Essays

Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living things in engineering, technology, medicine, and other useful applications. Modem use of the term includes genetic engineering as well as cell and tissue culture technologies. The concept encompasses a wide range of procedures for modifying living organisms according to human purposes. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity defines biotechnology as "any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use".

Biotechnology draws on the pure biological sciences like genetics, microbiology, animal cell culture, molecular biology, biochemistry, embryology, cell biology, etc. In many instances, it is also dependent on knowledge and methods from outside the sphere of biology such as chemical engineering, bioprocess engineering, information technology, and biorobotics. Conversely, modern biological sciences including molecular ecology are intimately entwined and dependent on the methods developed through biotechnology.

Due to rapid progress in research, biotechnology is being widely applied in medicine and agriculture. Its application in medicine includes pharmacogenomics, pharmaceutical products, genetic testing, gene therapy, human genome project and even cloning. In agriculture it is applited to increase crop yield; reduce vulnerability of crops to environmental stresses; increase nutritional qualities; improve taste, texture or appearance of food; reduce dependence on fertilizers, pesticides and other agrochemicals; and to produce novel substances in crop plants.

The field of modem biotechnology is thought to have largely begun On June 16, 1980, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that a genetically modified microorganism could be patented in the case of diamond vs. Chakrabarty. Indian-born Ananda Chakrabarty, working  for  General Electric, had developed a bacterium, derived from the  pseudomonas genus, capable of breaking down crude oil, which he  proposed to use in treating oil spills.

Today, besides healthcare and agriculture, biotechnology has  applications in non food (industrial) uses of crops and other products  (e.g. biodegradable plastics, vegetable oil, biofuels), and environmental  usesis. For example, one application of biotechnology is the directed use of organisms for the manufacture of organic products (examples include beer and milk products). Another example is using naturally present bacteria by the mining industry in bioleaching. Biotechnology is also used to recycle, treat waste, clean up sites contaminated by industrial activities (bioremediation), and also to produce biological weapons.

 Biotechnology as a subject has become so vast that several branches have cropped up and a series of derived terms have been coined to identify them. Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field which addresses biological problems using computational techniques, and makes the rapid organization and analysis of biological data possible.  Bioinformatics plays a key role in various areas, such as functional genomics, structural genomics, and proteomics, and forms a key component in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector. While blue biotechnology refers to the marine and aquatic applications of biotechnology, green biotechnology is applied to agricultural processes, red biotechnology is applied to medical processes, and white biotechnology is applied to industrial processes. The investment and economic output of all of these lypes of applied biotechnologies is termed as bioeconomy. In medicine, modem biotechnology finds promising applications and is often associated with the use of genetically altered microorganisms Such as E. coli or yeast for the production of substances like synthetic insulin or antibiotics. It can also refer to transgenic animals or transgenic plants, such as Bt corn. Genetically altered mammalian cells, such as Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells, are also used to manufacture certain pharmaceuticals. Biotechnology is also commonly associated with landmark breakthroughs in new medical therapies to treat hepatitis

B, hepatitis C, cancers, arthritis, haemophilia, bone fractures, multiple sclerosis, and cardiovascular disorders. The biotechnology industry has also been instrumental in developing molecular diagnostic devices that  can be used to define the target patient population for a given biopharmaceutical. Another promising new biotechnology application is the development of plant-made pharmaceuticals.

An advantage of modem biotechnology is that it can be used In manufacture existing medicines relatively easily and cheaply. Modem biotechnology has evolved, making it possible to produce more easily and relatively cheaply human growth hormone, clotting factors for hemophiliacs, fertility drugs, erythropoietin and other drugs. Genomic knowledge of the genes involved in diseases, disease pathways, and drug-response sites are expected to lead to the discovery of thousands more new targets.

In agriculture, using the techniques of modern biotechnology, one or two genes may be transferred to a highly developed crop variety to impart a new character that would increase its yield. However, while' increases in crop yield are the most obvious applications of modern biotechnology in agriculture, it is also the most difficult one. Current genetic engineering techniques work best for effects that are controlled by a single gene. Many of the genetic characteristics associated with yield (e.g., enhanced growth) are controlled by a large number of genes, each of which has a minimal effect on the overall yield. There is, therefore, much scientific work to be done in this area.

Another application of biotechnology involves developing crops that contain genes that enable them to withstand biotic and abiotic stresses. Biotechnologists are studying plants that can cope with extreme conditions like drought and excessively salty soil in the hope of finding the genes that enable them to do so and eventually transferring these genes to the more desirable crops.

Biotechnology would also help in modifying proteins in foods to increase their nutritional qualities. Proteins in legumes and cereals may be transformed to provide the amino acids needed by human beings for a balanced diet. Modern biotechnology can be used to slow down the process of spoilage so that fruit can ripen longer on the plant and then be transported to the consumer with a still reasonable shelf life. This alters the taste, texture and appearance of the fruit. More importantly it could expand the market for farmers in developing countries due to the reduction in spoilage.

Most of the current commercial applications of modem biotechnology in agriculture are on reducing the dependence of farmers on fertilizers, pesticides and agrochemicals. Crops have also been genetically engineered to acquire tolerance to broad-spectrum herbicide. The introduction of herbicide-tolerant crops has the potential of reducing the number of herbicide active ingredients used for weed management, reducing the number of herbicide applications made during a season, and d increasing yield due to improved weed management and less crop injury.

Biotechnology is being applied for novel uses other than food. For example, potatoes, tomatoes, rice, tobacco, lettuce, safflowers, and other plants have been genetically engineered to produce insulin and 'main vaccines. If future clinical trials prove successful, the advantages of edible vaccines would he enormous, especially for developing countries as the transgenic plants may he grown locally and cheaply.  Such home-grown vaccines would also avoid logistical and economic problems posed by having to transport traditional preparations over long distances. And since they are edible, they will not need syringes, which is not only an additional expense in the traditional vaccine preparations but also a source of infections if contaminated.

Additionally, in an effort to find sustainable ways to clean up contaminated environments, biotechnology is being used to engineer and adapt organisms, especially microorganisms. The elimination of a wide range of pollutants and waste? From the environment is an absolute requirement to promote a sustainable development of our society with low environmental impact. Biological processes play a major role in the removal of contaminants and biotechnology is taking advantage of the astonishing catabolic versatility of microorganisms to degrade or conver such compounds.