Biotechnology is the application of biological molecules and processes towards medicine, agriculture, environmental sustainability, and biofuels and biomaterials. Biotechnology in Medical Sciences provides a comprehensive overview of the many different aspects of medical biotechnology: basic biological concepts, including key discoveries; significance to therapeutics and diagnostics; and ethical issues and challenges. Dr. Khan has previously carried out stem cell research projects for a biotechnology company and holds two patents in stem cell technology. Currently, he is a bioethics and biotechnology business professor at Manipal University, Dubai.
In Chapters 1 and 2, Khan makes a compelling introduction to medical biotechnology by giving a few, well-known examples of its contributions to human health. Following this, Chapters 3 to 12 provide an overview of the many different topics in biology and their significance in advancement of biotechnology. Topics include, but are not limited to: antibiotic, antiviral, and vaccine development; use of recombinant DNA technology for synthesis of medically valuable proteins; gene therapy; synthetic biology; stem-cell therapy and cell/tissue engineering; and the application of molecular biology techniques for diagnostic screens and forensic science. Importantly, each chapter includes a brief history and an explanation of basic concepts. This precedes a discussion of its applications to medical science and challenges that the sub-field faces. Each chapter concludes with a list of notable pioneers in the field and references for further reading.
In Chapter 12, the focus shifts to drug discovery and the pharmacogenomics for understanding individual drug responses. This segues nicely into the application of biotechnology towards personalized medical treatments, including health screens and prenatal testing. Relatedly, Chapter 13 elaborates on ethical concerns around prenatal and embryo screening, in addition to bioethics concerns around human cloning, gene therapy, xenotransplantation, and the influence of different religious and socio-political views.
The final two chapters highlight the business, regulation, and law of biotechnology, and related career opportunities in each of these aspects. This includes descriptions of a basic business plan, funding sources, regulatory agencies, and field trends, which are reinforced by examples of partnerships, market trends, and mergers in biotechnology. Although these examples may quickly become dated, they give a good sense of the rapid-changing nature of the field. Career opportunities in biotechnology range from research and development in both basic research and clinical labs, to quality control and management.
All-in-all, Biotechnology in Medical Sciences provides an overview of various aspects of biotechnology and is best used as a reference guide to non-scientists or novices to biotechnology. A clear outline and thorough glossary make it especially well-suited for this purpose. In addition, this book covers a wide range of topics with concise descriptions, aided by simple graphics illustrating fundamental techniques and scientific concepts. Thus, this book is suitable for its intended audience of non-scientists; I would further recommend it to early undergraduate science majors, who will likely find the list of notable pioneers in the field and references interesting and useful.
