Biotechnology is a technology that is primarily based on the usage of biology. It is mostly used in agriculture, food, science and medicine. The very much broad spectrum description of biotechnology given by UN convention on Biological diversity is one of the broadest. According to them Biotechnology means any technological system that uses biological systems, living organisms or their derivatives in order to make or modify the products or processes for some particular use.
It is a branch of science that uses living things in order to create products an s also to perform some tasks for human beings. Plants, animals and micro organisms like bacteria are used to produce the products that are useful for human beings.
Biotechnological Industries
The biotechnology industries emerged in 1970s. Over past 20 years biotechnology has revolutionized the pharmaceutical company as well as agricultural industries. There are many industries that are depending over biotechnical industry like agriculture, food, human health, environment protection and chemical industry and there are the major customers of this industry. The impacts of biotechnology on life are tremendous and now this industry is becoming the essential one in our daily life. The biotechnology industry is regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Agriculture (USDA). (Biotechnology Industry Facts, n.p.)
Customers of Biotechnology
Biotechnology is beneficial for all of us. It provides products and procedures that very much useful for almost everyone. The customers of biotechnology may include; agriculture industry, medicine, health industry, pharmaceutical companies, farmers, chemical industries, forestry, fisheries, plantation, food industry, drug production, genetic testing, therapies, medical procedures, paper industry, textile industry, minerals, metals and environment. These are few of the areas that are now incomplete or underdeveloped without the applications of biotechnology. It would not be wrong if we say that the industry has now been an important part of our daily lives.
Consumers and customers acceptance is very much essential for the development of this industry. Responses towards biotechnology are different on different countries depending on the economy and political state of the country.
Inputs and outputs of Biotechnology
The inputs in the field of biotechnology are plants, animals, microorganisms, food products, herbs, paper, pulp, chemicals and so on. But this field has produced vast number of outputs. It has created more than 200 therapies and vaccines; it has also produced the products for the treatment of cancer, diabetes, AIDS and many other autoimmune diseases, there are more than 400 drugs produced by this industry that are targeting many diseases like heart diseases, Alzheimer, diabetes, arthritis, sclerosis and AIDS. It has also introduced a number of medical diagnostic tests that allows to detect the problem so earlier that it can be treated on time.
Apart from medical industry there are many developments in the field of agriculture as well; it has provided benefits to farmers, environment and consumers. It has worked a lot in increasing the yield and minimizing the use of pesticides. It is also a great work of biotechnology that the quality of soil and water is now a lot more improved than before which provides healthy food and crops. The output in the field of environment is making it possible to remove the hazardous and harmful waste or garbage by harnessing pollution eating microorganisms that can be germs or bacteria. In industrial processes biotechnology has added such cleaning processes that help to produce less waste and also use less amount of energy.
DNA fingerprinting is an advancement of biotechnology that has not only worked for forensic medicine but also has improved the process of investigation. Wild life and anthropology has also been facilitated by this field. (Biotechnology Industry Facts, n.p.)
Structure of Biotechnology
Biotechnology is divided into three fields; red, white and green biotechnology.
Red biotechnology is about the genetically altered microorganisms. These microorganisms are used for producing products such as insulin and vaccines. It deals with the medial processes. (What is biotechnology, n.p.)
Green biotechnology deals with the agricultural processes. It is used in the selection and domestication of plants using a process called micro propagation. It is used to design transgenic plants that can grow under certain specified environmental conditions and by using some agricultural chemicals. Green biotechnology has introduced many environmental friendly solutions.
White biotechnology is also known as industrial biotechnology. This technology is applied to industrial processes. This type of biotechnology designs organisms that are used to produce many useful chemicals. This white biotechnology use enzymes that are used to develop industrial catalyst and these catalysts are then either used to produce chemicals or to destroy many hazardous chemicals. White biotechnology tries to consume less resource as compared to other traditional processes in order to produce industrial goods.
There is another field of biotechnology known as Blue biotechnology that is rarely used. It deals with the marine and aquatic processes. (Biotechnology – The Free Encyclopedia, n.p.).
Future of Biotechnology
As by observing the developments around us it is apparent that biotechnology is flourishing day by day and there is a continuous progress. This field is currently working on environment friendly conditions so in future it is expected to have a cleaner and healthier planet. By observing the developments made so far in the field of medical we can see a great fight against the hazardous diseases like heart problems, Alzheimer, polio, small pox and so on. It is also possible that in near future the treatments of deadly diseases like cancer and AIDS would become so easy. The improvements that are made in genetics for yielding crops will remove the problems of hunger and malnutrition.
The future of biotechnology has a lot more to give humanity for its peace and easiness. It will fight against the problems like hunger, diseases and environmental disorders. The only thing that is required is that this industry needs investments so that it can be able to introduce new processes and technologies. It can be said by observing the current revolutions in this field that the next age will be the age of biotechnology. (Mark Oldham, n.p.)
Improvements in Biotechnology
Improvements can be made in the field of biotechnology by improving
- Drug production.
- Genetic testing.
- Gene therapy.
- Introducing processes that consume less energy and produce more output.
- Improve the production of crops.
- Increase the nutritional qualities.
- Improve the quantity of food
- Improve the quality, texture and production of food.
- Reduce the dependence over fertilizers and pesticides.
- Introducing the new and advanced processes in the field of medical.
- Introducing catalysts and chemicals in the chemical industry.
- Developing environment friendly processes. (Biotechnology, n.p.).
Works Cited
Biotechnology– Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web.
Biotechnology Industry Facts. Web.
Future of Biotechnology. Web.
What is biotechnology – Science Articles?. Web.