biotechnology

Bioactive compounds in microalgae biomass, such as protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids, vitamins and minerals, play an important role in functional food. Their favorable effects on human health, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antiviral effects, as well as prevention of stomach ulcers, constipation, anemia, diabetes, and high blood pressure, have been proven. With the increase in cancer diseases, bioactive compounds extracted from microalgae can be a suitable alternative to synthesized chemical products. The probiotic function of many microalgae is due to their ability to produce biologically active substances, including hormones, neurotransmitters, and immune stimulants. In addition, algae polysaccharides stimulate the growth of beneficial intestinal microorganisms, so they act as very efficient prebiotics. Finally, many components of microalgae cells and the chemical agents they produce, can be very significant in their own right as potentially valuable metabiotics. The results of reviewing a large number of articles in this field showed that despite the basic potential of microalgae in food formulation, extensive research and efforts are still needed so that microalgae can be used commercially in food and feed formulation.

In this study, we delve into the international legal dimensions of biotechnological practices applied to the human body. Our analysis covers a broad range of critical issues. First, we examine the legislations governing stem cell research and the methods for preparing stem cells, exploring how different countries regulate these advanced biomedical procedures. Second, we review the declarations and frameworks established by international legal systems to set boundaries on biotechnological research, ensuring it aligns with global ethical standards. Third, we analyze assisted reproductive techniques, such as in vitro fertilization, and the ethical and legal challenges they pose, including the implications of using these technologies. Additionally, we address the potential impacts of genetic interventions on a child's future life, particularly in the context of preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Finally, we scrutinize the controversial area of human cloning, focusing on the various legal and ethical concerns it raises worldwide. This research is theoretical in nature, employing a descriptive-analytical method to provide a comprehensive overview of these complex topics.

Gold and silver nanoparticles are utilized in various industrial applications because of their unique properties. Physical, chemical, and green methods exist to synthesize these plasmonic nanoparticles. In green synthesis, biocompatible compounds, plants or their extracts, and microorganisms such as yeast, bacteria, actinobacteria, fungi, and algae are used to synthesize gold and silver nanoparticles. These biological sources have biomolecules that produce plasmonic gold and silver nanoparticles by reducing gold and silver ions. Green synthesis is easy, secure, high-yield, economically sensible, and eco-friendly. The synthesized nanoparticles should be characterized to determine their physiochemical properties (size, shape, surface, homogeneity, stability, and other properties). There are various techniques for the characterization of plasmonic nanoparticles, such as transmission electron microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared, dynamic light scattering, and zeta potential. Gold and silver nanoparticles have diverse applications including antimicrobial and antitumor activities, usage in textile, food, and agriculture industries, wastewater treatment, and bioremediation. This review paper aims to introduce gold and silver nanoparticles and their synthesis approaches with an emphasis on green synthesis, explain different characterization techniques, and express the applications of these nanoparticles in biotechnology.

More than forty states worldwide currently pursue explicit political strategies to expand and promote their bioeconomies.  Since the 21st century, developed countries have paid increasing attention to bioeconomy strategies. In particular, since the spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, global biotechnology has been expanding, and the impact of public health and biosafety events has increased significantly. Therefore, bio-economic strategies have attracted unprecedented attention. In this article, four paths of bioeconomy developments are briefly mentioned. The extent of bio-economic developments that lead to increased sustainability along these lines depends on the structure of effective governance mechanisms. In this context, it is necessary to arrange and study international bioeconomy strategies. This article examines selected national and international bioeconomy strategies as well as their characteristics.

Over the past few years, due to the shortage of forest resources as well as the increasing consumption of paper and paperboard, many pulp and paper manufacturers have developed the use of different sources of recycled (secondary) fibers. Therefore, recycling of paper is an effective and eco-friendly way to preserve forest resources, which eventually save the natural diversity and energy. The use of biotechnology in various sectors of the cellulosic products industries such as bio-pulping, bio-bleaching, bio-deinking, bio-wastewater treatment, etc. has been considered and good achievements have been obtained in this field. One of the most important applications of biotechnology in the cellulosic industries is the use of enzymes in the processing of recycled fibers. The use of enzymatic technologies, as environmental friendly process, has led to changes in industrial processes as much as possible and indicated great potential in solving many problems of recycled fibers, especially problems related to waste paper deinking, pulp drainage rate, fiber hornification, refining and stickies materials. In general, deinking with enzymes under acidic or neutral conditions declines the chemicals usage and reduces the yellowing of recycled paper under conventional alkaline deinking conditions. Today, the use of cellulosic enzymes (cellulase and hemicellulase) and oxidative enzymes (such as laccase) as well as amylase and pectinase have shown acceptable results for deinking different types of waste paper and most experiments in semi-industrial as well as industrial units have shown that deinking with them can reduce the cost of chemicals, increase the separation of ink particles

