The Advances in Biotechnology

Jul 21, 2008 in Blogging

by Russell M. Stewart

There are plenty of explanations of what biotechnology is, but the simplest one is that it is a field of study where biology is the foundation on which different kinds of technology are developed. Biotechnology is the basis of many different kinds of research in the fields of environment, food science, robotics, agriculture and medicine.

We have always tried to manipulate and control the world, change it to suit our needs. We do that when we ferment beer, we do it when we culture bacteria, and now we have moved to new levels that would have been considered impossible a few decades back - we have cloned animals and research has turned to concepts like nucleotide-based organ regeneration.

As far back as 6000 BC, we had discovered biotechnology, though, of course, we did not call it that then. That was when people first discovered how to ferment fruit juice into alcohol. We went on to preserve fruits with sugar and meat with salt for sustenance in winter - another instance of early biotechnology. Of course, it has only been studied as a science recently.

The biotechnology we know today started gaining attention only about twenty years ago, when genetics were discovered to be the primary element for synthesizing essential proteins in an organism. The discovery of DNA and the related development of molecular biology was the true beginning of biotechnology as we know it now.

The mid 80s brought a revelation in biotechnology - genetic structures could be modified by careful combinations between animals and plants. This introduction to transgenic organisms also developed an area for further research into disease resistance and productivity rate increases. Modern biotechnology is used in a variety of ways and the medical and biological research fields have managed to get the most benefit out of it. The methods used have gone beyond ordinary genetic transfers, to include actual plant-generated pharmaceuticals and substance production for antibiotics and insulin.

There are three categories in modern biotechnology. The first is red biotechnology. This concerns the making of substances used in medicine and pharmaceuticals, like vaccines, proteins, antibiotics and vitamins. Red biotechnology also deals with genome manipulation. The other two kinds of biotechnology are green and white biotechnology.

White Biotechnology is also known as bio-manufacturing and Grey Biotechnology. This is not yet a completely established field and involves manipulating live organisms to create important industrial chemicals. Some of the organisms used in these techniques include bacteria, enzymes, moulds and yeast.

Green Biotechnology is important in agriculture - making better produce that stays fresh and lasts longer, and is more nutritious. This is something people have been doing for a long time - making sturdier crops, like cross-bred wheat for example.

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