Friday Conversation for May:  Biotechnology

May 2-3 conversation:  Genetics- cloning   - The Clone Age – Some scientists believe that advanced genetic technology will lead to even greater scientific achievements than the Industrial Revolution.  Breatkthroughs in genetics research have created new ways to solve crimes, breed animals, and extend human life.  They’ve also changed our understanding of DNA.  Other groups believe that science has gone too far and must be stopped?  What do you think?

May 9-10: Nano Technology – The study of controlling matter on an atomic or molecular scale.  Generally, nanotechnology deals with structures sized between 1 and 100 nanometer  in at least one dimension and involves developing materials or devices within that size.

What implications does/could this have? (socially, financially, ethically, environmentally, culturally, politically) What does this make you think about.

May 16-17: Medical Biotechnology-TEDTALKS-Nina Tandon: Could tissue engineering mean personalized medicine? Using biotechnology to create copies of your own body tissues, then individualize medicine to see how that medicine acts in each person.  Skin cells are manipulated to create different organ tissues and then are exposed to specific meds to see how your individual organs will react to that medicine. This research should help discover and evaluate drugs faster, cheaper and more effectively.

May 30-31: Gadgets - Students will view a short film clip about inventions and gadgets that change the way we live.  These inventions demonstrate human ingenuity and progress in technology.