What is Biotechnology?
Biotechnology is the use of cells, enzymes, bacteria and other biological matter to improve the lives and health of plants, animals and humans. It's used in industrial settings, such as waste water treatment facilities, agriculture, pharmaceutical manufacturing, medicine, research and many other applications.
BIOTECHNOLOGY IN ACTION
Biotechnology is not a new field of scientific research by any means, and our ancestors have been benefiting from its application since the discovery of fermentation. It is, however, and evolving field of science, and every day new discoveries are made that improve the quality of life for the Earth and its inhabitants. Here are some ways that biotechnology has helped improve the human condition and protect the environment.
Food
Biochemical processes not only help turn flour into bread, grapes into wine and milk into cheese, biotechnology uses these same types of processes to improve the quality of crops and increase their abundance. Scientists have developed crops that are resistant to drought and to insect infestations, reducing the need for pesticides and other toxic chemicals used in agriculture in the past, and helping to conserve soil, water and other non-renewable resources. Biotechnology also helps scientists to develop foods that contain more nutrients, less allergens and toxins, and produce crops that contain higher percentages of healthy oils.
Fuel
Biotechnology has learned how to harness the power in natural biochemical processes like fermentation to create enzymes and other microbes for use in fuel production. The use of biofuels has had an enormous impact on the environment, cutting the emission of greenhouse gases by more than 50 percent. These innovations also help lower water and fuel consumption by lowering the temperature of wash water for clothing, decreasing overall water use, reducing waste and increasing industrial efficiency. There are currently more than 50 biorefineries located across the Untied States in the production of biofuels and biomass products.
Medicine
Medicine and health care are one of the biggest beneficiaries of biotechnology. Biotech scientists, like Lindsay Rosenwald, are learning how to use our own genetic makeup to develop new tools in the fight against infectious diseases and other chronic health problems that plague humanity. There are more than 250 biotechnical medical research facilities working to produce medications and vaccines for conditions that were untreatable in the past. Using their research, medical science is now able to tailor treatments to individual patients, according to their genetic makeup and characteristics, create better means of detecting and treating disease and combat and reverse the threat of serious illness and viral outbreaks, especially in developing countries. This will save lives and improve the health of millions of people.
Environmental Uses
Biotechnology is also saving the world in other ways. The environmental uses of biotech discoveries are responsible for finding more efficient ways to dispose of waste through the use of beneficial bacteria and other microbial agents. This is a plus in the treatment and recycling of waste water in water treatment facilities, leading to lower fuel consumption in treatment plants and using less storage for solid waste materials. It also increases the amount of usable water for recycling. The development of petroleum-eating microbes has been a great advance in cleaning up oil spills.