The Life Sciences:

The study of Life Sciences covers a broad field that studies living organisms. Fields like biochemistry, botany, cell biology, genetics and molecular biology are some of the branches covered by this term.

The National Institute of Science Media is a leading publisher of research and study oriented books in the field of science and its various branches. Joel Ball, the lead author at the NISM is a renowned figure in scientific and publishing circles. Under the NISM name he has published books elaborating upon the study of biotechnology and science.

Students and researchers alike can benefit from the NISM biotechnology and science series which provide an in-depth analysis on subjects like biopharmaceuticals, bioengineering, biochemicals, clinical research methods, embryology, molecular diagnostics, etc.

Mankind’s Little Helpers:

50 to 100 million, that’s the number of vertebrate animals that scientists worldwide use for experimental reasons annually. An even larger number of invertebrates are used for scientific research, but these experiments on the whole are unregulated by the law and not calculated in annual statistics.

These ‘laboratory animals’ are mostly bred in research labs, and even fewer numbers are caught from the wild or are obtained from pounds. Mice, monkeys, dogs, sheep, fruit flies, birds are some of the common animals used for research purposes. Many animals have been instrumental in helping scientists win Nobel accolades as well. For instance, penicillin was tested on mice, organ transplants were experimented using dogs, etc.

While the subject of animal research is rather controversial to say the least; but scientific and medical research development is quite unimaginable without experiments being conducted on animals, birds, insects and fish.

Some of the common fields of animal research include experiments conducted for cosmetic, drug, toxicology, xenotransplantation, mutagenesis, developmental biology, evolutionary studies and pharmaceutical testing.

The National Institute of Science Media [NISM] is a leading publisher of study resources on the various branches of science. Joel Ball, lead author of the many study resources and career mentoring programs published under the NISM name is an established author in scientific and publishing circles.

Human Evolution Acceleration:

Today there are an estimated 6 billion people populating planet Earth. In spite of the many terrors that modern man has created [read nuclear weapons, advanced machinery, global warming, medicine wars, etc.] the Homo sapien race has flourished rather well.

Numerous developments in medicine, machinery and agriculture have also facilitated human survival in adverse environs. The human race today can attempt to claim that it can adapt to any environment, albeit a little hesitantly. But such an advanced state of development can hardly point out with clarity that the human race has stopped evolving.

A new study pointing to a contrary situation is doing the rounds in scientific circles today though. According to this study, human evolution has accelerated in the past 40,000 years and has zoomed a 100 times ahead in the past 5000 years alone. The fact that an increasing number of human beings are inter-breeding is apparently inconsequential if this analysis is anything to go by.

These proceedings indicate human evolution acceleration in about 1800 genes, roughly making up 7 percent of the human genome. According to John Hawks, lead author of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, a major segment of the mutation is the result of intense population booms.

Such mutation can be good news for us humans as scientists believe that the more the mutations, the better are the chances of genes that can improve human survival. Though research and data are still being collated to further this study, there are several advances that have been made.

If human evolutionary acceleration is really to be believed then there may be hope for improving resistance to diseases like malaria, AIDS and yellow fever. The National Institute of Science Media [NISM] is a leading publisher of study resources and material pertaining to the sciences and related fields.

Joel Ball, lead author of the titles published under the NISM name is a renowned figure in publishing and scientific circles. To know more about the books published by the NISM, click here.

Biotech careers:

Biotechnology is not all about white coated doctors hovering around petri-dishes and microscopes, finding out ways to make medicines and drugs better. The field of biotechnology is much more than that and holds immense career growth potential for a student.

The ‘biological revolution’ has led to a diversification in the field of biotechnology, encompassing an extensive choice of careers. Knowledge of biology, chemistry and other life sciences is necessary for a student to venture into this field.

Biotech students can put their knowledge to use in agriculture, biology, medicine, genetics and education, livestock production, environmental protection, veterinary medicine, plant science, forensics, energy production and even in corporate laboratories.

For students interested in biotechnology but without extensive expertise there are regulatory and authorizer positions which they can take up. A student can pursue a job in sales and marketing where intensive knowledge of biological processes and products can add value to the profession.

A job as a patent lawyer can also be very lucrative as a lot of corporations, universities, private research organizations and scientists have need of legal services to protect their discoveries and rights.

