Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make products, or "any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use" (UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Art. 2).[1] Depending on the tools and applications, it often overlaps with the (related) fields of bioengineering, biomedical engineering, biomanufacturing, molecular engineering, etc.
For thousands of years, humankind has used biotechnology in agriculture, food production, and medicine.[2] The term is largely believed to have been coined in 1919 by Hungarian engineer Károly Ereky. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, biotechnology has expanded to include new and diverse sciences such as genomics, recombinant gene techniques, applied immunology, and development of pharmaceutical therapies and diagnostic tests.
Medicine
In medicine, modern biotechnology finds applications in areas such as
pharmaceutical drug discovery and production,
pharmacogenomics, and genetic testing (or genetic screening).
DNA microarray chip – some can do as many as a million blood tests at once
Biotechnology has contributed to the discovery and manufacturing of traditional
small molecule pharmaceutical drugs as well as drugs that are the product of biotechnology –
biopharmaceutics. Modern biotechnology can be used to manufacture existing medicines relatively easily and cheaply. The first genetically engineered products were medicines designed to treat human diseases. To cite one example, in 1978
Genentech developed synthetic humanized
insulin by joining its gene with a
plasmid vector inserted into the bacterium
Escherichia coli. Insulin, widely used for the treatment of diabetes, was previously extracted from the pancreas of
abattoir animals (cattle or pigs). The resulting genetically engineered bacterium enabled the production of vast quantities of synthetic human insulin at relatively low cost.
[22][23]Biotechnology has also enabled emerging therapeutics like
gene therapy. The application of biotechnology to basic science (for example through the
Human Genome Project) has also dramatically improved our understanding of
biology and as our scientific knowledge of normal and disease biology has increased, our ability to develop new medicines to treat previously untreatable diseases has increased as well.
[23]
Genetic testing allows the
genetic diagnosis of vulnerabilities to inherited
diseases, and can also be used to determine a child's parentage (genetic mother and father) or in general a person's
ancestry. In addition to studying
chromosomes to the level of individual genes, genetic testing in a broader sense includes
biochemical tests for the possible presence of genetic diseases, or mutant forms of genes associated with increased risk of developing genetic disorders. Genetic testing identifies changes in
chromosomes, genes, or proteins.
[24] Most of the time, testing is used to find changes that are associated with inherited disorders. The results of a genetic test can confirm or rule out a suspected genetic condition or help determine a person's chance of developing or passing on a
genetic disorder. As of 2011 several hundred genetic tests were in use.
[25][26] Since genetic testing may open up ethical or psychological problems, genetic testing is often accompanied by
genetic counseling.
Agriculture
Examples in food crops include resistance to certain pests, diseases stressful environmental conditions,resistance to chemical treatments (e.g. resistance to a
herbicide[, reduction of spoilage,
[or improving the nutrient profile of the crop.
[32] Examples in non-food crops include production of
pharmaceutical agents,
biofuels, and other industrially useful goods,
[35] as well as for
bioremediation.
Farmers have widely adopted GM technology. Between 1996 and 2011, the total surface area of land cultivated with GM crops had increased by a factor of 94, from 17,000 square kilometers (4,200,000 acres) to 1,600,000 km
2 (395 million acres).
[38] 10% of the world's crop lands were planted with GM crops in 2010.
[38] As of 2011, 11 different transgenic crops were grown commercially on 395 million acres (160 million hectares) in 29 countries such as the USA, Brazil, Argentina, India, Canada, China, Paraguay, Pakistan, South Africa, Uruguay, Bolivia, Australia, Philippines, Myanmar, Burkina Faso, Mexico and Spain.
[38]
Genetically modified foods are foods produced from
organisms that have had specific changes introduced into their
DNA with the methods of
genetic engineering. These techniques have allowed for the introduction of new crop traits as well as a far greater control over a food's genetic structure than previously afforded by methods such as
selective breeding and
mutation breeding.
[39] Commercial sale of genetically modified foods began in 1994, when
Calgene first marketed its
Flavr Savr delayed ripening tomato.
[40] To date most genetic modification of foods have primarily focused on
cash crops in high demand by farmers such as
soybean,
corn,
canola, and
cotton seed oil. These have been engineered for resistance to pathogens and herbicides and better nutrient profiles. GM livestock have also been experimentally developed, although as of November 2013 none are currently on the market.
[41]
There is a
scientific consensus[42][43][44][45] that currently available food derived from GM crops poses no greater risk to human health than conventional food,
[46][47][48][49][50] but that each GM food needs to be tested on a case-by-case basis before introduction.
[51][52][53] Nonetheless, members of the public are much less likely than scientists to perceive GM foods as safe.
[54][55][56][57] The legal and regulatory status of GM foods varies by country, with some nations banning or restricting them, and others permitting them with widely differing degrees of regulation.
[58][59][60][61]
GM crops also provide a number of ecological benefits, if not used in excess.
[62] However, opponents have objected to GM crops per se on several grounds, including environmental concerns, whether food produced from GM crops is safe, whether GM crops are needed to address the world's food needs, and economic concerns raised by the fact these organisms are subject to intellectual property law.
Industrial
Industrial biotechnology (known mainly in Europe as white biotechnology) is the application of biotechnology for industrial purposes, including
industrial fermentation. It includes the practice of using
cells such as
micro-organisms, or components of cells like
enzymes, to generate
industrially useful products in sectors such as chemicals, food and feed, detergents, paper and pulp, textiles and
biofuels.
[63] In doing so, biotechnology uses renewable raw materials and may contribute to lowering greenhouse gas emissions and moving away from a petrochemical-based economy.
[64]
Environmental
The environment can be affected by biotechnologies, both positively and adversely. Vallero and others have argued that the difference between beneficial biotechnology (e.g.
bioremediation to clean up an oil spill or hazard chemical leak) versus the adverse effects stemming from biotechnological enterprises (e.g. flow of genetic material from transgenic organisms into wild strains) can be seen as applications and implications, respectively.
[65] Cleaning up environmental wastes is an example of an application of environmental biotechnology; whereas loss of biodiversity or loss of containment of a harmful microbe are examples of environmental implications of biotechnology.
The first-of-its kind report, ‘Biotechnology in Developing Countries: Growth and Competitiveness’ was released today by the Beijing-based centre, which is organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS). The CAS-TWAS Centre of Excellence for Biotechnology report provides an assessment of research and patents in the field across the global South.
Traditionally, the United States has been viewed as the world leader in biotechnology innovation, with over 1,200 biotech companies employing almost 200,000 workers in fields ranging from human product development to food and agriculture services. Yet, as globalization becomes more prominent and technology spreads worldwide, other nations have come to the forefront of the biotech arena. Successful research and development in biotechnology is occurring in developing countries such as Brazil, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Kenya, South Africa, and South Korea. Although these nations are at varying points in their respective economic development, each can be considered an “innovating developing country” in biotechnology with both public and private industry support
