StemCell Therapy

What is Biotechnology?

Biotechnology is a group of related technologies that use biological agents in a broad spectrum of applications to provide goods and services. In only a few years, biotechnology has revolutionized many disciplines including:

The Biotechnology Technician Program provides students of diverse backgrounds with the knowledge and skills needed to perform competently in a life sciences laboratory environment. The industry is a large and growing contributor to regional and national economic output. As such, Biotechnology is an important emerging industry that is expected to contribute dramatically to the 21st century economy and is thus an excellent career choice for students.

Program personnel seek to foster a sense of excitement for scientific discovery, teamwork, critical thinking, effective communication, and a positive attitude in students. In addition, partnerships with local industries provide students with the most current and cutting edge knowledge and techniques in the field. The program provides hands-on experience with over 100 hours spent in the laboratory, beginning in the first semester.

DNA manipulation and analysis

Expression and purification of proteins

Cell culture techniques

Enzyme and antibody assays

Lab safety

Critical thinking and problem solving

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Salt Lake Community College - Biotechnology

Sep. 9, 2015 What has spoiled tens upon tens of thousands of fledgling oil palm plants at elite corporate plantations in Malaysia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia over the last three decades? The answer to this ... read more Sep. 7, 2015 Through the use of custom-engineered synthetic proteins known as monobodies, scientists have resolved the atomic structure of the fluoride ion channel, revealing a unique 'double-barreled' ... read more Sep. 3, 2015 Orchids, a fantastically complicated and diverse group of flowering plants, have long blended the exotic with the beautiful. Previously, botanists have proposed more than a half dozen explanations ... read more Sep. 2, 2015 The reproduction rates of the bacteria in one's gut may be a good indicator of health or disease, scientists say. In their examination of human microbiome data, the research group found that ... read more Sep. 1, 2015 A key mystery of the DNA replication process has been unraveled by researchers, resolving a long-standing mystery that has clouded our understanding of DNA replication, and also has important ... read more Endangered Animals Can Be Identified by Rate of Genetic Diversity Loss Aug. 31, 2015 A new study presents a novel approach for identifying vertebrate populations at risk of extinction by estimating the rate of genetic diversity loss, a measurement that could help researchers and ... read more Aug. 31, 2015 Among birds, the line between species is often blurry. Some closely related species interbreed where their ranges overlap, producing hybrid offspring. In the coastal marshes of New England, this has ... read more Aug. 31, 2015 A new species of giant file clam from Atlantic Canadian waters has been described by Canadian scientists. The 'cryptic' clam, which lives in deepwater canyons, was first found off the coast ... read more Aug. 31, 2015 The process of endocytosis -- how cells 'eat' by absorbing molecules -- drives rapid embryonic healing, scientists have discovered. They suggest the results should be used to design better ... read more Aug. 31, 2015 From 1952, DNA was sequenced, modified and extensively studied, but no technique was able to produce clear direct images of DNA. Now, researchers have developed a new technique to produce a direct ... read more Aug. 28, 2015 Viruses are able to redirect the functioning of cells in order to infect them. Inspired by their mode of action, scientists have designed a "chemical virus" that can cross the double lipid ... read more Aug. 28, 2015 Researchers have for the first time created and used a nanoscale vehicle made of DNA to deliver a CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool into cells in both cell culture and an animal ... read more Aug. 28, 2015 Scientists have predicted how biological circuits generate rhythms and control their robustness, utilizing mathematical modeling based on differential equations and stochastic parameter ... read more Aug. 28, 2015 A growing, dividing cell uses most of its energy store to make its "protein factories," the ribosomes. An important player in their "assembly" is the exosome, a molecular ... read more Aug. 28, 2015 Nuclear pores in the nuclear membrane do not only control the transport of molecules into and out of the nucleus but also play an important role in gene expression. Researchers have deciphered a ... read more Aug. 27, 2015 Biochemists have solved the architecture of the nuclear pore complex's complicated inner ring, a subcomplex that is central to the cellular machine's ability to serve as a barrier and ... read more Scientists Identify Possible Key in Virus, Cancer Research Aug. 27, 2015 Scientists have uncovered a viral protein in the cell that inhibits the major DNA sensor and thus the body's response to viral infection, suggesting that this cellular pathway could be ... read more Aug. 27, 2015 Scientists create a biological circuit by programming bacteria to alter gene expression in an entire population. They have created a biological equivalent to a computer circuit that involves multiple ... read more Aug. 27, 2015 Scientists can now watch dynamic biological processes with unprecedented clarity in living cells using new imaging techniques. The new methods dramatically improve on the spatial resolution provided ... read more HIV Particles Do Not Cause AIDS, Our Own Immune Cells Do Aug. 27, 2015 Scientists have discovered that HIV does not cause AIDS by the virus's direct effect on the host's immune cells, but rather through the cells' lethal influence on one another. In a new ... read more

