ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
2024-2025 EDVOTEK ® RESOURCE GUIDE
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Can Biotechnology Help the Environment?
Biotechnology and the environment are not usually as- sociated in a positive way these days. However, the use of molecular biology techniques has rapidly improved environ- mental monitoring in recent years and biotechnology may help to solve some environmental problems in the future. The sensitivity of molecular biology enables scientists to quickly and accurately identify both the type of contami- nation and its source, and whether it is microbial or man- made. For instance, use of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) enables the identification of outbreaks of pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7 much more quickly than was possible using traditional microbiology techniques. Such methods could take days or even weeks to identify a pathogen and could never be able to identify the source of contamination with complete accuracy. This has now all changed thanks to developments in molecular biology.
Students can try both traditional and molecular techniques for analyzing contamination. In Kit #S-30 How Clean Is the Water We Drink and Air We Breathe , your students can iden- tify contamination using simple microbiology techniques. Kit #951 Chromogenic Analysis of Water Contaminants uses more sophisticated microbiological techniques and fluores - cent dyes. In parallel with the increased use of molecular techniques to detect and identify contamination and pollution, the same techniques are being developed to remove pollution once it has happened. Traditional methods to clean up oil spills with detergents cause almost as much harm as the oil itself. New methods using oil eating bacteria remove the oil without causing harm to the environment. Your students can try this for themselves with Kit #956 Bioremediation by Oil Eating Bacteria .
Science Education that Doesn’t Harm the Planet! Science Education that Doesn’t Harm the Planet!
Here at EDVOTEK® we are consistently looking for ways to reduce waste, save energy, and provide you with new and improved products that are safer for you and better for the environment. From our stain- ing techniques, to our packaging, to our Safety Data Sheets and ex- periment literature, we believe that it is through the small changes by many rather than grand actions by a few that will make the difference.
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