsmith from India named MP Prasad in an attempt to commit suicide with the help of Potassium cyanide could finally reveal the taste of Potassium cyanide. As per the suicide note of him the taste of Potassium Cyanide is very much acrid, that is irritatingly harsh and sharp. This fact about the taste of Potassium cyanide is approved by the World Health Organization and is marked as an extraordinary discovery in the field of science.

Source:
http://www.biotechblog.org/entry/mystery-cyanide-taste/

What is potassium cyanide??

A chemical compound with the chemical formula KCN is commonly known as the Potassium cyanide. This is a colorless crystalline compound, highly soluble in water and is similar in appearance as that of sugar. Potassium cyanide is considered to be highly toxic in nature. Potassium cyanide is considered to be one of the most deadly compounds being discovered till date.

Production of Potassium Cyanide:

Potassium Cyanide can be produced mainly by treating hydrogen cyanide in the presence of a fifty percent of an aqueous solution of potassium hydroxide. After that the aqueous solution is either evaporated in a vacuum or by treating the form amide in the presence of potassium hydroxide. On an average per year approximately fifty thousand tons of potassium cyanide are being produced all over the world.

Use of Potassium Cyanide:

Potassium Cyanide is mainly used for the purpose of electroplating, organic synthesis of a number of chemical compounds, gold mining and so on. In accordance with the large scale use of Potassium Cyanide, it is also used in smaller scale applications like in the jewelry manufacturing industry for chemical buffing and gliding. Other than those mentioned earlier, Potassium Cyanide is also used by the entomologists as it is an excellent killing agent, and it has the unique capability of causing minimum damage to the highly fragile specimens.

Mystery about Potassium Cyanide:

Since, the time of its invention, the biggest mystery that has been surrounded with Potassium Cyanide, is about the taste of it. Due to the fact that Potassium Cyanide is exceedingly poisonous substance and can cause death of a person in seconds, the taste of it has remained a mystery or a fact yet to be known to the world. Though, many researches and tests have been conducted to find the taste of Potassium Cyanide but none of them could come up with the appropriate result.

Different views about the taste of Potassium Cyanide:

There has been number of views among the scientists about the taste of the Potassium Cyanide, some of them are as follows:

· Since on hydrolysis of KCN, the resultant compound that are formed are KOH and HCN, which are strong base and weak base respectively, Potassium Cyanide is confirmed to be basic nature. Since at room temperature HCN is a gas which evolves and the solution is expected to have more KOH, so the taste of Potassium Cyanide is assumed to be bitter.

· Some, scientists who have died while finding the taste of Potassium cyanide, could only write the alphabet “S” before dying, so it is not conclusive whether it is sour, sweet or salty in taste.

Conclusion:

Though, a huge number of scientists sacrificed their lives in order to find the taste of Potassium cyanide, but it remained a mystery for long, until and unless a goldsmith from India named MP Prasad in an attempt to commit suicide with the help of Potassium cyanide could finally reveal the taste of Potassium cyanide. As per the suicide note of him the taste of Potassium Cyanide is very much acrid, that is irritatingly harsh and sharp. This fact about the taste of Potassium cyanide is approved by the World Health Organization and is marked as an extraordinary discovery in the field of science.

Source:
http://www.biotechblog.org/entry/mystery-cyanide-taste/

DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid it is the backbone of all living creatures on earth. It is a molecule, which is having a double helical structure and encoded with genetic instructions. It leads to the functioning of all living beings including viruses. DNA profiling is done by the forensic scientists. It depicts the nature of the DNA and act as a person identifier. By knowing the genomic sequences a scientist could easily predict the DNA of the person.

Identification Of Diseases

In this era this technology has become a boon or us in many ways. This concept of DNA testing is booming in the market like anything. It has become the latest rage specially in the health care market. Many companies are there who will promote you the test kits and let you know about the diseases like cardiac problem, any alzimers syndromes, any indication of breast cancer if have any. But here comes the argument many feeble minded people are there who will completely go against it. As the procedures includes blood testing and many people are phobic of syringes, then comes the acceptance of the disease if have any.

Benefits of DNA testing

Many women in our country are facing problem with breast cancer. As they are afraid of testing their blood and DNA. They don’t have the exact DNA marker. This is a big concern for the physicians as well. It is always recommended having a DNA testing for a healthy life. The risk factors get decreased than before and longevity will increase. Myopic thinking should be removed from the society and should learn to accept the truth. DNA testing will also give information about the allergic reaction with various pathogens. The life will be in a proper and better shape.

