Monthly Archives: February 2017

Mission Statement

The mission of the Biotechnology Program at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls is to provide its students with an education that establishes a strong foundation and appreciation for understanding developments in the rapidly advancing field of biotechnology, to develop the technical and critical thinking skills necessary for success in the field, to foster ethical behavior, and to promote outreach.

The field of modern biotechnology was born of molecular biology and biochemistry. Modern Biotechnology provides a set of tools that allow scientists to modify and harness the genetic capabilities of organisms. This has led to rapid advances in many areas including pharmaceutical development, agriculture, food microbiology, medical devices and environmental sciences.

Some examples of the products of biotechnology include herbicide, drought and insect resistant crops, drugs targeted specifically to disease processes resulting in fewer side effects, and bioremediation capable of removing greater amounts of environmental toxins at reduced cost.

The Biotechnology major at UWRF is an interdepartmental program with an emphasis on the molecular basis of life and the techniques utilized to study and control these processes under in vivo, in vitro, and commercial production conditions. UWRF LogoThe Biotechnology curriculum is an integrated sequence of courses selected from the curricula of the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Animal and Food Science, and Plant and Earth Science. It includes both traditional offerings of the departments involved and courses that reflect advances in biochemistry, biophysics, and molecular biology. The Biotechnology major is designed to provide students interested in pursuing careers in this rapidly expanding field with the academic background required to either secure entry level positions in industry or to continue their education in graduate or professional schools. A student may complete a B.S. degree in Biotechnology in the College of Arts and Sciences or the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.

Current curriculum check list (2008-2009)

Planning sheets

A scholarship has been established that is awarded to an outstanding junior or senior biotechnology major that either has worked on a research project, or will be participating in a research project during the year of the scholarship award. Follow the link above for information regarding scholarship criteria, recipients of the scholarship, and contributing to the scholarship fund.

Assessment of student learning is important to the University, the Colleges and the Biotechnology Program. Through appropriate assessment practices, we maintain a strong, current degree program and improve the quality of the education our students receive.

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Biotechnology | University of Wisconsin River Falls

Scientists at the University of Illinois say they have developed a new technique of genetic engineering for basic and applied biological research and medicine. Their work ("Programmable DNA-Guided Artificial Restriction Enzymes"), reported inACS Synthetic Biology,could open new doors in genomic research by improving the precision and adherence of sliced DNA, according to the investigators.

"Using our technology, we can create highly active artificial restriction enzymes with virtually any sequence specificity and defined sticky ends of varying length," said Huimin Zhao, Ph.,D., professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, who leads a synthetic biology research group at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at Illinois. "This is a rare example in biotechnology where a desired biological function or reagent can be readily and precisely designed in a rational manner."

Restriction enzymes cut DNA at a specific site and create a space wherein foreign DNA can be introduced for gene-editing purposes. This process is not achieved only by naturally occurring restriction enzymes; artificial restriction enzymes, or AREs, have risen to prominence in recent years. CRISPR/Cas9, a bacterial immune system used for "cut-and-paste" gene editing, and TALENs, or transcription activator-like effector nucleases, which are modified restriction enzymes, are two popular examples of such techniques.

Though useful in genetic engineering, no AREs generate defined "sticky ends"an uneven break in the DNA ladder structure that leaves complementary overhangs, improving adhesion when introducing new DNA. "If you can cleave two different DNA samples with the same restriction enzyme, the sticky ends that are generated are complementary," explained graduate student Behnam Enghiad. "They will hybridize with each other, and if you use a ligase, you can stick them together."

However, restriction enzymes themselves have a critical drawback: the recognition sequence that prompts them to cut is very short, usually only four to eight base pairs. Because the enzymes will cut anywhere that sequence appears, researchers rely on finding a restriction enzyme whose cut site appears only once in the genome of their organism or plasmid, an often difficult proposition when the DNA at hand might be thousands of base pairs long.

This problem has been partially solved simply by the sheer number of restriction enzymes discovered: more than 3600 have been characterized, and over 250 are commercially available. "Just in our freezer, for our other research, we have probably over 100 different restriction enzymes," said Enghiad. "We look through them all whenever we want to assemble something. The chance of finding the unique restriction site is so low."

"Our new technology unifies all of those restriction enzymes into a single system consisting of one protein and two DNA guides. Not only have you replaced them, but you can now target sites that no available restriction enzymes can."

