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Food BioTech
A food biotechnology timeline. -
Francesco Redi
Redi compares two ideas as to how maggots appear on meat. He sees that covered meat does not develop maggots, while meat left open to flies does. This is one of the first uses of a control group, an important factor which contributes to the accuracy of the experiment. -
Ernst Hoppe-Sayle
Ernst discovers invertase, an enzyme which cuts the disaccharide sucrose, a sugar made of two molecules, into glucose and fructose. This is still widely used in making sweeteners. This is an important discovery pertaining to the field of chemicals and food. -
Gregor Mendel
Gregor Mendel, who spent 41 years studying 'heredity' factors in pea plants, dies. Having had no scientific recognition in his life, soon before his death he says, "My time will come." Mendel does not just crossbreed plants; He studies how they crossbreed. -
Andrei Nikolaevitch Belozersky
Andrei isolates pure DNA for the first time. This isolation means that scientists can perform experiments on DNA without interference from other chemicals. -
First Recombinant Organism
The BioTech revolution: scientists successfully create a recombinant organism by putting viral DNA into a bacterium. This is important because it is the very first. Now that we know that we can do this, hundreds of recombinant plants and animals will follow. -
Genetically engineered bacteria
Researcher Steven Lindow requests US Gov't permission to test genetically engineered bacteria which would control damage by frost in potatoes and strawberries. The fact that these bacteria were ready for testing is an important step. From there, we go on to actually using genetically modified organisms. -
FlavrSavr Tomato
The FlavrSavr is the first genetically engineered food to receive US Food and Drug Administration. Now that the food is in the system, others will follow. Soon, many of the foods will be modified in some manner. -
Human Genome
The human genome is sequenced in draft form & announced jointly by the private company Celera Genomics and a public consortium (including the US Nat'l Institute of Health, Sanger Institute UK and other international research teams). Now that they knew the human genome, they could start modifying it. Humans with animal DNA are a tangible possibility. -
The Banteng
The banteng, an endangered species of cattle, is cloned for the first time in the USA. Other cloning firsts include donkeys, deer, and horse. Cloning means they can save endangered species of animals from dying out altogether. If the clones are made able to reproduce, the species may repopulate itself. -
GM Foods Tested
GM drought resistant tomatoes, salt-tolerant oats, and high-calcium potatoes are tested. GM food testing is an important part of making sure that it safe and convenient for commercial use. These new plants are able to produce more food than regular plants, which means more food to feed everybody. -
'Super-Crops'
'Super Crops' are created which drastically change food production in countries around the world. These new crops not only increase food production around the world, they make the food products we buy that much cheaper. -
GM Animals
More GM animals are used commercially, such as sheep modified to produce higher-quality wool or cows made to produce better beef. More GM animals are tested in labs around the world, from mice modified to be purple or pink to dogs changed especially to have hypoallergenic fur or be resistant to certain kinds of diseases.