-
In China, the first antibiotic, mouldy soybean curds, is put to use to treat boils.
-
The first insecticide is produced in China from powdered chrysanthemums.
-
English surgeon Edward Jenner pioneers vaccination, inoculating a child with a viral smallpox vaccine.
-
Breeders crossbreed cotton, developing hundreds of varieties with superior qualities.
-
The first experimental corn hybrid is produced in a laboratory.
-
American pathologist Peyton Rous discovers the first cancer-causing virus.
-
Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin.
-
Hybrid Corn is commercialized
-
Penicillin is mass-produced in microbes for the first time.
-
The first synthetic antibiotic is created.
-
Artificial insemination of livestock is accomplished using frozen semen.
-
DNA is made in a test tube for the first time.
-
Recombinant human insulin is produced for the first time.
-
Human growth hormone is synthesized for the first time.
-
Smallpox is globally eradicated following a 20-year mass vaccination effort.
-
The U.S. Supreme Court approves the principle of patenting organisms, which allows the Exxon oil company to patent an oil-eating microorganism.
-
Scientists at Ohio University produce the first transgenic animals by transferring genes from other animals into mice.
-
The first recombinant DNA vaccine for livestock is developed.
-
The first biotech drug, human insulin produced in genetically modified bacteria, is approved by FDA. Genentech and Eli Lilly developed the product.
-
Genetic markers are found for kidney disease and cystic fibrosis.
-
The first recombinant vaccine for humans, a vaccine for hepatitis B, is approved.