Biological Engineering
hideBiological Engineering or bioengineering (including biological systems engineering) is the application of engineering principles to address challenges in the fields of biology and medicine. Biological engineering applies principles to the full spectrum of living systems, including molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology, pharmacology, protein chemistry, cytology, immunology, neurobiology and neuroscience. As a study, it encompasses biomedical engineering and it is related to biotechnology. It deals with disciplines of product design, sustainability and analysis to improve and focus utilization of biological systems.
The word bioengineering was coined by British scientist and broadcaster Heinz Wolff in 1954. The term bioengineering is also used to describe the use of vegetation in civil engineering construction. The term bioengineering may also be applied to environmental modifications such as surface soil protection, slope stabilisation, watercourse and shoreline protection, windbreaks, vegetation barriers including noise barriers and visual screens, and the ecological enhancement of an area.
Biological Engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number of pure and applied sciences, such as mass and heat transfer, kinetics, biocatalysts, biomechanics, bioinformatics, separation and purification processes, bioreactor design, surface science, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and polymer science. It is used in the design of medical devices, diagnostic equipment, biocompatible materials, and other important medical needs that improve the living standards of societies.
Biological Engineers or bioengineers are engineers who use the principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible products. In general, biological engineers attempt to either mimic biological systems in order to create products or modify and control biological systems so that they can replace, augment, or sustain chemical and mechanical processes. Bioengineers can apply their expertise to other applications of engineering and biotechnology, including genetic modification of plants and microorganisms, bioprocess engineering, and biocatalysis.
Because other engineering disciplines also address living organisms (e.g., prosthetics in mechanical engineering), the term biological engineering can be applied more broadly to include agricultural engineering and biotechnology. In fact, many old agricultural engineering departments in universities over the world has rebranded themselves as agricultural and biological engineering or agricultural and biosystems engineering. Biological engineering is also called bioengineering by some colleges and Biomedical engineering is called Bioengineering by others, and is a rapidly developing field with fluid categorization. The Main Fields of Bioengineering may be categorised as:
For more information about Biological Engineering, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with bioengineering
Nanomedicine: ending 'hit and miss' design
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Dec 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the promises of nanomedicine is the design of tiny particles that can home in on diseased cells and get inside them. Nanoparticles can carry drugs into cells and tag cells for MRI and other diagnostic ...
Scientists develop DNA origami nanoscale breadboards for carbon nanotube circuits
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
Nov 10, 2009 |
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In work that someday may lead to the development of novel types of nanoscale electronic devices, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology has combined DNA's talent ...
New discovery allows scientists for the first time to experimentally annotate genomes
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Over the last 20 years, the sequencing of the human genome, along with related organisms, has represented one of the largest scientific endeavors in the history of mankind. The information collected from genome ...
Genomics sciences guarantees better results in the art of winemaking
Sep 09, 2009 |
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While the art of fine winemaking is a beautiful thing, winemakers are increasingly turning to the power of science to give them the tools they need to ensure a high quality pour each and every time.
Pioneering research produces industrially vital chemical through engineered bacteria
Aug 26, 2009 |
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A team of South Korean scientists have succeeded in engineering the bacterium E. coli to produce the industrial chemical putrescine. The research, published in the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering, provides a rene ...
How growing cells move together
Jun 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Our cells are more than inert bags of proteins and genes whose complex signaling networks confound the world’s most powerful computers. They also have a physical side whose brawny feats may ...
How oxidative stress may help prolong life
May 29, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (2) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Oxidative stress has been linked to aging, cancer and other diseases in humans. Paradoxically, researchers have suggested that small exposure to oxidative conditions may actually offer protection ...
Brain works best when cells keep right rhythms
Apr 26, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (7) |
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It is said that each of us marches to the beat of a different drum, but new Stanford University research suggests that brain cells need to follow specific rhythms that must be kept for proper brain functioning. These rhythms ...
Scientists control complex nucleation processes using DNA origami seeds
Apr 08, 2009 |
4 / 5 (5) |
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The construction of complex man-made objects--a car, for example, or even a pizza--almost invariably entails what are known as "top-down" processes, in which the structure and order of the thing being built ...
Better by design: Engineering flu vaccines
Mar 17, 2009 |
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A new computerized method of testing could help world health officials better identify flu vaccines that are effective against multiple strains of the disease. Rice University scientists who created the method ...
Scientist develop technique for eliminating reblockage of arteries
Mar 09, 2009 |
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An easily implementable technique to avoid reblockage of arteries that have been cleared through angioplasty and stent insertion has been developed by researchers led by Prof. Boris Rubinsky of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Improved test can screen fungal pests for biofuel sources
Biology /
Feb 12, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Those pesky fungi that wreak havoc on such important crops as corn and wheat just might be the key to low-cost biofuel production, report Cornell researchers who have improved a method to ...
New method monitors critical bacteria in wastewater treatment
Biology /
Feb 04, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have developed a new technique using sensors to constantly monitor the health of bacteria critical to wastewater treatment facilities and have verified a theory that copper is ...
