Scarborough Biotechnology offers free guide to help people understand genetic engineering

SCARBOROUGH, U.K. - Dec. 2, 2018 - PRLog -- Biotechnology terms, such as CRISPR, genome edits and GMOs, are making their way out of the labs and into everyday lives, proving that genetic engineering is now an undeniable force that will shape everything from what people eat to how long they live. Scarborough Biotechnology, a biotechnology company that is creating tools to master the genome, is offering a genetic engineering guide for students, business owners, and just people wondering how this technology will change the world, according to Macauley Coggins, director of Scarborough Biotechnology. "

The guide includes a brief history of genetic engineering and a summary of key terms and methods in the field. For example, the guide explains that transgenesis is when genetic engineers take a gene from one organism and insert it into another one. When researchers talk about gene knockins, they are referring to inserting a specific gene into a certain place in the chromosome, which is a string of nucleic acids and proteins that holds genetic information. Likewise, a gene knockout is the removal or replacement of a gene in the chromosome.

Coggins also said the guide helps people understand poly-omics and how computers can now be used to model the metabolism, also called in-silico.

"In the past, the only way you could study metabolism was to do it in the body -- in vivo -- or in a test tube -- in vitro," said Coggins. "That is also very expensive. Now, we can use computers to model the human metabolism, which is much quicker, more efficient, and less expensive way to start the experimental process."

Researchers can now, for example, use software, like Scarborough Biotechnology's Snapshot, to study how much metabolite a protein can produce before they even begin to verify the process in the body, or in a test tube.

The guide also explains how gene therapy has made strides in medical cures and seems poised to make breakthroughs in diseases once thought to be incurable, or even untreatable. Gene therapy is being either studied, or used to treat patients with hemophilia and blindness.

"It's an incredible and an exciting time to be involved in the genetic engineering industry and we believe that having more trained people will help create cures for some of the world's most deadliest and most debilitating diseases," said Coggins.

You can request your copy of the Guide to Genetic Engineering, or find out more information about Snapshot genetic engineering technology, by visiting www.scarboroughbiotech.com or send us an email at support@scarboroughbiotech.com.