Detection of criminals

Normal people have a vague idea about this DNA testing which is not at all harmful. Through DNA testing crimes can also be detected. Like in the forensic lab the victim’s body will undergo a scrupulous check up and easily it will be detected about the death of the person. Many criminal lawyers take support from this process which make their job easy to detect the criminal. Though it’s not a good indication for the crime masters. By taking the blood sample or from the foot steps even, of the suspected person it will unveil the truth of the real murder. It can save our nation from crimes.

Detection of pregnancy

Many unrevealed and awful activities like rape case, illegal affairs lead to pregnancy. In many cases the male denied for becoming a father. The lady could easily raise her voice for justice, here

Comes the major role of DNA testing which will easily catch hold of the real father. Sometimes it is not safe for the pregnant woman to have DNA testing as it might cause harm to the fetus. The illegal activities in our society have inflated than before so DNA testing should play a vital role in the society of crimes.The lady will get justice and to deliver her baby.

As a whole it’s a win-win situation because some hospitals testing the DNA of the fetus take place, as an outcome they reveal the gender, which might lead to a death of a baby girl.This is an illegal activity. Some lawyers are also against this. But in this contemporary era one must believe in DNA testing to save our nation.

Source:
http://www.biotechblog.org/entry/dna-testing-good-bad-discuss/

Search for biotechnology and look at the massive results, now imagine a service that cuts out 95% of the static and gives you what you need.

Gloucester, MA (PRWEB) March 06, 2013

This is news because the amount of information coming from the Biotechnology sector represents a stubborn mountain to researchers. Computer Review cuts out the 95% noise and clutter of search engine results to deliver original sources from executives, companies and universities. Of the 3808 companies in 66 countries that Computer Review monitors in the Biotechnology sector, most provide original source material beneficial to subscribers.

The Biotechnology sector, concerned with developments in the life sciences to grow commercial products, continues to expand, encompassing new areas of inquiry like polymer based drug delivery, tissue regeneration and 3D Ultrasound image-guided radiotherapy. Bio-medicine and stem cell research comprise this sector, but it includes countless areas of study. For instance, if subscribers want to search for a physicians perspective on Parkinson's Disease and an overview of current treatments, then their search should begin with Computer Review's selection chart.

The latest scientific news on adult stem cell research or an understanding of why adult stem cell research is important can be found at Computer Review. It is a one-stop, comprehensive resource to the knowledge economy. Available interactively online, Computer Review covers today's news in the fast growing Biotechnology sector. With knowledge gained from the application of systems like adult bone marrow and stem cell transplantation and the treatment of cancer cells and the improvement of therapeutic drugs, researchers can discover the necessary information to produce commercial applications.

Just getting a handle on the pure biological sciences underlying Biotechnology takes an enormous amount of information. As the global knowledge economy grows and researchers' knowledge expands exponentially, information is becoming too big to quantify efficiently. Computer Review organizes vast amounts of information and presents it in an easy to use context. The self-updating directories at Computer Review allow unlimited access to invaluable source material.

Because the Biotechnology sector is grounded in the life sciences, there is an almost even distribution of source material from among countries in the world -- another reason to keep on top of the expanding global knowledge. The countries contributing significant information in Biotechnology include the US, India, Australia, China, France, Germany, Israel, Canada and the UK. Computer Review's ActiveTrak system monitors 30,000 organizations in 120 countries and formats the information for easy use. The Knowledge Economy Selection Chart allows subscribers to view knowledge of Biotechnology by categories including news, markets, executives, blogs, jobs and global information.

Knowledge is constantly evolving. Subscribers can research changes in the business of health care diagnostics or personalized therapies for cancer patients at Computer Review. The knowledge Computer Review helps subscribers understand a pharmaceutical company's annual goals and financial needs, or how a company has developed microsystems that harness energy and convert it to mechanical motion.

Topics like Tissue Regeneration technology, bioactive chemical compounds and functional genomics require a high level of original source information to be useful to researchers. Computer Review provides the source material and counts among its subscribers college universities as well as government and corporate libraries.

Enter any Biotechnology term or topic in a typical search engine and look at the results you get. Imagine a service that cuts out 95% of the clutter. Computer Review's subscribers get content-rich source material fast.