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Biotechnology News -- ScienceDaily

Forty years ago, viable monoclonal antibodies, imperceptibly small magic bullets, became available for the first time. First produced in 1975 by Csar Milstein and Georges Khler at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England (where Watson and Crick unraveled the structure of DNA), Mabs have had a phenomenally far-reaching effect on our society and daily life. The Lock and Key of Medicine is the first book to tell the extraordinary yet unheralded history of monoclonal antibodies, or Mabs. Though unfamiliar to most nonscientists, these microscopic protein molecules are everywhere, quietly shaping our lives and healthcare. They have radically changed understandings of the pathways of disease, enabling faster, cheaper, and more accurate clinical diagnostic testing. And they lie at the heart of the development of genetically engineered drugs such as interferon and blockbuster personalized therapies such as Herceptin.

Historian of medicine Lara V. Marks recounts the risks and opposition that a daring handful of individuals faced while discovering and developing Mabs, and she addresses the related scientific, medical, technological, business, and social challenges that arose. She offers a saga of entrepreneurs who ultimately changed the healthcare landscape and brought untold relief to millions of patients. Even so, controversies over Mabs remain, which the author explores through the current debates on their cost-effectiveness.

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What is Biotechnology?

Biotechnology is the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agents to provide goods and services.[1] From its inception, biotechnology has maintained a close relationship with society. Although now most often associated with the development of drugs, historically biotechnology has been principally associated with food, addressing such issues as malnutrition and famine. The history of biotechnology begins with zymotechnology, which commenced with a focus on brewing techniques for beer. By World War I, however, zymotechnology would expand to tackle larger industrial issues, and the potential of industrial fermentation gave rise to biotechnology. However, both the single-cell protein and gasohol projects failed to progress due to varying issues including public resistance, a changing economic scene, and shifts in political power.

Yet the formation of a new field, genetic engineering, would soon bring biotechnology to the forefront of science in society, and the intimate relationship between the scientific community, the public, and the government would ensue. These debates gained exposure in 1975 at the Asilomar Conference, where Joshua Lederberg was the most outspoken supporter for this emerging field in biotechnology. By as early as 1978, with the synthesis of synthetic human insulin, Lederberg's claims would prove valid, and the biotechnology industry grew rapidly. Each new scientific advance became a media event designed to capture public support, and by the 1980s, biotechnology grew into a promising real industry. In 1988, only five proteins from genetically engineered cells had been approved as drugs by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but this number would skyrocket to over 125 by the end of the 1990s.

The field of genetic engineering remains a heated topic of discussion in today's society with the advent of gene therapy, stem cell research, cloning, and genetically modified food. While it seems only natural nowadays to link pharmaceutical drugs as solutions to health and societal problems, this relationship of biotechnology serving social needs began centuries ago.

Biotechnology arose from the field of zymotechnology or zymurgy, which began as a search for a better understanding of industrial fermentation, particularly beer. Beer was an important industrial, and not just social, commodity. In late 19th century Germany, brewing contributed as much to the gross national product as steel, and taxes on alcohol proved to be significant sources of revenue to the government.[2] In the 1860s, institutes and remunerative consultancies were dedicated to the technology of brewing. The most famous was the private Carlsberg Institute, founded in 1875, which employed Emil Christian Hansen, who pioneered the pure yeast process for the reliable production of consistent beer. Less well known were private consultancies that advised the brewing industry. One of these, the Zymotechnic Institute, was established in Chicago by the German-born chemist John Ewald Siebel.

