Pocket Guide to Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering

Biotechnology and genetic engineering are the key technologies of the 21st century. They allow the findings in cell biology and genetics, biochemistry and microbiology, biochemical engineering and bioinformatics to be applied to health care, agriculture, food production, environmental protection and alternative production methods for chemicals. This handy book provides broad coverage of the relevant facts on products, methods and applications. It discusses the opportunities and risks involved in these new technologies, combined with ethical, economic and safety considerations. Instructive and attractive color illustrations as well as an excellent didactic approach throughout make this a perfect introduction to the field -- for professionals and students alike.

Rolf D. Schmid studied chemistry and biochemistry in Munich and Freiburg, Germany, and did post-doctoral training in Gif-sur-Yvette (France), and Austin, Texas (USA). In 1972, he joined Henkel & Company, where he became director of biotechnology R&D. In 1987, he moved to the Gesellschaft fuer Biotechnologische Forschung (GBF), the national German center for biotechnology in Braunschweig; simultaneously, he also became professor of enzyme technology at the University of Braunschweig. In 1993, the University of Stuttgart, Germany, invited him to become director of the Institute of Technical Biochemistry within its Center of Bioprocess Engineering, which he still directs. He has spent sabbaticals at the National Bureau of Standards and Technology (Gaithersburg, Md., USA), the University of Tokyo (Japan), the University of Florence (Italy), and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Anthropology, Leipzig (Germany