Visit link:
Computer Review Announces New Tools to Deal with the Flood of Information from the Biotechnology Sector

DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid it is the backbone of all living creatures on earth. It is a molecule, which is having a double helical structure and encoded with genetic instructions. It leads to the functioning of all living beings including viruses. DNA profiling is done by the forensic scientists. It depicts the nature of the DNA and act as a person identifier. By knowing the genomic sequences a scientist could easily predict the DNA of the person.

Identification Of Diseases

In this era this technology has become a boon or us in many ways. This concept of DNA testing is booming in the market like anything. It has become the latest rage specially in the health care market. Many companies are there who will promote you the test kits and let you know about the diseases like cardiac problem, any alzimers syndromes, any indication of breast cancer if have any. But here comes the argument many feeble minded people are there who will completely go against it. As the procedures includes blood testing and many people are phobic of syringes, then comes the acceptance of the disease if have any.

Benefits of DNA testing

Many women in our country are facing problem with breast cancer. As they are afraid of testing their blood and DNA. They don’t have the exact DNA marker. This is a big concern for the physicians as well. It is always recommended having a DNA testing for a healthy life. The risk factors get decreased than before and longevity will increase. Myopic thinking should be removed from the society and should learn to accept the truth. DNA testing will also give information about the allergic reaction with various pathogens. The life will be in a proper and better shape.

Detection of criminals

Normal people have a vague idea about this DNA testing which is not at all harmful. Through DNA testing crimes can also be detected. Like in the forensic lab the victim’s body will undergo a scrupulous check up and easily it will be detected about the death of the person. Many criminal lawyers take support from this process which make their job easy to detect the criminal. Though it’s not a good indication for the crime masters. By taking the blood sample or from the foot steps even, of the suspected person it will unveil the truth of the real murder. It can save our nation from crimes.

Detection of pregnancy

Many unrevealed and awful activities like rape case, illegal affairs lead to pregnancy. In many cases the male denied for becoming a father. The lady could easily raise her voice for justice, here

Comes the major role of DNA testing which will easily catch hold of the real father. Sometimes it is not safe for the pregnant woman to have DNA testing as it might cause harm to the fetus. The illegal activities in our society have inflated than before so DNA testing should play a vital role in the society of crimes.The lady will get justice and to deliver her baby.

As a whole it’s a win-win situation because some hospitals testing the DNA of the fetus take place, as an outcome they reveal the gender, which might lead to a death of a baby girl.This is an illegal activity. Some lawyers are also against this. But in this contemporary era one must believe in DNA testing to save our nation.

Source:
http://www.biotechblog.org/entry/dna-testing-good-bad-discuss/

Fountain of youth is referred to a spring. If a person drinks the water of it, he or she can easily restore the youth again in themselves. In his writing Herodotus has also mentioned about this concept. This has become a kind of legend and many a famous author like Homer or Shakespeare have also discussed about in the literature. Now the biggest question is that whether there is really any kind of such fountain on this earth or not.

How the search goes on:

The search of such a fountain goes generation after generation because men have always wanted more youth. With the progress of science men have made many an incredible thing successful. The use of stem cells and many other related inventions have made huge change in human life. Men and women are getting longer and fitter life. More researches on cells are going on and scientists are working very hard to invent various things by the help of which we can keep our youth for longer time.

What the concept is:

Though the whole thing comes from a myth but the main aspect of this thought is to get back the life again. Man has always searched for immortality. According to scientists, now they have found out a way to continue your youth for longer time. Actually our body can have the charm of youth because of cell division. Normally a cell can divide for fifty times and then gradually it stops and the characteristics of old age begin to come in the body. Now the scientists have succeeded to produce such a cell which can divide it over 90 times and still it will not get slow down. Scientists have used an enzyme with the chromosomes the name of which is Telomerase. Telomere shortening is the actual reason of gradually getting old. Now this enzyme will stop the normal shortening process of telomere and thus it can help you to keep your youth in yourself for longer time.

Its drawback:

This enzyme is undoubtedly one of the most incredible inventions at the moment but it may have some drawbacks. According to some of the scientists this shortening process of telomere is a natural process. Now this natural process can eventually ward off cancer. Now by adding this enzyme this natural process of body defense will be destroyed. Some of the scientists are worried of the consequences of that. More experiments are going on and after the successful completion of them the scientists will be able to state the result of this new invention.

Searching for longer life:

Most of the people on this earth like to have a longer life especially a longer youth in which he will have ample energy to enjoy all the entertaining aspects of life. The concept of fountain of youth has been traditionally carried forward generation after generation because of this continuous wish of longer life of human being.

