Undergraduate - UnitBTH1802 - Fundamentals of biotechnology

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Science
Organisational Unit	School of Science, Malaysia
Offered	Malaysia First semester 2014 (Day) Malaysia Second semester 2014 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Professor Mark Sandeman (Gippsland); Dr Kumaran Narayanan (Malaysia)

Synopsis

This unit will cover classical and modern biotechnology, including recent developments in molecular biology and its applications in such diverse areas as agriculture, forestry, food, medicine and marine sciences. This includes an introduction to bio-prospecting and pharmaceuticals; genomics, proteomics and bio-informatics; environmental and industrial biotechnology and the current issues and concerns surrounding biotechnology. Related topics such as human genome project, risk assessment, bio-safety and genetically modified organisms and crops, cloning, patents, ethics intellectual property rights and the regulatory framework for biotechnology in various countries will be discussed.

Outcomes

On completion of this unit students will be able to:

Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental techniques and the basic principles of molecular biology and recombinant DNA technology that are required for biotechnology;

Demonstrate an understanding of the applications and impact of biotechnology in the areas of agriculture, medicine, and industry;

Assess and manage occupational health and safety issues related to biotechnology activities in the laboratory, and in environmental and industrial settings;

Demonstrate understanding of the basic concepts of biotechnology business, intellectual property rights, and the regulatory framework governing the biotechnology industry;