ABE 495 Honors Synthetic Life: Historical Timeline

Timeline of Biological Tinkering

500B.C. - First artificial limb was made About.com
1663 - Hooke discovers existence of cells Biotechnology Industry Organization
1674 - Anton Van Leeuwenhoek accidentally discovers microorganisms in a drop of water. [1]
1831 - Botanist Robert Brown identifies a structure within the cells that he terms the "nucleus." [2]
1865 - Mendel publishes his findings about basic patterns of inheritance Experiments in Plant Hybridization
1857 - Pasteur proposes microbes cause fermentation LOUIS PASTEUR (1822-95)
1877 - Characterization of Antibiotic Activity, Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch Chicago Journals
1937 - Discovery of the Krebs cycle: Hans Krebs identifies the many steps the cell takes to convert sugars, fats and proteins into energy. [3]
1953 - structure of DNA was published Nature Publishing Group article
1869 - Miescher. discovers DNA/nucleic acids Friedrich Miescher Institute
1907 - Ross Harrison made first attempt to culture animal cells, and cultivated embryonic nerve cells of a frog by using hanging drop method. ePlantScience.com
1930 - Hybrid corn seeds become widely available to American farmers, with drastically increased yields outweighing the cost of buying new seed annually. USDA ARS Article
1946 - J. Craig Venter is born Career Bios
1951 - HeLa cells isolated and propagated from cervical cancer cells from Henrietta Lacks. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
1960 - The word Transhumanist is coined to refer to people that believe human's should use scientific advancements to create human augmentations. (need ref)
1970 - Isolation of First Restriction Enzyme, HindII - Nobel Prize to Daniel Nathans, Werner Arber, Hamilton O. PNAS Reference
1973 - First genetically engineered bacteria PNAS Reference
1974 - First genetically engineered mice PNAS Reference
1974 - Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee is established due to Public Concerns. National Institue of Health Reference
1975 - Asilomar Conference held to discuss government policy toward Recombinant DNA research.(need ref)
1976 - Founding of Genentech Biotechnology Company Nature ref
1977 - First complete DNA genome sequenced Nature
1978 - First successful birth by means of in vitro fertilization (Great Britain) New York Times Article
1982 - First synthetic peptide vaccine produced C&EN ARCHIVES
1984 - FDA approves first cochlear implant for marketing ENT history timeline
1983 - Invention of Polymerase Chain Reaction by Kary Mullis, Michael Smith - Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1993 Springer Protocol
1986 - First Recombinant DNA Vaccine Available (Hepatitis B) The Journal of the American Medical Association
1987 - First conviction based DNA evidence Convicted by Juries, Exonerated by Science (Page 4)
1987 - First approval for field test of modified food plants: virus-resistant tomatoes Biotechnology Industry Organization
1990 - Human Genome Project Begins National Human Genome Research Institute
1990 - First approved gene therapy case in the United States at the National Institute of Heath; a young girl was treated for an genetic defeat which caused an immune system deficiency. The treatment was a temporary success. NIH
1995 - First bacterial genome sequenced Science
1996 - Dolly, the first mammal cloned from differentiated cells, is born BBC News Article
1997 - Gattaca the movie was released Gattaca IMDb
2002 - First brain/computer interface tested. Monkeys able to move ball around on screen through implanted electrodes. Science Daily Article
2002 - Reconstitution of polio virus BBC News
2002 - Bt corn, the first genetically engineered rootworm resistant corn, is approved by the EPA. Purdue Ag News
2003 - GloFish®, the first biotech pet, hits the North American market. Specially bred to detect water pollutants, the fish glows red under black light thanks to the addition of a natural fluorescence gene.Biotechnology Industry Organization
2003 - Inauguration of International Genetically Engineered Machine competition in Synthetic Biology at MIT iGEM Website
2003 - Human genome declared finished HCPI
2003 - World’s first brain prosthesis revealed, it was an artificial hippocampus. This silicon chip implant will perform the same processes as the damaged part of the brain it is replacing, which merely stimulate brain activity. Synthetic Telepathy
2004 - The first international meeting on synthetic biology was held at MIT. Called Synthetic Biology Plunkett's Biotech and Genetics Industry Almanac
2005 - University of Maryland announces the development of a technique for "incubating meat" as a way of mass-producing food for public consumption In Vitro Meat
2005 - FDA for the first time approves a drug for a specific race. The drug, NitroMed's BiDil®, treats congestive heart failure in self-identified black patients. The company hopes a genetic test can be developed to identify patients likely to benefit, regardless of race.Race Based Medicine
2007 - The next-generation sequencing technologies have come into their own with an impressive array of successful applications Nature Methods Review
2008 - The first In Vitro Meat Consortium Symposium meets in Norway to discuss the long-term sustainability of artificial meat TIME Article
2009 - Virus used to kill breast cancer stem cells, virtually eliminating the chance of tumor regrowth Science Daily Article
2009 - FDA approves the first genetically engineered animal for production of a recombinant form of human antithrombin. Biotechnology Industry Organization
2009 - Atryn, a thrombotic preventing drug, is the first product derived from a genetically modified animal approved by the FDA. Farmer Gene
2010 - Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues: The Ethics of Synthetic Biology and Emerging Technologies Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues
2010 - Venter Institute creates and publishes synthetic genome Science Mag Reference
2012 - First gene therapy approved in Europe. uniQure’s Glybera The Scientist
2014 - Paraplegic man kicks off the 2014 Men's World Cup via the use of a mind controlled robotic exoskeleton BBC article

Things we need to add: - discovery of mendelian genetics - DNA/ nucleic acids discovered - DNA structure and information coding watson/crick etc. - key genomes discovered? - similarity between human and other primates demonstrated? - Pasteur discover antibiotics -