The myth of finding a fountain where the water can be found which can bring back youth may not be found physically. However, progress of science can assure a longer youth for human. In recent future man is going to live a longer enjoyable life.

About The Author: Claudia is a writer/ blogger. She loves writing, travelling and reading books. She contributes to Caribbean Cruise Line Scam 

Source:
http://www.biotechblog.org/entry/real-fountain-youth/

Fountain of youth is referred to a spring. If a person drinks the water of it, he or she can easily restore the youth again in themselves. In his writing Herodotus has also mentioned about this concept. This has become a kind of legend and many a famous author like Homer or Shakespeare have also discussed about in the literature. Now the biggest question is that whether there is really any kind of such fountain on this earth or not.

How the search goes on:

The search of such a fountain goes generation after generation because men have always wanted more youth. With the progress of science men have made many an incredible thing successful. The use of stem cells and many other related inventions have made huge change in human life. Men and women are getting longer and fitter life. More researches on cells are going on and scientists are working very hard to invent various things by the help of which we can keep our youth for longer time.

What the concept is:

Though the whole thing comes from a myth but the main aspect of this thought is to get back the life again. Man has always searched for immortality. According to scientists, now they have found out a way to continue your youth for longer time. Actually our body can have the charm of youth because of cell division. Normally a cell can divide for fifty times and then gradually it stops and the characteristics of old age begin to come in the body. Now the scientists have succeeded to produce such a cell which can divide it over 90 times and still it will not get slow down. Scientists have used an enzyme with the chromosomes the name of which is Telomerase. Telomere shortening is the actual reason of gradually getting old. Now this enzyme will stop the normal shortening process of telomere and thus it can help you to keep your youth in yourself for longer time.

Its drawback:

This enzyme is undoubtedly one of the most incredible inventions at the moment but it may have some drawbacks. According to some of the scientists this shortening process of telomere is a natural process. Now this natural process can eventually ward off cancer. Now by adding this enzyme this natural process of body defense will be destroyed. Some of the scientists are worried of the consequences of that. More experiments are going on and after the successful completion of them the scientists will be able to state the result of this new invention.

Searching for longer life:

Most of the people on this earth like to have a longer life especially a longer youth in which he will have ample energy to enjoy all the entertaining aspects of life. The concept of fountain of youth has been traditionally carried forward generation after generation because of this continuous wish of longer life of human being.

The myth of finding a fountain where the water can be found which can bring back youth may not be found physically. However, progress of science can assure a longer youth for human. In recent future man is going to live a longer enjoyable life.

About The Author: Claudia is a writer/ blogger. She loves writing, travelling and reading books. She contributes to Caribbean Cruise Line Scam 

Source:
http://www.biotechblog.org/entry/real-fountain-youth/

Biotechnology exchange traded funds have reaped the performance benefits of merger and acquisition activity and the so-called patent cliff. This sector has produced some of the best-performing ETFs in 2012.

The past few years were particularly tough for small- and mid-cap biotechs. The unprofitable ones were trapped: They needed to burn cash, push their pipelines forward, and attract partners, but the debt and equity markets were essentially closed for business. Not surprisingly, merger activity has heated up in the biotech industry, providing another potential catalyst for investors, Robert Goldsborough wrote for Morningstar.

The potential for biotechnology to continue outperforming into 2013 is high. The generic competition is heating up putting the pressure on big pharma to find the best merges and acquisitions. Within the next few years, if Medicaid starts to cover more people, volume will be boosted for the drug industry. Morningstar believes this sector to be less vulnerable to government intervention than other healthcare sub-sectors. [More M&A Deals Could Boost Biotech ETFs]

The sector as a whole has been one of the best-performing in 2012. The Market Vectors Biotech ETF (BBH) gained 61% this year. The index tracks companies that create treatments for health conditions. 25 of the largest, publicly traded biotech firms are represented, with Amgen, Gilead, and Biogen top holdings. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) has gained 467% year-to-date. This ETF equally-weights 50 companies, taking on a completely different approach.[Biotech ETFs Hold Up During Rocky November]

The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) has gained about 44% this year. A history of five years with a cumulative return of 60% makes it hard to deny this ETF. Similar to BBH, IBB tracks large-cap biotech and pharmaceutical companies.[Election Could Make or Break Healthcare ETFs]

The biotechnology sector has managed to outperform all three major U.S. indices over the past year. While the sector is not noted for stable growth over the long term, it is known for dramatic performance and potential in innovative fields such as stem cell research, according to a report on Seeking Alpha. ETFs will continue to be the premiere method of investing in this sector due to the nature of young, upstart companies. An ETF allows investors exposure to several companies, while mitigating the risk of an upstart or smaller company going bankrupt.

