Medicine
Antibiotics: penicillin, the first antibiotic, is made by the mould Penicillium chrysogenum. It is produced on a huge scale in fermenters. Many other antibiotics also come from fungi or bacteria.Insulin: people with type 1 diabetes need insulin injections. Insulin used to be extracted from the pancreases of pigs and cattle. Now the human insulin gene is inserted into bacteria (such as E. coli) or yeast, which then make human insulin in fermenters. This gives a large, reliable supply of pure human insulin, avoids reactions to animal insulin, and removes ethical objections to using animal tissue.Other products from microorganisms include enzymes, vaccines and some hormones. Because the organisms can be genetically modified, the list of drugs made this way keeps growing.Bioremediation
Bioremediation is the use of microorganisms to break down pollutants and clean up contaminated sites, such as soil or water polluted by oil, pesticides or sewage. It can be done in two ways:
• Using naturally occurring microorganisms that already break down the pollutant. Their growth is encouraged, for example by adding nutrients or oxygen. Bacteria that digest oil have been used to clean up oil spills.
• Using genetically modified microorganisms engineered to break down a specific pollutant.Bioremediation is often cheaper and less damaging than chemical or physical clean-up, and the pollutant is usually converted into harmless products such as carbon dioxide and water. However, it is often slower, and it only works on pollutants that microorganisms can break down.
Antibiotics: penicillin, the first antibiotic, is made by the mould Penicillium chrysogenum. It is produced on a huge scale in fermenters. Many other antibiotics also come from fungi or bacteria.Insulin: people with type 1 diabetes need insulin injections. Insulin used to be extracted from the pancreases of pigs and cattle. Now the human insulin gene is inserted into bacteria (such as E. coli) or yeast, which then make human insulin in fermenters. This gives a large, reliable supply of pure human insulin, avoids reactions to animal insulin, and removes ethical objections to using animal tissue.Other products from microorganisms include enzymes, vaccines and some hormones. Because the organisms can be genetically modified, the list of drugs made this way keeps growing.Bioremediation
Bioremediation is the use of microorganisms to break down pollutants and clean up contaminated sites, such as soil or water polluted by oil, pesticides or sewage. It can be done in two ways:
• Using naturally occurring microorganisms that already break down the pollutant. Their growth is encouraged, for example by adding nutrients or oxygen. Bacteria that digest oil have been used to clean up oil spills.
• Using genetically modified microorganisms engineered to break down a specific pollutant.Bioremediation is often cheaper and less damaging than chemical or physical clean-up, and the pollutant is usually converted into harmless products such as carbon dioxide and water. However, it is often slower, and it only works on pollutants that microorganisms can break down.