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
Researchers engineer bacteria to turn carbon dioxide into liquid fuel
Dec 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The genetically modified cyanobacterium consumes carbon dioxide and produces the liquid fuel isobutanol by using energy from sunlight.
New compounds may control deadly fungal infections
Dec 22, 2009 |
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An estimated 25,000 Americans develop severe fungal infections each year, leading to 10,000 deaths despite the use of anti-fungal drugs. The associated cost to the U.S. health care system has been estimated at $1 billion ...
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Researchers Create New Way To Locate Big Genetic Variants
Dec 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Yale University researchers, analyzing hundreds of billions of bits of genetic information, have collated and standardized 2,000 signposts that mark the boundaries of large blocks of human genomic variants.
Amount of gene surplus determines severity of mental retardation in males
Dec 10, 2009 |
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Researchers have discovered a new explanation for differences in the severity of mental illness in males. The more excess copies of a certain gene, the more serious the handicap. The genetic defect is situated on the X-chromosome; ...
Umbilical cord could be new source of plentiful stem cells, researchers say
Dec 17, 2009 |
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Stem cells that could one day provide therapeutic options for muscle and bone disorders can be easily harvested from the tissue of the umbilical cord, just as the blood that goes through it provides precursor cells to treat ...
Protein Markers Predict Risk of Melanoma Recurrence
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new prognostic tool that can determine the risk of recurrence in melanoma patients has been developed by researchers at Yale Cancer Center. The technology, based on five proteins expressed in melanoma tissue, ...
Emerald BioStructures announces discovery of small molecule modulators of PDE4
Dec 27, 2009 |
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Emerald BioStructures (formerly deCODE biostructures) announced a publication in the December 27, 2009 advance online issue of Nature Biotechnology, detailing the application of structure-based drug design (SBDD) to engine ...
New Method Tests Severity of Key Citrus Virus
Dec 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new rapid way to test severity of the devastating citrus tristeza virus (CTV) in citrus trees has been developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Parlier, Calif. The ...
New insights into mushroom-derived drug promising for cancer treatment
Dec 23, 2009 |
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A promising cancer drug, first discovered in a mushroom commonly used in Chinese medicine, could be made more effective thanks to researchers who have discovered how the drug works. The research is funded by the Biotechnology ...
Scientists show that plants have measure of the shortest day
Dec 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- It is not only people who feel the effects of short winter days - new research by the University of Edinburgh and the University of Warwick has shed light on how plants calculate their own winter solstice. ...
New therapy targets for amyloid disease
Dec 04, 2009 |
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A major discovery is challenging accepted thinking about amyloids - the fibrous protein deposits associated with diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's - and may open up a potential new area for therapeutics.
Phragmites partners with microbes to plot native plants' demise
Dec 23, 2009 |
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University of Delaware researchers have uncovered a novel means of conquest employed by the common reed, Phragmites australis, which ranks as one of the world's most invasive plants.
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