Market Vectors Biotech ETF

Biotech ETFs Remain Hot Sector

Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.

Here is the original post:
Why Biotech ETFs are a Top Sector in 2012

LONDON (ShareCast) - Angel Biotechnology (Berlin: A3G.BE - news) , which makes stem cells for medical research, posted wider half year losses as it looks to complete the joint venture agreement with MMH.

Pre-tax loss widened to 2.86m for the six month period ended September 30th 2012 most of which is attributable to a write back of accrued revenue and contract liabilities related to joint ventures. Angel posted a loss of 241,000 the year before. Revenue for the period slipped to 1.07m from 1.4m previously.

The group, which has also suffered from client funding constraints, delays and cancellations, reported a loss per share of 0.08p compared to a loss of 0.009p previously.

Commercial Director and Acting CEO Dr Stewart White said: "The first half of 2012 has been a challenging period for Angel. The operational review of our business, measured against client requirements, has been thorough and has resulted in what we believe is the best outcome in the circumstances for our customers, staff and shareholders."

"The main outcome has been to progress the formation of the joint venture company with MMH, using our Pentlands facility, in addition to the proposed transfer of existing MMH contracts from Angel to the joint venture company."

The completion of the JV with MMH will reduce the group's cost base and will result in a lower fixed cost profile for the group and allow it to gradually scale up resources to match revenue opportunities, it explained.

"It is the aim of the board to provide a cash neutral H2 outturn at year end 2013 and to move towards positive free cash flow in 2013-14. At the same time, Angel is actively seeking strategic partnership opportunities for elements of its businesses to provide necessary contingencies and to convert market potential into earnings at an early stage," it said in a statement.

Shares in Angel Biotechnology plunged 16.47% at 0.7p at 09:00 in London.

CJ

Continued here:
Angel Biotechnology losses widen

Biotechnology simply means to develop or to make useful products with the help of using living systems. Over the years mankind has used biotechnology in several sectors like agriculture, food production and medicine. There are several sectors in which biotechnology can affect severely.

Biotech for human enhancement is the most profitable industry in the 21st century. Careers are influenced by genetic heritage. It is said that by 2020 people will be able to decipher human genome

Which is nothing but the blueprint of our DNA? One of the trends is towards the genetic solutions to the ills. There are several newly discovered drugs will save countless no of lives. These drugs can also eliminate many diseases. A lot of research works have been done on the recent trends for biotechnology. Research output continues to shift to ASIA. The current trends in biotechnology are its association with pharmacy. It is said that within few more years people will be able to turn on or turn off certain genes which can influence on health and performance. People can eliminate unwanted characteristics by using altered genes from their babies. People can also enhance their babies’ capabilities by using the same method. There is different classification of biotechnology having different application of each. Like white or industrial biotechnology helps in the production of chemical base materials and end products. Red biotechnology means development of new medical drugs. Biotechnology is the driving factor behind many applications in medicine. Green or Plant biotechnology is used in production of plants which are renewable recourses. Biotechnology is integrated use of many biological technologies. It also has trends in horticulture. One of the emerging trends in Biotechnology have been observed and noted in recent years. One such trend is the trend in partnering and acquisition of deals. This is applicable to the business perspective towards the delivery and realization of more up to date by products. So basically there are a lot of sectors in which biotechnology can affect. But one of the most suitable choices is pharmaceutical sector. People are focusing more and more now days on the use of biotechnological products. There are a lot of independent biotechnology companies which deals directly with these biotechnological products. Biotechnology is used to develop commercial product also. Biotechnology becomes central priority of the government’s research policy to ensure a high standing of biosciences and to develop newer innovation techniques. At present there are 25 different initiatives to financially support universities, research institutes. They all are working like a chain having same common objectives. There is a healthy competition in between the companies which in turn increases the level of biotechnological products. The key element of this initiative is Biopharma competition. So it depends on the people how they utilize biotechnological products for their better interest.

Biotechnology is a technology which never goes opposite to the nature.

We have to improve the biotechnology with the help of nature. Now a days lots of course are based on Biotechnology in various colleges all over the world. It becomes popular to all the students also.

Source:
http://www.biotechblog.org/entry/top-trends-biotechnology/