The heyday and expansion of zymotechnology came in World War I in response to industrial needs to support the war. Max Delbrck grew yeast on an immense scale during the war to meet 60 percent of Germany's animal feed needs.[3] Compounds of another fermentation product, lactic acid, made up for a lack of hydraulic fluid, glycerol. On the Allied side the Russian chemist Chaim Weizmann used starch to eliminate Britain's shortage of acetone, a key raw material in explosives, by fermenting maize to acetone. The industrial potential of fermentation was outgrowing its traditional home in brewing, and "zymotechnology" soon gave way to "biotechnology."

With food shortages spreading and resources fading, some dreamed of a new industrial solution. The Hungarian Kroly Ereky coined the word "biotechnology" in Hungary during 1919 to describe a technology based on converting raw materials into a more useful product. He built a slaughterhouse for a thousand pigs and also a fattening farm with space for 50,000 pigs, raising over 100,000 pigs a year. The enterprise was enormous, becoming one of the largest and most profitable meat and fat operations in the world. In a book entitled Biotechnologie, Ereky further developed a theme that would be reiterated through the 20th century: biotechnology could provide solutions to societal crises, such as food and energy shortages. For Ereky, the term "biotechnologie" indicated the process by which raw materials could be biologically upgraded into socially useful products.[4]

This catchword spread quickly after the First World War, as "biotechnology" entered German dictionaries and was taken up abroad by business-hungry private consultancies as far away as the United States. In Chicago, for example, the coming of prohibition at the end of World War I encouraged biological industries to create opportunities for new fermentation products, in particular a market for nonalcoholic drinks. Emil Siebel, the son of the founder of the Zymotechnic Institute, broke away from his father's company to establish his own called the "Bureau of Biotechnology," which specifically offered expertise in fermented nonalcoholic drinks.[5]

The belief that the needs of an industrial society could be met by fermenting agricultural waste was an important ingredient of the "chemurgic movement."[6] Fermentation-based processes generated products of ever-growing utility. In the 1940s, penicillin was the most dramatic. While it was discovered in England, it was produced industrially in the U.S. using a deep fermentation process originally developed in Peoria, Illinois. The enormous profits and the public expectations penicillin engendered caused a radical shift in the standing of the pharmaceutical industry. Doctors used the phrase "miracle drug", and the historian of its wartime use, David Adams, has suggested that to the public penicillin represented the perfect health that went together with the car and the dream house of wartime American advertising.[7] In the 1950s, steroids were synthesized using fermentation technology. In particular, cortisone promised the same revolutionary ability to change medicine as penicillin had.

Even greater expectations of biotechnology were raised during the 1960s by a process that grew single-cell protein. When the so-called protein gap threatened world hunger, producing food locally by growing it from waste seemed to offer a solution. It was the possibilities of growing microorganisms on oil that captured the imagination of scientists, policy makers, and commerce.[8] Major companies such as British Petroleum (BP) staked their futures on it. In 1962, BP built a pilot plant at Cap de Lavera in Southern France to publicize its product, Toprina.[9] Initial research work at Lavera was done by Alfred Champagnat,[10] In 1963, construction started on BP's second pilot plant at Grangemouth Oil Refinery in Britain.[10]

As there was no well-accepted term to describe the new foods, in 1966 the term "single-cell protein" (SCP) was coined at MIT to provide an acceptable and exciting new title, avoiding the unpleasant connotations of microbial or bacterial.[9]

The "food from oil" idea became quite popular by the 1970s, when facilities for growing yeast fed by n-paraffins were built in a number of countries. The Soviets were particularly enthusiastic, opening large "BVK" (belkovo-vitaminny kontsentrat, i.e., "protein-vitamin concentrate") plants next to their oil refineries in Kstovo (1973) [11][12][13] and Kirishi (1974).[14]

