Introduction
Whenever a student or anyone heard about Biotechnology, they start thinking about some questions like What is meant by Biotechnology? How is this new branch of engineering beneficial to society? How it is different from Biology? etc. Here in this article students will get all answers about Biotechnology.
Biotechnology is the revolutionary wave in the field of life science based on the basics of science and technology. It deals with the application of biological science to utilize biological organisms such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, etc., biochemical processes and its system for manufacturing or producing beneficial products for humans such as drugs, vaccines, foods, etc.
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History of Biotechnology
The term Biotechnology was first
time described in the year 1920 by the Leeds city council (U.K) published in a
bulletin of the Bureau of Biotechnology. They described Biotechnology in
their article and applications of microbes in the leather industry for pest
control. They set up the Biotechnology Institute in Leeds in Yorkshire with the
Bureau of Biotechnology named.
Biotechnology is not a new
science actually it is a very old science. Its oldest process is microbial
fermentation which is traced before 6000 BC for the preparation of wine and
beer by using yeast and describing its procedure. Next in 4000 BC with the help
of yeast-leavened bread was prepared. But the Biotechnology present form traced
to the 1970s when it became a separate branch and start utilization of
molecular biology techniques in the year 1975 first hybridomas were generated
which can produce monoclonal antibodies.
Biotechnology: An Interdisciplinary Subject
Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary subject that included multiple subjects of biological science
and engineering, such as biochemistry, microbiology, genetic engineering,
molecular biology, immunology, enzymology, etc. as science and chemical
engineering, heat, and mass transfer operations, fermentation, bioprocess
engineering, etc as engineering subjects. For the complete upstream to
downstream processing an understanding of all subjects’ knowledge is necessary.
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Biotechnology Scope and Applications
Biotechnology has applications in
many areas but the major areas in which Biotechnology contributes are
industrial, health care, pharmaceutical, agriculture, environmental, and food
processing.
Biotechnology is an
interdisciplinary science that includes many subjects with includes biology as a base subject and subjects like chemistry, mathematics, physics, computer, and
engineering. Its application increases our safe and secure life by providing
various medical health benefits and good foods than traditional food.
Biotechnology is used in various
crop production which is the ultimate source of our food, its storage, value-added processing, post-harvest management, production of bakery, and beverage
products. Biotechnology develops new drugs and vaccines for human health
benefits.
Biotechnology does not provide only
good products it also provides products cheaper than other ways if used in
large-scale production. The major fields in which Biotechnology contributed
more are.
- Agriculture and animal husbandry
- Environment
- Industrial research and development
- Medicine and health care
- Assisted reproductive technologies
- Biosensor
- Bioremediation
- Bioinformatics, including genomics and proteomics
- Biological warfare
- DNA vaccines
- Enzyme engineering and technology
- Gene Therapy
- Immunotechnologies
- Nanobiotechnology
- New DNA technologies
- New drug-delivery systems
- Nutraceuticals
- Organ transplantation
- Photosynthetic efficiency
- Plant-based drugs
- Peptide synthesis
- Production of useful materials
- Production of new materials
- Processing of low-grade ores using microorganisms
- Photosynthetic efficiency
- Rational drug design
- Stem cell techniques
- Tissue culture
Biotechnology is a
research-oriented field. It has applications in various areas such as medicine,
pharmaceuticals, agriculture, industry, and the environment. It is one of the
fast-growing fields today. In medicine, it has helped in improving the accuracy
of diagnosis and treatment of diseases. It also applied to the development of
drugs and vaccines, improved food items, control of pollution, and waste
management. It is also exploring new sources of energy.
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Role of Biotechnologists in Our Life
The Biotechnologist should understand the codes of life wrapped in the turns of DNA of everyone. A Biotechnologist has to utilize his skills and learning technologies from different disciplines of science towards the desired characters and express good qualities for improving human life. For achieving this Biotechnology must have deep knowledge of Genetic Engineering and Molecular Biology techniques.
Biotechnology Job Opportunities
Biotechnology different job opportunities exist in
the agriculture, fertilizer, and pharmaceutical processing industries in the
private and public sectors. The Research Institutes and leading pharmaceutical
companies are employing Biotechnologists. They can find employment in research
laboratories run by government universities and institutes of technology as
well as in the corporate sector.
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Read: Fermentation Industries in India
In India Biotechnology is in the developing stage. Biotechnology would take a long time to establish in India.
Basic Books on Biotechnology
If you want to study in deep and understand Biotechnology's different areas and scope in detail then we can recommend some basic books on Biotechnology that you should study.
