The biotechnology industry is involved in the function of living systems and organisms in order to make some kind of product. Any kind of technological force that uses biology or living organisms or something like that in order to create or modify certain products or even some processes. Bioengineering and biomanufacturing and biomedical engineering can often overlap with the biotechnology industry, depending on different tools and applications that are used. Biotechnology is used in food production, medicine, agriculture and more. Biotech firms have been able to expand the term to include new techniques such as regenerative products, immunology and developing pharmaceuticals as well as some diagnostic tests. Let’s look at some examples of the biotechnology industry and how it benefits the human race.
There are four main areas where biotechnology takes place. These are crop production, medical care, industrial uses and environmental uses.
- Crop Production in Biotechnology
The biotechnology industry provides many tools and methods that help to come up with solutions and accurate results to a lot of the global environment problems that we encounter. It does this by increasing production in the land which is already growing, which reduces the pressure of forcing more land into production. It can also use biotech crops so that no tilling has to be done as the soil moisture is already enhances. This reduces erosion and the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that are released into the air. Biotech has improved the feeding products that are given to livestock so that the waste production is reduced or usable. These changes in the industry make for very eco friendly crop production. - Medical Care in Biotechnology
Science, health care, the laws regarding them as well as regulatory environment and business have all been positively affected by biotechnology. From being able to manipulation mutant genes to enhancing disease resistance, it has allowed for extreme advances in medicine. Modern biotechnology is being used in order to manufacture medicine that so that is it cheaper and more easily accessible to the general public who actually need it. Vaccines are able to be tailored to a specific persons needs meaning that there are more accurate measurements of dosages as well as safer vaccinations for everyone. Gene therapy is another area where biotechnology has made an advancement. Gene therapy through biotechnology is working to cure diseases that are caused by a mutated gene. - Industrial Use in Biotechnology
Industrial biotechnology has combined product information with preventing pollution such as solving the phosphate water pollution issues back in the 70s. Other than pollution prevention, biotechnology plays a part in resource conservation and cost reduction. This area could have the biggest impact on the world to date as far as biotech goes. Biotech works along side of nature in order to maximize pathways that already exist and can be used in the manufacturing process. The industry used specialized methods in order to find and improve on nature’s enzymes. Data that is gathered from these studies helps with the research so that the genetic diversity in microbe populations that be capitalized on. - Environmental Use in Biotechnology
The benefits on the environment because of biotechnology are innumerable. The climate can pose quite a lot of challenges especially in regards to farmland and natural resources but agricultural biotechnology has give farmers the ability to be able to be earth friendly when farming. Environmental use can overlap crop production somewhat because of the manner in which they function. However, environmental biotechnology encompasses a lot more than just crops. It’s the way the world reacts to biotech in general. The whole industry is extremely eco friendly and that is what allows for such high advances in the technology.
Once you understand biotechnology, you will see that without it, there is really no advancements that are going to happen that will benefit the world. But with this industry, the options are limitless and there is really no stopping any of these areas from progressing and moving forward in a way that can really help the world and the people in it. These four areas are not the only areas that can be advanced by biotechnology but they are the main industries that have benefited so far in a tangible way. As the technology advances, so will other areas.
