M.R. El-Gewely - Böcker

Progress in the applications of biotechnology depends on a wide base of basic as well as applied sciences. The output of biotechnology has already proved itself in many different fields, from health to biomining, and from agriculture to enzyme "breeding".The objectives of the Biotechnology Annual Review series is to provide readers with the needed in-depth knowledge by reviewing specific topics in each volume. In this way, it is easier for scientists to keep in touch with progress and applications in biotechnology.Up-to-date topics are reviewed that are related to regulatory affairs, social impact, biodiversity and patent issues, as well as production and technology.

Biotechnology is in many aspects shaping our life and affecting our meansof production, and job creation. Progress in the applications of biotechnologydepends on a wide base of basic as well as applied sciences. The output of biotechnology has already proved itself in many diverse fields from health to biominingand from agriculture to enzyme “breeding”. It is therefore difficult to follow all thecurrent as well as the potential applications of biotechnology.The objectives of the Biotechnology Annual Review series is to attempt to provide readers with the needed indepth knowledge, in the form of chapters, byreviewing specific topics in biotechnology in each issue. The philosophy behindthis series is to encourage good reviews to make it easier for readers to keep intouch with progress and applications of biotechnology. We also encourage reviewing topics that are related to regulatory affairs, social impact of biotechnology, biodiversity, biosafety, public acceptance and patent issues.

Biotechnology is in many respects shaping our life and affecting our means of production and the creation of jobs. Progress in the applications of biotechnology depends on a wide base of basic as well as applied sciences. The output of biotechnology has already proved itself in many diverse fields from health to biomining and from agriculture to enzyme "breeding". It is therefore difficult to follow all of the current as well as the potential applications of biotechnology.

The objective of the Biotechnology Annual Review series is to attempt to provide readers with the needed indepth knowledge, by reviewing specific topics in biotechnology in each issue. The philosophy behind this series is to encourage good reviews to make it easier for readers to keep in touch with progress and applications of biotechnology. Reviews on topics related to regulatory affairs, social impact of biotechnology, biodiversity, biosafety, public acceptance and patent issues are also encouraged.

Biotechnology is in many respects shaping our life and affecting our means of production and the creation of jobs. Progress in the applications of biotechnology depends on a wide base of basic as well as applied sciences. The output of biotechnology has already proved itself in many diverse fields from health to biomining and from agriculture to enzyme "breeding". It is therefore difficult to follow all of the current as well as the potential applications of biotechnology.

The objective of the Biotechnology Annual Review series is to attempt to provide readers with the needed indepth knowledge, by reviewing specific topics in biotechnology in each issue. The philosophy behind this series is to encourage good reviews to make it easier for readers to keep in touch with progress and applications of biotechnology. Reviews on topics related to regulatory affairs, social impact of biotechnology, biodiversity, biosafety, public acceptance and patent issues are also encouraged.

Drafts of the human genome were published in Science and Nature magazines, last year. The human genome as well as the other completed genomes can now be searched using different databases.

The exponential increase of the sequence data lead to the development of the new "Bioinformatics" field in order to attempt making sense, at least biological sense, out of all the new and fast data.

It will take also other techniques such as "functional genomics" to link the gap between a specific phenotype or a treatment and a gene sequence. Functional genomics tools are therefore important for the accurate molecular diagnosis/prognosis, target discovery and validation needed for drug development and novel targets for antibiotics development. Functional Genomics are also important for the confirmation of therapy in pharmacogenomics studies. Applications of functional genomics techniques are equally important for progress in biotechnology applications of plants, animals and other organisms.

It is an exciting time to follow the new developments in the field of biotechnology and its wider applications in the different areas. The whole genomes of over 1000 viruses and over 100 microbes can now be found in Entrez Genome. The genomes represent both completely sequenced organisms and those for which sequencing is still in progress. The three main domains of life - bacteria, archaea, and eukaryota - are represented, as well as many viruses and organelles.

The exponential increase of the sequence data lead to the development of the new "Bioinformatics" field in order to attempt making sense, at least biological sense, out of all the new and fast data.

