Biotechnology Risk Assessment: Issues and Methods for Environmental Introductions tackles the environmental concerns associated with utilizing contemporary biotechnology. The title also examines the methods of implementing biotechnology while also minimizing the risks. The text first covers the suitability and applicability of risk assessment methods for environmental applications of biotechnology, and then proceeds to tackling the methods for evaluation of microorganism properties. Next, the selection deals with human exposure to viruses and genetically altered bacteria. The text also tackles the effects of bioengineered organisms on the ecosystem, along with the assessment of the transport and fate of bioengineered microorganisms in the environment. The seventh chapter discusses the analysis of the function and structure of ecosystem, while the eighth chapter details the controlled testing and monitoring methods for microorganisms. The book will be of great use to biotechnologists, microbiologists, ecologists, epidemiologists, and virologists.

Between 1973 and 2016, the ways to manipulate DNA to endow new characteristics in an organism (that is, biotechnology) have advanced, enabling the development of products that were not previously possible. What will the likely future products of biotechnology be over the next 5â€"10 years? What scientific capabilities, tools, and/or expertise may be needed by the regulatory agencies to ensure they make efficient and sound evaluations of the likely future products of biotechnology? Preparing for Future Products of Biotechnology analyzes the future landscape of biotechnology products and seeks to inform forthcoming policy making. This report identifies potential new risks and frameworks for risk assessment and areas in which the risks or lack of risks relating to the products of biotechnology are well understood.

Assessing Ecological Risks of Biotechnology presents a comprehensive analysis of ecological risk assessment for biotechnology as viewed predominantly by scientists doing research in this area, but also by regulators, philosophers, and research managers. The emphasis is on the ecological risks associated with the release of genetically engineered organisms into the environment. The book contains 17 chapters that are organized into four parts. Part I discusses the ecological experience gained from previous biological introductions. Part II explores the ecology and the genetics of microbial communities. Emphasis is given to the transport of microorganisms since one of the major ecological concerns about biotechnology is the danger of the spread of genetically engineered organisms to ecosystems other than the one to which they are released. Part III reviews mathematical models that can be used for ecological risk assessment at four different levels. Part IV concerns the regulation of biotechnology, current research trends, and social values.