By the late 1970s, however, the cultural climate had completely changed, as the growth in SCP interest had taken place against a shifting economic and cultural scene (136). First, the price of oil rose catastrophically in 1974, so that its cost per barrel was five times greater than it had been two years earlier. Second, despite continuing hunger around the world, anticipated demand also began to shift from humans to animals. The program had begun with the vision of growing food for Third World people, yet the product was instead launched as an animal food for the developed world. The rapidly rising demand for animal feed made that market appear economically more attractive. The ultimate downfall of the SCP project, however, came from public resistance.[15]

This was particularly vocal in Japan, where production came closest to fruition. For all their enthusiasm for innovation and traditional interest in microbiologically produced foods, the Japanese were the first to ban the production of single-cell proteins. The Japanese ultimately were unable to separate the idea of their new "natural" foods from the far from natural connotation of oil.[15] These arguments were made against a background of suspicion of heavy industry in which anxiety over minute traces of petroleum was expressed. Thus, public resistance to an unnatural product led to the end of the SCP project as an attempt to solve world hunger.

Also, in 1989 in the USSR, the public environmental concerns made the government decide to close down (or convert to different technologies) all 8 paraffin-fed-yeast plants that the Soviet Ministry of Microbiological Industry had by that time.[14]

In the late 1970s, biotechnology offered another possible solution to a societal crisis. The escalation in the price of oil in 1974 increased the cost of the Western world's energy tenfold.[16] In response, the U.S. government promoted the production of gasohol, gasoline with 10 percent alcohol added, as an answer to the energy crisis.[7] In 1979, when the Soviet Union sent troops to Afghanistan, the Carter administration cut off its supplies to agricultural produce in retaliation, creating a surplus of agriculture in the U.S. As a result, fermenting the agricultural surpluses to synthesize fuel seemed to be an economical solution to the shortage of oil threatened by the Iran-Iraq war. Before the new direction could be taken, however, the political wind changed again: the Reagan administration came to power in January 1981 and, with the declining oil prices of the 1980s, ended support for the gasohol industry before it was born.[17]

Biotechnology seemed to be the solution for major social problems, including world hunger and energy crises. In the 1960s, radical measures would be needed to meet world starvation, and biotechnology seemed to provide an answer. However, the solutions proved to be too expensive and socially unacceptable, and solving world hunger through SCP food was dismissed. In the 1970s, the food crisis was succeeded by the energy crisis, and here too, biotechnology seemed to provide an answer. But once again, costs proved prohibitive as oil prices slumped in the 1980s. Thus, in practice, the implications of biotechnology were not fully realized in these situations. But this would soon change with the rise of genetic engineering.

The origins of biotechnology culminated with the birth of genetic engineering. There were two key events that have come to be seen as scientific breakthroughs beginning the era that would unite genetics with biotechnology. One was the 1953 discovery of the structure of DNA, by Watson and Crick, and the other was the 1973 discovery by Cohen and Boyer of a recombinant DNA technique by which a section of DNA was cut from the plasmid of an E. coli bacterium and transferred into the DNA of another.[18] This approach could, in principle, enable bacteria to adopt the genes and produce proteins of other organisms, including humans. Popularly referred to as "genetic engineering," it came to be defined as the basis of new biotechnology.

Genetic engineering proved to be a topic that thrust biotechnology into the public scene, and the interaction between scientists, politicians, and the public defined the work that was accomplished in this area. Technical developments during this time were revolutionary and at times frightening. In December 1967, the first heart transplant by Christian Barnard reminded the public that the physical identity of a person was becoming increasingly problematic. While poetic imagination had always seen the heart at the center of the soul, now there was the prospect of individuals being defined by other people's hearts.[19] During the same month, Arthur Kornberg announced that he had managed to biochemically replicate a viral gene. "Life had been synthesized," said the head of the National Institutes of Health.[19] Genetic engineering was now on the scientific agenda, as it was becoming possible to identify genetic characteristics with diseases such as beta thalassemia and sickle-cell anemia.