In the last two decades, given the importance of biotechnological drugs and their important role in the treatment of chronic wounds, studies have predicted that the market for advanced wound care targeting surgical wounds and chronic wounds is likely to reach $15-22 billion by 2024. Therefore, in the present study, the recent advances in biotechnology in the field of preparing wound dressings from compounds obtained from plants and animals for people with diabetic foot ulcers have been discussed. In this research, the methods and approaches of delivery of therapeutic agents for the treatment of DFUs and in fact the recent results of in vitro and in vivo studies, emphasizing the unique potential of wound dressings based on natural polymers in the treatment of DFUs, have been collected and analyzed. This expansion is expected to be driven by advances in technology, increased incidence of chronic wounds, and an increasing elderly population. A review of the challenges ahead in the treatment of chronic wounds reveals the inadequacy of the effectiveness of some wound care products, suggesting that families and governments must contend with medical challenges for longer periods. Diabetic foot ulcer (DFIU) is a chronic ulcer that can cause severe infections and even amputation. Biomaterials that are currently used as matrices for wound healing can be classified into natural and synthetic types according to their origin. Natural biomaterials such as chitosan, alginate, cellulose, hyaluronic acid, silk fibroin, and collagen have been widely recommended for diabetic foot wound healing due to their easy degradability, remarkable biocompatibility, reduced inflammatory responses, and non-immunogenic nature. Biotechnology guarantees the possibility of using natural biomaterials to develop advanced wound dressings with appropriate and patient-friendly therapeutic results.

Genome editing technologies, especially CRISPR / Cas9, have a wide variety of applications in medicine, agriculture and industry. Nowadays, in many research centers and companies around the world, this technology is in use in the laboratories for the treatment of viral diseases, cancer and even plant breeding. The emergence and ease of working with this technique, which detects specific sequences of the genome, revolutionized gene editing and led to unexpected scientific advances and discoveries in gene therapy, disease modeling, and drugs were discovered, synthetic biology, neuroscience and agricultural sciences .Because the ability to make genetic changes in living cells and organisms is a fundamental tool in biological research, achieving specific targeted changes is very necessary and important. Genome editing has become very common with the emergence and development of nucleases with guide RNA. The system combines a scissor-like protein called Cas9 with a guide molecule (gRNA) that acts like a detective, locating a specific location in the genome and cutting it.

Coral bleaching, loss of symbiotic algae of Symbiodinium sp. or photosynthetic microalgae pigments from their coral host have become commonplace in recent decades due to the rising of sea temperatures and changes in physicochemical factors. It is essential to study the susceptibility of corals to bleaching, the physiology of its symbiotic algae, and its capacity to cope with abiotic stress. Oxidative stress is of particular importance due to the fact that it can be caused by photosynthetic dysfunction drived by temperature and other physicochemical factors. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of physicochemical factors on the photosynthetic performance of Symbiodinium sp. symbiosis with Stichodactyla haddoni in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. To determine whether the cultured Symbiodinium sp. has different sensitivities to oxidative stress and whether winter and summer play a role in oxidative stress and coping with it, DPPH test and Freak ion reduction method (FRAP) were used and Physicochemical factors were measured through the HQ40D prototype device. Moreover, air data (wind speed) was obtained from the website www.irimo.ir. Statistical analysis was performed through one-way analysis of variance at the level of 0.05 and heatmap analysis. The results showed that the highest antioxidant capacity was assigned to Symbiodinium sp. extract in Chabahar in winter (IC50:135.768 μgr/ml) and the lowest antioxidant capacity was allocated to Chabahar in summer (IC50:349.090 μgr/ml). Ferric ion reduction of Symbiodinium sp. extracts showed the highest inhibition compared to ascorbic acid at a concentration of 2 mg/ml (0.297) and the lowest inhibition at a concentration of 0.063 mg/ml (0.015) in Chabahar in winter.

Glutathione s transferase (GST) is one of the largest protein and multigene families present in all plant species and other living organisms. With respect to these proteins, which are highly ‌inducible to stress and internal and external stimuli, several functions in plants have been identified, including implication in secondary metabolism, growth and development, detoxification of herbicides, as well as coping with environmental stresses such as drought, heat, and salinity through antioxidant activity. These enzymes lead to cell detoxification by binding glutathione to a variety of substrates such as endobiotics and xenobiotics. Most GSTs are cytoplasmic soluble enzymes, but mitochondrial and microsomal isoforms are also have been known in plants and animals. This article presents some of the most important recent findings on the evolution of GST, its frequency and structural features, with an emphasis on their role in plants. Also, the latest applications of this family of proteins in environmental biotechnology will be mentioned.

