Biotechnology
hideBiotechnology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity defines biotechnology as:
Biotechnology is often used to refer to genetic engineering technology of the 21st century, however the term encompasses a wider range and history of procedures for modifying biological organisms according to the needs of humanity, going back to the initial modifications of native plants into improved food crops through artificial selection and hybridization. Bioengineering is the science upon which all biotechnological applications are based. With the development of new approaches and modern techniques, traditional biotechnology industries are also acquiring new horizons enabling them to improve the quality of their products and increase the productivity of their systems.
Before 1971, the term, biotechnology, was primarily used within the agricultural industries. Since the 1970s, it began to be used by the Western scientific establishment to refer to laboratory-based techniques being developed in biological research, such as recombinant DNA or tissue culture-based processes, or horizontal gene transfer in living plants, using vectors such as the Agrobacterium bacteria to transfer DNA into a host organism. In fact, the term may be used in a much broader sense to describe the whole range of methods, both ancient and modern, used to manipulate organic materials for purposes including the production of food or other substances derived from living things. So the term could be defined as, "The application of indigenous and/or scientific knowledge to the management of (parts of) microorganisms, or of cells and tissues of higher organisms, so that these supply goods and services of use to the food industry and its consumers.
Biotechnology combines disciplines like genetics, Microbiology,molecular biology, biochemistry, embryology, and cell biology, which are in turn linked to practical disciplines like chemical engineering, information technology, and biorobotics. Patho-biotechnology describes the exploitation of pathogens or pathogen derived compounds for beneficial effect.
For more information about Biotechnology, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with biotechnology
A RANK insider resolving the enigma of the fever chart
Nov 25, 2009 |
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Mammals have evolved a complex system for controlling bone remodeling. Babies require calcium for healthy bones and they obtain it from their mother's milk. Nursing mothers release calcium from their bones. Surprisingly, ...
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 ...
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DNA molecules in moss open door to new biotechnology
Nov 06, 2009 |
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Plasmids, which are DNA molecules capable of independent replication in cells, have played an important role in gene technology. Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden have now demonstrated that plasmid-based methods, ...
University research worth $187 billion over 12 years, group says
Oct 31, 2009 |
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In what it calls a first-of-its-kind study, the nation's leading biotechnology trade group this week put a dollar figure on the value of university-driven research, asserting that economic output grew $187 billion from 1996-2007 ...
Melatonin, a hormone segregated by human body, regulates sleep better than somniferous
Nov 05, 2009 |
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Melatonin, a natural hormone segregated by the own human body, is an excellent sleep regulator expected to replace somniferous, which are much more aggressive, to correct the sleep/wakefulness pace when human biological clock ...
New discoveries in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Nov 04, 2009 |
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Researchers at UAB in collaboration with the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, have discovered the structure of the PPC descarboxilase (PPCDC) enzyme present in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a very important ...
FDA finds bits of steel, rubber in Genzyme drugs
Medicine & Health / Medications
Nov 13, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Federal health regulators have found tiny particles of trash in drugs made by biotechnology firm Genzyme.
Researchers take aim at hard-to-treat fungal infections
Nov 19, 2009 |
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A team of researchers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park has developed a new model system to study fungal infections. The system can be a powerful ...
KLM flies world's first 'passenger flight on biofuel'
Nov 23, 2009 |
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A Boeing 747, one of four engines powered by a 50-percent biokerosene mix, circled the Netherlands for an hour on Monday for what airline KLM called the world's first passenger flight using biofuel.
Japan scientists attack govt research cut plans
Nov 26, 2009 |
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Top Japanese scientists, including four Nobel laureates, have criticised the new government for plans to slash research budgets, warning the country will loose its high-tech edge.
Nano bubble gum for enhancing drug delivery in gut
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Of the many characteristic traits a drug can have, one of the most desirable is the ability for a drug to be swallowed and absorbed into the bloodstream through the gut. Some drugs, like over-the-counter aspirin, lend themselves ...
Flemish researchers develop revolutionary technology for use in plant breeding
Nov 03, 2009 |
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In collaboration with researchers at VIB-UGent and the University of Antwerp (Belgium), scientists at the BioScience business group of Bayer CropScience AG in Gent have developed a technology that can significantly increase ...
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