It will take also other techniques such as "functional genomics" to link the gap between a specific phenotype or a treatment and a gene sequence. Functional genomics tools are therefore important for the accurate molecular diagnosis/prognosis, target discovery validation needed for drug development and novel targets for antibiotics development. Functional genomics are also important for the confirmation of therapy in pharmacogenomics studies.

Biotechnology is in many respects shaping our life and affecting our means of production and the creation of jobs. Progress in the applications of biotechnology depends on a wide base of basic as well as applied sciences. The output of biotechnology has already proved itself in many diverse fields from health tobiomining and from agriculture to enzyme "breeding". It is therefore difficult to follow all of the current as well as the potential applications of biotechnology.

The objective of the Biotechnology Annual Review series is to attempt to provide readers with the needed indepth knowledge, by reviewing specific topics in biotechnology in each issue. The philosophy behind this series is to encourage good reviews to make it easier for readers to keep in touch with progress and applications of biotechnology. Reviews on topics related to regulatory affairs, social impact of biotechnology, biodiversity, biosafety, public acceptance and patent issues are also encouraged.

The Biotechnology Annual Review covers the various developments in biotechnology in the form of comprehensive, illustrated and well referenced reviews. With the expansion of the field of biotechnology, coupled with the vast increase in the number of new journals reporting recent results in this field, the need for a publication that is continuously providing reviews is urgent. Hence, each volume of the Biotechnology Annual Review will have a number of reviews covering different aspects of biotechnology. Reviewed topics will include biotechnology applications in medicine, agriculture, marine biology, industry, bioremedation and the environment. Fundamental problems dealing with enhancing the technical knowledge encountering biotechnology utilization regardless of the field of application will be particularly emphasized. This series will help both students and teachers, researchers as well as administrators to remain knowledgeable on all relevant issues in biotechnology.

Proposals for contributions and/or suggestions for topics for future volumes in this series should be sent to the Editor:professor M.R. El-GewelyDepartment of BiotechnologyUniversity of TromsløIMB, MH-ByggetN-9037 TromsøNorwayTel: (+47) 77 644000Fax: (+47) 77 645350

The Biotechnology Annual Review series aims at covering developments in the field of biotechnology in the form of comprehensive, illustrated and well-referenced reviews. Recent expansion in this field, both industrial and educational, along with the increase in the number of new journals reporting new results, has greatly increased the need for exactly this type of series, continuously providing reviews.

Every volume, published yearly, will cover a different aspect of biotechnology.

The "Editorial Board" of Biotechnology Annual Review encourages suggestions and contributions of articles from industry or from academic institutions that would constitute a comprehensive covering of a relevant topic in biotechnology.Proposals for contributions and/or suggestions for topics for future volumes in this series should be sent to the Editor:

Professor M.R. El-GewelyDepartment of biotechnologyUniversity of TromsøIMB, MH-ByggetN-9037 TromsøNorwayTel: (+47) 77 644654Fax: (+47) 77 645350

This new series aims at covering the development in the field of biotechnology in the form of comprehensive, illustrated and well-referenced reviews. With the expansion in the field of biotechnology both in industry as well as in education, coupled with the increase in the number of new journals reporting new results in the field, the need for a publication that is continuously providing reviews is urgent. The goal of Biotechnology Annual Review is to fill this gap. Reviewed topics will include biotechnology applications in medicine, agriculture, marine biology, industry, bioremediation and the environment. Fundamental problems dealing with enhancing the technical knowledge encountering biotechnology utilization, regardless of the field of application, will be emphasized. Other issues, dealing with policy and regulation of biotechnology as well as the problems of development in developing countries, as related to biotechnology, will be included in the various issues.

The "Editorial Board" of Biotechnology Annual Review encourages suggestions and contributions of articles from industry or from academic institutions that would constitute a comprehensive covering of a relevant topic in biotechnology.Proposals for contributions and/or suggestions for topics for future volumes in this series should be sent to the Editor:

Professor M. Raafat El-GewelyDepartment of BiotechnologyInstitute of Medical BiologyUniversity of Tromsø9037 TromsøNorwayTel: (+47) 77 644654Fax: (+47) 77 645350