Biotechnology can be defined in many ways and although different involved organizations do
explain it in their own terms, ultimately, biotechnology is the use of biology as the foundation for
developing various technologies as applied to research and product development. So, biotechnology
can be used in food science, agriculture, environment, medicine and even robotics fields.
The human involvement in manipulating their environment is now at remarkable levels. From the most
basic direct organism manipulations such as fermenting beer and culturing bacteria to advanced
nucleotide-based organ regeneration and animal cloning, our knowledge and technology has advanced
far beyond what anyone would've expected just a decade ago.
Biotechnology was in practice much before the actual term was used to describe it. The basics began
with very simple scientific methods such as preserving foods for winter. The first fruit juice
fermentation to produce alcohol is believed to have been done in 6000 BC. Back then, it was more of
an art than an actual science.
About twenty years ago, the role of genetics in artificially creating proteins in a living being was
discovered. DNA was discovered and molecular biology became a part of mainstream science. This was
what gave rise to the study of biotechnology under that name.
The eighties marked an epoch in biotechnology with the discovery of new concepts, the most important
being that modification of genetic structures was possible through combinations of plants and
animals. This discovery led to research into fields like disease resistance and increase in
productivity rate. Medicine and research in other fields of biology have found the most use for
biotechnology. Now, plant-generated pharmaceuticals are common enough, as are creation of insulin
and antibiotics.
Modern biotechnology is practiced in three different categories - red, white and green. Red
Biotechnology is when the genetically altered microorganisms are used to produce medical and
pharmaceutical substances, such as proteins, vitamins, antibiotics and vaccines etc. It's also used
in genome manipulation.
White biotechnology, or bio-manufacturing or Grey Biotechnology is still an evolving science. In
this category of biotechnology, organisms like bacteria, moulds, yeast and enzymes are manipulated
to make industrial chemicals.
Agricultural Biotechnology, also known as Green Biotechnology, is what's applied into creating
better, fresher, more nutritious and longer-lasting agricultural produce. A traditional agricultural
biotechnology example is how wheat varieties are cross-bred to produce a disease-resistant crop.
