Enhancing biotechnology education through annotated bibliographies

摘要

There are claims that fear towards new technology has been caused by the lack of information and education on the subject to the public. Modern biotechnology and its applications have been receiving the same criticism. Fear towards biotechnology applications such as the genetically modified (GM) food has also been linked with the failure of the responsible bodies in providing proper information and education on the technology application especially in explaining how the technology could improve human lives and listing the risks of applying them in the food industries. Thus, the focus of the development on new technologies such as GM Food technology should also include proper education process since only with proper discussion and explanation on the subject, public perceptions could be improved. In doing this, responsible bodies should bear in mind that information of the technology will have to be presented in a fairly and sincere manner. Lack of knowledge and focus on the educational process will only cause backfires and hamper the development of any technologies. Discussions on GM food technology have been available in hundreds of literatures in online databases. Thus, analysis of these literatures will definitely help improve the knowledge base and the educational process as a whole. This paper will highlight on the creation and analysis of annotated bibliographies of GM food-related literatures in a ten year period from 2000 until 2009. These bibliographies will simplify and systemize the bulk of information on modern biotechnology for quick and easy access by relevant stakeholders.