The new method creates AREs through the use of an Argonaute protein (PfAgo) taken fromPyrococcus furiosus, an archeal species. Led by a DNA guide, PfAgo is able to recognize much longer sequences when finding its cut site, increasing specificity and removing much of the obstacles posed by restriction enzymes. Furthermore, PfAgo can create longer sticky ends than even restriction enzymes, a substantial benefit as compared to other AREs.

"When we started, I was inspired by a paper about a related proteinTtAgo. It could use a DNA guide to cleave DNA, but only up to 70 degrees," continued Enghiad. "DNA strands start to separate over 75 degrees, which could allow a protein to create sticky ends. If there were a protein that was active at higher temperatures, I reasoned, that protein could be used as an artificial restriction enzyme. SoI started looking for that, and what I found was PfAgo."

In addition to replacing restriction enzymes in genetic engineering processes, Enghiad and Dr. Zhao believe their technology will have broad applications in the biological research. By creating arbitrary sticky ends, PfAgo could make assembly of large DNA molecules easier and would enable cloning of large DNA molecules, such as biochemical pathways and large genes.

The application of these techniques is broad-reaching, they say, ranging from discovery of new small-molecule drugs to engineering of microbial cell factories for synthesis of fuels and chemicals to molecular diagnostics of genetic diseases and pathogens, which are the areas Dr. Zhao and Enghiad are currently exploring.

"Due to its unprecedented simplicity and programmability (a single protein plus DNA guides for targeting), as well as accessibility...we expect PfAgo-based AREs will become a powerful and indispensable tool in all restriction enzyme or nuclease-enabled biotechnological applications and fundamental biological research," predicts Dr. Zhao. "It is to molecular biology as the CRISPR technology is to cell biology."

See more here:
Revolutionizing Biotechnology with Artificial Restriction Enzymes ... - Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (press release)

Biotechnology and technology stocks are dominating our charts to watch this week, because they are displaying strong technical momentum.

Esperion Therapeutics Inc. ESPR, +0.54% is absolutely rocketing. The clinical-stage biopharma, which is focused on developing drugs that treat cardiovascular disease, popped 29% on Friday in response to good clinical news from Amgen AMGN, -0.10% regarding its own cardiovascular drug. The stock followed through on Monday and then again Tuesday, up $2.48, or 14%, to $20.14 on nearly 3.4 million shares traded. The stock pulled back toward the close, testing the bottom of its rising channel and resting in a tight wedge formation. This formation looks poised to break to the upside, with the next target at the channel top near $22.

Exelixis Inc. EXEL, -1.69% also had a strong session on Tuesday, up 54 cents, or 2.7%, to $20.57, on nearly 6.7 million shares traded. The cancer-drug companys stock needs to get through the rising trendline, near $21, connecting the most recent tops from September, December and January. The challenge beyond that would be the mid-channel line at around $22.75, a break through that could accelerate the stock into the high $20s.

Finisar Corp. FNSR, +2.37% edged above resistance on Tuesday, though closed slightly below it, up 76 cents, or 2.5%, to $30.89, on 2.7 million shares. The provider of optical subsystems for data communications recently traversed from the top of its price channel at around $37 in December to the bottom just above $27 on January 23, before rallying in the last two weeks. The stock did close above its 50-day moving average at $30.77 on Tuesday, and a break above current levels could get it to $33.25 next, followed by $35.50.

KEMET Corp. KEM, +3.40% has been in a steady rising channel since its breakout in November. The stock last week bounced off the channel bottom and rallied after the electronic-capacitor maker beat Wall Streets third-quarter earnings and revenue forecasts. The stock popped on Thursday and Friday, had an inside day on Monday (remaining inside the price range from Friday), and on Tuesday it had another solid day, up 17 cents, or 2.2%, to 7.81, on 652,900 shares traded. The stock looks like its about to take out the $7.90 area, and run up toward the channel top in the $9-$9.75 area.

See Harrys video chart analysis on these and other stocks.

The writer has no investments in the stocks mentioned in this column.

Harry Boxer is the founder of TheTechTrader.com, a live trading room featuring his stock picks, technical market analysis and live chart presentations.

Original post:
Harry Boxer's stocks to watch: biotechnology and technology ... - MarketWatch

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See the article here:
Biotechnology Considerations for the Unitary Patent System in Light of Brexit and Other Current Developments - JD Supra (press release)