Brittany+Feuerstein

History of Brittany Feuerstein
Brittany grew up in a small town called Niskayuna, NY, just outside of Albany. After graduating with an advanced regents diploma, she went to Cornell University and graduated with a degree in Biomedical Engineering and Genetics and Development. After working in a research facility in Oklahoma for 3 years, Brittany got married to her husband, _, and they have no kids. She currently resides in Tennessee where she continues to work with top scientists to cure genetic diseases with Recombinant DNA Technology.

History of ReGen
ReGen was founded in 1997 by James McMillan, an Irish immigrant who suffered, along with most of his family, with diabetes. After hearing about Recombinant DNA Technology, he started ReGen with the hopes that he could cure people who suffered from genetically inherited diseases. McMillan moved to Memphis and along with some of the other great scientific minds of the age, began work on finding cures for diseases such as diabetes, hemophilia, and cancer.

Today, as CEO and head scientist of ReGen, I hope to use the research and successes of McMillan and his past time to make treatment for these diseases, easier, cheaper, and more accesible. My company is 110% dedicated to those who depend on our developments for a better life. We take no government hand-outs for funding, and the public continues to be more than generous with donations. With all this in mind, ReGen has decided to take an extra step in diabetic medicine.

History of Recombinant DNA Technology
In 1972, only 19 years after the discovery of DNA and the double helix form by Fraklin and, and the A-T; C-G pairings by Watson and Crick, Paul Berg was able to perform the first succesful attempt at Recmobinant DNA. He did this using an E. Coli restriction enzyme called EcoRI (Eco R one).

One year later, Herbert Boyer, Stanley Cohen and Annie Chan worked together to be the first to transform the E. Coli bacteria. The team also inserted a Tetracyclene resistance gene so that the bacteria that did not receive the plasmid would not survive to produce colonies. In 1990, the first successful gene therapy experiment was performed on a four year old girl who could not produce white blood. cells, and therefore could not fight disease.



How Recombinant DNA Technology Works
There are three methods for Recombinant DNA, the most common being "Transformation." Transformation Recombination Technology works as follows: The section of a Gene that codes for, as an example, hemophilia, is found in the DNA of a bacteria and isolated. Then, the codon for the selected gene is cut from the DNA and from a section of a plasmid with a restriction enzyme. Next, the desired section of of DNA is inserted into the plasmid along with, in general, an antibacteria resistant gene and another indicator such as a glow gene that can be used to detect whether or not the Plasmid has made its way into the bacteria.

After selecting the section of DNA and other notifiers, these are attached into the plasmid with "sticky ends," which is basically a DNA ligase enzyme that bonds the two together very, very carefully and precisely. Now with the completed plasmid prepared, the mixture with the plasmids and the bacteria can be put into a test tube and are ready for a hot water bath. This allows the pores in the bacterial cell membrane to open up and allow the plasmid to slip in. However, if the bath lasts too long, the bacteria will die. Finally, with the plasmid added, putting the bacteria in a petri dish with food and an antibacterial solution added to kill off deficient cells, the bacteria will undergo binary fission, growing a dish full of bacteria with new DNA.

Structure of Recombinant DNA Technology

Current Uses of Recombinant DNA Technology
Recombinant DNA is used for a variety of different medicines and therapies such as: **Insulin** Recombinant DNA is used to insert Insulin from other animals such as pigs or cows into a plasmid that can then be injected into an insulin-dependant diabetic. **Hep B Vaccine** Because Hepatits B cannot be grown in vetro like many viruses, Recombinant DNA must be used to create an antigen, which in this case happens to be produced in yeast. **Blood Clotting Factor VIII (Hemophilia)** This use of Recombinant DNA codes the DNA so that it will produce the protein (Factor VIII) that allows blood to clot.
 * Growth Hormones **Human Growth hormone is given to patients with malfunctioning pituitary glands (the gland in the brain that controls growth). With this medicine, people are able to grow or stop growing, depending on the situation. Unfortunately, many athletes choose to take advantage of such a drug and use it as a game-enhancing steriod.

What ReGen Plans to Create
With the help of some of the greatest minds in the country, ReGen has decided to create a product that will make taking medicines insulin and other Recombinant DNA therapies easier, less painful, cheaper, and a little more, shall we say, tasty. As a company, our goal is to use Yogurt, a food made entirely from good bacteria, as a host for the genes for our patients. Studies have already shown that E. Coli bacteria will work time and again, so it's time to start expanding the horizons.



Yogurts infused with DNA that code for proteins like Factor VIII and Insulin will be an easy and virtually painless way for patients to get their medication on a daily basis. Hopefully, ReGen will be able to make this a reality in the near future.

References:
"An Introduction to Recombinant DNA." //www.rpi.edu.// RPI.edu. 2000. Web. Jan 16, 2012. http://www.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/Projects00/rdna/rdna.html

"Boyer and Cohen." http://tncollege.blogspot.com

"Breif History of Genetic Technology." //www.utsouthwestern.edu.// UTSouthwestern.edu. 2000. Web. Jan 19, 2012. http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/vgn/images/portal/cit_56417/40/39/178088histbiotech.pdf

"Gene Therapy - A Revolution in Progress." //history.nih.gov.// NIH.gov. ND. Web. Jan 19, 2012. http://history.nih.gov/exhibits/genetics/sect4.htm

"Insulin." http://explore.ecb.org/videos/VLC_file?TYPE=Image&P1=1174&REFERER=OTHER

"Life Sciences Graduate Fields." //gradeducation.lifesciences.cornell.edu.// Cornell.edu. 2012. Web. Jan 10, 2012. http://gradeducation.lifesciences.cornell.edu/allfields

"Paul Berg." http://www.nndb.com/people/631/000100331/

"Recombinant DNA." http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Recombinant-DNA-and-Biotechnology.topicArticleId-8524,articleId-8439.html

"Recombinant DNA." //www.wikipedia.org.// Wikipedia.org. 2012. Jan 21, 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recombinant_DNA#Applications_of_recombinant_DNA_technology

"Yogurt Bacteria." []