BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES AND APPLICATIONS
Biotechnology is technology based on biology - biotechnology
harnesses cellular and biomolecular processes to develop technologies and
products that help improve our lives and the health of our planet. The
biological processes of microorganisms make useful food products, such as bread
and cheese, and to preserve dairy products.
Modern biotechnology provides breakthrough products for rare
diseases, reduce our environmental footprint, feed the hungry, use less and
cleaner energy, and have safer, cleaner and more efficient industrial
manufacturing processes.
Currently, there are more than 250 biotechnology health care
products and vaccines available to patients, many for previously untreatable
diseases. More than 13.3 million farmers around the world use agricultural
biotechnology to increase yields, prevent damage from insects and pests and
reduce farming's impact on the environment. Biorefineries are being built and refine
technologies to produce biofuels and chemicals from renewable biomass, which
can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Recent advances in biotechnology are
Ø Heal The World by Reducing rates of infectious disease, Saving millions of
children's lives Changing the odds of
serious, life-threatening conditions affecting millions around the world, treatments
to individuals to minimize health risks and side effects.
Ø Fuel the World by Improving manufacturing
process efficiency to save 50% or more on operating costs, Using biofuels to
cut greenhouse gas emissions by 52% or more, Decreasing water usage and waste
generation.
Ø Feed the World by Generating higher crop yields with fewer inputs, Developing
crops with enhanced nutrition profiles that solve vitamin and nutrient
deficiencies, Producing foods free of allergens
and toxins such as mycotoxin , and improving food and crop oil content to help
improve cardiovascular health.
Biotechnology has applications in health care (medical), crop
production and agriculture, non food (industrial) uses of crops and other products
(e.g. biodegradable plastics, vegetable oil,
biofuels),
and environmental uses. Biotechnology is also used to recycle, treat
waste, cleanup sites contaminated by industrial activities (bioremediation),
and also to produce biological weapons.
Branches of
biotechnology:
Bioinformatics is an interdisciplinary field using
computational techniques, and makes the rapid analysis of biological data.
Bioinformatics plays a key role in various areas, such as functional genomics, structural genomics, and proteomics,
and forms a key component in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector.
Blue biotechnology is a term that has been used to describe the
marine and aquatic applications of biotechnology, but its use is relatively
rare.
Green biotechnology is biotechnology applied to agricultural
processes. Designing of transgenic plants to grow under specific
environments in the presence (or absence) of chemicals. The engineering of a
plant to express a pesticide, thereby ending the need of external application of
pesticides. An example of this would be Bt corn.
Red biotechnology is applied to medical processes. Some examples
are the designing of organisms to produce antibiotics
White biotechnology also known as industrial biotechnology, is biotechnology applied
to industrial
processes. The designing of an organism to produce useful chemical. Using of enzymes
as industrial catalysts
to either produce valuable chemicals or destroy hazardous/polluting chemicals.
