WHAT IS BIOTECHNOLOGY?
Biotechnology isa field of applied biology in which
biological processes, organisms, cells and their
components are used to develop new technologies
that are used in engineering, technology, medicine
and other fields requiring bio-products. New tools
and products developed by biotechnologists
Fig 7.6
have been used for thousands of years in
agriculture, food production, and medicine
In the early 21st century, the development of
genetic engineering enabled scientists to modify
the genetic material of living cells and therefore it
has expanded to include new and diverse sciences
such as genomics, recombinant gene technologies
and so on
Biotechnology has applications in four major
industrial areas which include health care, crop
rig
production, industrial uses, genetic engineering
and environment.
Health care
Biotechnology has enabled new drug discoveries
and cheap production of the same. Antibiotics and
vaccines are products of microorganisms that are
used to treat diseases. Modern biotechnology involves
manipulating vaccines so they are more effective or
can be delivered by different routes