The career avenues that can be pursued in biotechnology are many and the National Institute of Science Media can be your guide to realizing where your contribution to the field lies. Joel Ball has published books and career resources pertaining to biotechnology and its study under the NISM name.

Visit us at www.w2il.org to know more about our other career resources.

Customized Medicines:

Ever wondered what would happen if you take a pill that perfectly understands your body and knows just how to make you well? It might not be that long before such a pill is actually prescribed by doctors and physicians if scientists dealing in a branch of medicine called pharmacogenomics have anything to go by.

Bioengineers have long been in the midst of developing medicines that are easier on the human body. The interaction between an individual’s genetic makeup and a particular drug or medicine is what they closely observe.

The study of pharmacogenomics combines the sciences of pharmaceuticals and genetics and tires to understand the DNA variations in the human genome. The immediate environment, personal diet, age, lifestyle, etc. are key factors that control the manner in which the human body responds to medicines, besides the genetic makeup of a body.

Biotechnology holds a lot of hope for the human generation. By developing drugs that understand and know how to adapt to an individual’s inherent genes, it aims to create safer and more efficient ways of treatment.

Joel Ball, President of the National Institute of Science Media [NISM] is a well-established publisher of books and study resources in the field of biotechnology and other sciences. Inputs for NISM books dealing with biotechnology come from renowned researchers, biologists, scientists and doctors.

Visit us online for books that enrich your life and enhance your mind.

Helping The Immune System:

A functioning individual’s immune system is the natural shield the body uses to keep viruses, bacteria and other disease causing organisms at bay. But unlike the respiratory system or the circulatory system, the immune system is a collection of mechanisms that are triggered into action as soon as it detects a virus.

For the immune system to detect and successfully destroy an invading virus or bacteria, it is vital that it distinguishes between the infectors and the body’s own healthy cells and tissues. This is a complex task though as these infectors are constantly evolving and adapting themselves to the characteristics of the host.

The good news is the extent to which the human body has evolved. Our adaptability to the various ills that come with a continuously changing world has helped arm the immune system better.

The progress made by immunoinformatics has greatly contributed in fortifying the human body further. Vaccines, drugs, antibiotics, organ transplants, etc. are the new defenses that have been developed by medical science to aid the immune system in its battle against pathogens.

The study of immunoinformatics is an emerging field of study that comes under bioinformatics. The advances made in this field of biotechnology are still being worked upon and developed by scientists.

New discoveries are being made every day in the research laboratories. The field has a bright scope for young minds looking to establish a career in the science of biotechnology. Visit the National Institute of Science Media for research and study material on biotechnology and related branches of science.

oel Ball is a renowned publisher of life enhancing books that enrich the mind of the student and researcher alike.

The Technology Of Cloning:

The term ‘clone’ has its etymological roots in the Greek word for ‘branch’ thus highlighting the origin of the biological science of creating a duplicate of a biological organism. You basically are cloning a plant when you grow it from a cutting. Cloning is also used to refer to the occurrence of asexual reproduction in an organism.

Scientists have been conducting and closely monitoring cloning activities for years. In 1997, the first mammal, a sheep named Dolly, was successfully cloned by scientists. This development in the field of biotechnology paved the path for growing awareness around this particular field of research.

There are three main types of cloning technologies. DNA cloning or recombinant DNA technology, which refers to transferring fragments of DNA from one organism to a genetic element that is capable of replicating itself. Molecular biology is one of the main proponents of this technology.

A second type of cloning process involves creating an animal using nuclear DNA that belongs to another animal. This type of cloning is known as reproductive cloning. The most famous example of reproductive cloning is Dolly the sheep.

Therapeutic cloning or embryo cloning is the third type of cloning technology that comes under the study of cloning. It refers to the generation of human embryos for research purposes. This type of cloning method is largely used by biomedical researchers to observe the development of the human body and find a cure for diseases and ailments.

Of all the cloning processes, embryo cloning has received the most amount of criticism as the embryo is completely destroyed during the extraction procedure. But biologists are convinced that stem cells [which are used in this process] can cure Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and other diseases one day.

It is this hope that has spurred the progress of cloning technologies. Visit the National Institute of Science Media [NISM] for resources and reading material on the science of biomedical engineering. Joel Ball, the President, is a veteran publisher of books that are useful for the student and scientist alike.