Introduction

 

What is Biotechnology?

 

Biotechnology is the name given to a set of techniques that use or modify the components living organisms are made of to create new processes and products which may benefit our society.

 

Thus, biotechnology has a long history, as it dates back to the production of wine, bread, cheese and yogurt (by the action of bacteria, yeasts or other microorganisms). The whole of these applications is the so-called traditional biotechnology.

 

Scientists have finally come to realize in detail how these biological processes occur, which has enabled them to develop new techniques to modify or copy some of these natural processes to obtain a much wider variety of products. Currently scientists are also aware of the fact that microorganisms and enzymes synthesize chemical compounds that can be quite effective in industrial processes such as the manufacture of soap and detergent manufacture, paper manufacture and pharmaceutical industry.

 

Modern biotechnology emerged in the early '80s, when a group of techniques collectively known as "genetic engineering" started to be applied to modify and insert genes from one species to another. This makes possible to produce human insulin in bacteria and, consequently, improve the treatment of diabetes. In our days genetic engineering is also a major tool in crops improvement -for example, you can transfer a gene from bacteria to plants, as in the case of Bt corn. Bt corn is a transgenic or genetically modified variant of maize that expresses Cry protein (Bacillus thuringiensis). This way, when the larvae of those insects commonly known as "corn borers" feed on the leafs or stem of Bt corn, they die.

 

Applications

 

Biotechnology has a wide range of applications in different fields. Thus, red biotechnology or biotechnology for health is used in development of vaccines, genetic prevention and diagnosis, development of safer and more effective medicines, personalized medicine, cell regeneration of organs and tissues and gene therapy.

 

On the other hand, white or industrial biotechnology provides new non-petroleum based products that are not made from other chemicals (bioplastics, biofuels, textiles, paper industry, etc.) either and plays a crucial role in promoting sustainable development and reducing the impacts of climate change.

 

Green biotechnology, related to agriculture, livestock and forestry, has made possible more environmentally friendly bio-fertilizers, increased productivity, development of plant and animal species resistant to diseases and adverse weather conditions, improvements in food quality and safety, etc.

 

Finally, blue (or marine) biotechnology encompasses a large number of applications, from conservation of aquatic species to the use of marine biological products in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, medicine, cosmetics or biomaterials, among many others.

 

In addition, biotechnology has applications in many other fields, such as criminology (genetic identification), paleontological studies, species identification, kinship studies, conservation of endangered species, etc.

 

Watch the following video and see how Biotechnology is present in your daily life