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Biotech Revolution - 1990s
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The 1990s...
In the past decade, Dolly the sheep was cloned and scientists finished a draft of the human genome. People became worried that humans would also be cloned and scientists would create designer babies. Embryonic stem cell research led to public debate over the potential benefits and the ethics of harvesting human embryos.
1990s - Specific genes are identified
Researchers pinpointed genes that cause diseases such as obesity, Alzheimer's disease and breast cancer. In 1990, the gene that determines gender was found and a few years later the 'gay gene' was discovered. In 1994, John Wasmuth found the gene for dwarfism and realised his work was going to raise controversial ethical issues.
1997 - Dolly the sheep is the world's first clone
Ian Wilmut created Dolly by transferring the genetic material from a cell of an adult sheep to an unfertilised egg. The egg grew into a sheep named Dolly, who was a clone of the sheep that provided the DNA. The creation of Dolly sparked public concern about cloning humans.
2000 -The human genome is mapped
A draft of the human genome was available in 2000 - 12 years after the project began. It is thought the information about the human genome will allow scientists to find out the role of different genes and how they interact.
2000 - Stem cells are harvested from human embryos
In 2000, Professor Alan Trounson from Monash University in Melbourne announced he had taken stem cells from human embryos and grown them in the lab. Stem cells are able to grow into any type of tissue in the body and Trounson highlighted their potential for developing a cure for paraplegia, Parkinson's diseases and diabetes. The ethics of harvesting human embryos became a hot topic and in 2002 politicians voted to allow stem cell research to continue.
2001 - Biotechnology unravels the past
Australian anthropologist Dr Alan Thorne from the Australian National University, used biotechnology to analyse DNA from skeletons found in the dried up bed of Lake Mungo in the western outback of New South Wales. Thorne dated the skeleton to be 60,000 years old - the oldest Australian ever found - and suggested humans arrived in Australia 70,000 year ago, allowing 10,000 years for humans to migrate from the north of Australia to Lake Mungo. But Thorne's results were controversial. Two years later Dr James Bowler from the University of Melbourne redated the skeleton to be only 40,000 years old.
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