File:Coast watch (1979) (20037389214).jpg

Title: Coast watch
Identifier: coastwatch00uncs_10 (find matches)
Year: 1979 (1970s)
Authors: UNC Sea Grant College Program
Subjects: Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology
Publisher: (Raleigh, N. C. : UNC Sea Grant College Program)
Contributing Library: State Library of North Carolina
Digitizing Sponsor: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

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c •Jay the word "biotechnology" these days and most folks think of Dolly the sheep and the public controversy whirling about cloning. But biotechnology is more than just cloning. It's high-tech science, a relative newcomer on the research block. It encompasses everything from pharmaceuti- cal development to bioremediation to DNA research. Technically, biotechnology is defined as "using living organisms (or parts of organisms) to make or modify products, to improve plants or animals, to develop microorganisms for beneficial uses or to develop materials that mimic molecular structures of living organisms." Clearly, some of the most exciting scientific research in the world today occurs in this field. Of course, if it's Sea Grant research, it's marine biotechnology. Sea Grant scientists explore the biochemical capabilities of marine organisms to develop new pharmaceuticals, chemical products, enzymes and industrial processes as well as vaccines, diagnostic tools, bioremediation techniques and genetically altered organisms for aquaculture and the seafood industry. Marine biotechnology also provides new tools and approaches to better understand ecological relationships among marine organisms and to help define fisheries stocks — information that will help improve marine resource management. Currently, the National Sea Grant College Program funds 125 marine biotechnology projects at an average of $100,000 per project. An estimated 20 to 25 percent of the projects have industrial matching funds or collaborators. Others have partners in resource management agencies. This research advances science, trains students for careers in high technology and provides foundations for commercial development. Recently, Sea Grant showcased some of its marine biotechnology research at a briefing in Washington, D.C., for journalists, policy-makers and congressional staff. This month, Coastwatch highlights three of the scientists who presented their work at the briefing. • Parke Rublee, a North Carolina Sea Grant researcher and a biologist at the University of North Carolina at Greens- boro, is developing a DNA probe to detect the toxic di- noflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida in the environment. • Michael Kane, a Florida Sea Grant scientist and botanist at the University of Florida, is studying the DNA of sea oats to determine genetic diversity and survival traits. With this information, horticulturists can identify hardier, faster-growing strains for stabilizing dunes on the East and Gulf coasts. • A.P. "Hap" Wheeler, a South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium scientist and biochemist at Clemson University, has developed a protein polymer analogue patterned after the proteins in oyster shells. Because the protein is biodegradable, it has widespread commercial application. □ COASTWATCH 3

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