Biotechnology is
technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science,
and medicine. Bio-technology is the field in which living organisms or their
products are used to enhance our lives and our environment
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 combines disciplines like genetics, molecular
biology, biochemistry, embryology and cell biology, which are in turn linked to
practical disciplines like chemical engineering, information technology, and
robotics. Patho-biotechnology describes the exploitation of medicine, but is also applied in industry and
agriculture.
Genetic
engineering, also called genetic
modification, is the direct manipulation of an organism's genome using
biotechnology. New DNA may be inserted in the host genome by first isolating
and copying the genetic material of interest using molecular cloning methods to
generate a DNA sequence, or by synthesizing the DNA, and then inserting this
construct into the host organism.
An organism that is generated through genetic
engineering is considered to be a genetically modified organism (GMO). The
first GMOs were bacteria in 1973; GM mice were generated in 1974.
Insulin-producing bacteria were commercialized in 1982 and genetically modified
food has been sold since 1994.
Genetic engineering techniques have been applied
in numerous fields including research, agriculture, industrial biotechnology,
and medicine. Enzymes used in laundry detergent and medicines such as insulin
and human growth hormone are now manufactured in GM cells, experimental GM cell
lines and GM animals such as mice of zebrafish are being used for research
purposes, and genetically modified crops have been commercialized. Exploitation of pathogens or
pathogen derived compounds for beneficial effect.
People
have been using biotechnology for millennia. This technology is based on the
use of microorganisms, which e.g. ferment the sugar in barley to alcohol during
beer production. Other examples of everyday products that undergo
biotechnological processing are cheese, yogurt, vinegar, wine, yeast, and
sourdough. Without knowledge of the exact backgrounds, our ancestors used these
methods to discover and improve a range of applications that made their life
easier. Genetic engineering is a modern subspecialty of biotechnology. It is
concerned with the genetic modification of bacteria or plants, for example to
stimulate them to biosynthesize desired products. Today genetic engineering is
primarily used in the field
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