Strand F: Biotechnology

Mitosis is an important part of cell division that helps organisms grow and repair themselves.

Many people have had children using assisted reproductive technologies. But some of these medical biotech techniques can raise some ethical issues.

Learn about two taxonomy systems that scientists use to classify the life around us.

Errors during meiosis can alter the number of chromosomes in cells and lead to genetic disorders.

In April 2016, Let’s Talk Science volunteer Daniel Tarade donated stem cells to help a person who needed a stem cell transplant to survive. Learn what stem cells are, how and why people donate, and what Daniel’s experience was like.

Ethanol is a biofuel that can power a car. Learn about the enzymes, catalysts and processes like fermentation involved in ethanol production.

Be a biochemist! Learn how to extract DNA from an onion and find out what DNA looks like.

Medical biotechnology allows scientists to make changes to the genomes of living things. What are the pros and cons of having access to techniques like these?

When the cells of Henrietta Lacks were collected by medical researchers after her death in 1951, it changed the future of medicine.

This backgrounder explains the different ways that cells repair damage to DNA.

In 2013, many Europeans learned their beef lasagnas were actually made of horse meat. Learn about food fraud, and how a Canadian invention can help detect it.

When a person has cancer, CAR-T Therapy uses their own cells to destroy the cancer cells in their body.

Learn the basics of how DNA can be extracted from cells.

This backgrounder explains the effects of radiation on cells and DNA.