Complexity is a prominent aspect of our world today that imposes requirements on national and international thinking, institutionalism and governance. Almost all areas of human life, including the economy, have been overshadowed by this phenomenon. Although the idea of changing economic paradigm is not new, the comprehensive requirements and challenges of the 21st century have transformed it from a "choice" to a "must". The occurrence of the global pandemic crisis of the Covid-19 disease is a convincing proof of this necessity which emphasizing such a change as well as introducing its origin, i.e. biological sciences and technologies. Scientific advances in biology have led to the fact that instead of depending on natural resources as raw materials, they can be reproduced with the help of biological data, molecules and systems. Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, it seems that the fusion between biological and data sciences has led to a huge and disruptive leap which put the world on the brink of a revolution in economy. In this article, the transformative aspects of biological science developments in the context of the global economy and the emergence of the bioeconomy as irreplaceable alternative of the oil economy is briefly discussed.

Inulinases are a class of enzymes that are widely used to produce fructose syrup. Due to the importance of this group enzyme in the production of fructose and high fructose syrup, developed countries continue to research in this field. The most important source of inulinase production is microorganisms. In this article, firstly, the structure, types, and applications of inulinases are mentioned and then its global market is discussed based on various criteria. Further, solid-state fermentation is overviewed as a suitable production system for industrial production of this enzyme and finally, the production and refining stages as well as challenges in their production are addressed and solutions to overcome these problems are proposed.

When it comes to intelligence and clever behavior, the first picture that comes to mind  advanced creatures like mammals and ranked first in humans. However, do non-advanced organisms such as microorganisms have clever intelligence and behavior? Are there strategies and mechanisms for different situations? In addition, do they have the program to survive? Communicative competences and the use of the semiochemical vocabulary enable bacteria to develop, organise and coordinate rich social life with a great variety of behavioral patterns even in which they organise themselves like multicellular organisms.They  have existed almost four billion years and still survive; they have been during the evolutionary history and have made adjustments. Recent researches have shown that bacteria are derived ability of the edit genome from viruses.In this paper, microbial intelligence and their presence in microbial communities and illustrates some communication paths between bacteria and viruses were studied. Biotechnological applications of microbial social relationships are determined and the new strategy revealed against pathogenic bacteria based on these same communicative and routine interactions between bacteria.

The term bioethics has many roots, but it is generally considered to mean medical ethics. The application adopted in this paper is somewhat broader and includes environmental ethics and social, biological, and biomedical ethics at the high school and university levels for the disciplines of experimental sciences and biology. It is important that biologists and those who teach biology be aware of the ethical and social consequences of their work and have the intellectual tools to enter into this discussion; therefore, it is necessary to consider the criteria related to bioethics in schools and universities. This program is primarily designed for users of biology and science education but is also open to students in other disciplines. The present review study is based on data collected from Google Scholar, PubMed, and Science Direct search engines and using the keywords bioethics, biology education, biotechnology, and content knowledge pedagogy (PCK) reflects on increasing students' awareness of social and ethical issues. The development of life sciences, especially modern biotechnology, was considered; because the growth and development of students as active, self-regulating, and autonomous individuals who can make informed decisions and moral justification on social issues in the life sciences is very important and practical.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel coronavirus responsible for an ongoing human pandemic (COVID-19). There is a massive international effort underway to develop diagnostic reagents, vaccines, and antiviral drugs in a bid to slow down the spread of the disease and save lives. One part of that international effort involves the research community working with plants, bringing researchers from all over the world together with commercial enterprises to achieve the rapid supply of protein antigens and antibodies for diagnostic kits, and scalable production systems for the emergency manufacturing of vaccines and antiviral drugs. Here, we look at some of the ways in which plants can and are being used in the fight against COVID-19.

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the role of transgenic crops in human health. In this paper, which is based on studies conducted in the corners of the vast world, the role of biological reinforcement of plant products, transgenic functional foods and biological drugs derived from these plants is discussed. The results indicate the undeniable benefit and effect of these products on the prevention and treatment of many diseases and physical problems. By using the right strategies and creating the necessary conditions for this industry, it is possible to benefit from this industry and take a step towards the production of technology, resistance economy and job creation. Transgenic plants (genetically modified) are widely distributed around the world. It may be tempting to kill and plant these plants in the short term, but their longterm effects on the environment and human health are in a state of ambiguity. Unfortunately, for more than a decade, transgenic plants have entered Iran's food basket without any labeling or compliance with the Carthage Protocol. Given the ambiguous state of transgenics and the risk to Iran's organic farming and exports, it does not seem necessary to rush into cultivating them. With the release of transgenics in farms and gene escape, there will be no turning back.