Responses to scientific achievements were colored by cultural skepticism. Scientists and their expertise were looked upon with suspicion. In 1968, an immensely popular work, The Biological Time Bomb, was written by the British journalist Gordon Rattray Taylor. The author's preface saw Kornberg's discovery of replicating a viral gene as a route to lethal doomsday bugs. The publisher's blurb for the book warned that within ten years, "You may marry a semi-artificial man or womanchoose your children's sextune out painchange your memoriesand live to be 150 if the scientific revolution doesnt destroy us first."[20] The book ended with a chapter called "The Future If Any." While it is rare for current science to be represented in the movies, in this period of "Star Trek", science fiction and science fact seemed to be converging. "Cloning" became a popular word in the media. Woody Allen satirized the cloning of a person from a nose in his 1973 movie Sleeper, and cloning Adolf Hitler from surviving cells was the theme of the 1976 novel by Ira Levin, The Boys from Brazil.[21]

In response to these public concerns, scientists, industry, and governments increasingly linked the power of recombinant DNA to the immensely practical functions that biotechnology promised. One of the key scientific figures that attempted to highlight the promising aspects of genetic engineering was Joshua Lederberg, a Stanford professor and Nobel laureate. While in the 1960s "genetic engineering" described eugenics and work involving the manipulation of the human genome, Lederberg stressed research that would involve microbes instead.[22] Lederberg emphasized the importance of focusing on curing living people. Lederberg's 1963 paper, "Biological Future of Man" suggested that, while molecular biology might one day make it possible to change the human genotype, "what we have overlooked is euphenics, the engineering of human development."[23] Lederberg constructed the word "euphenics" to emphasize changing the phenotype after conception rather than the genotype which would affect future generations.

With the discovery of recombinant DNA by Cohen and Boyer in 1973, the idea that genetic engineering would have major human and societal consequences was born. In July 1974, a group of eminent molecular biologists headed by Paul Berg wrote to Science suggesting that the consequences of this work were so potentially destructive that there should be a pause until its implications had been thought through.[24] This suggestion was explored at a meeting in February 1975 at California's Monterey Peninsula, forever immortalized by the location, Asilomar. Its historic outcome was an unprecedented call for a halt in research until it could be regulated in such a way that the public need not be anxious, and it led to a 16-month moratorium until National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines were established.

Joshua Lederberg was the leading exception in emphasizing, as he had for years, the potential benefits. At Asilomar, in an atmosphere favoring control and regulation, he circulated a paper countering the pessimism and fears of misuses with the benefits conferred by successful use. He described "an early chance for a technology of untold importance for diagnostic and therapeutic medicine: the ready production of an unlimited variety of human proteins. Analogous applications may be foreseen in fermentation process for cheaply manufacturing essential nutrients, and in the improvement of microbes for the production of antibiotics and of special industrial chemicals."[25] In June 1976, the 16-month moratorium on research expired with the Director's Advisory Committee (DAC) publication of the NIH guidelines of good practice. They defined the risks of certain kinds of experiments and the appropriate physical conditions for their pursuit, as well as a list of things too dangerous to perform at all. Moreover, modified organisms were not to be tested outside the confines of a laboratory or allowed into the environment.[18]

Atypical as Lederberg was at Asilomar, his optimistic vision of genetic engineering would soon lead to the development of the biotechnology industry. Over the next two years, as public concern over the dangers of recombinant DNA research grew, so too did interest in its technical and practical applications. Curing genetic diseases remained in the realms of science fiction, but it appeared that producing human simple proteins could be good business. Insulin, one of the smaller, best characterized and understood proteins, had been used in treating type 1 diabetes for a half century. It had been extracted from animals in a chemically slightly different form from the human product. Yet, if one could produce synthetic human insulin, one could meet an existing demand with a product whose approval would be relatively easy to obtain from regulators. In the period 1975 to 1977, synthetic "human" insulin represented the aspirations for new products that could be made with the new biotechnology. Microbial production of synthetic human insulin was finally announced in September 1978 and was produced by a startup company, Genentech.,[26] although that company did not commercialize the product themselves, instead, it licensed the production method to Eli Lilly and Company. 1978 also saw the first application for a patent on a gene, the gene which produces human growth hormone, by the University of California, thus introducing the legal principle that genes could be patented. Since that filing, almost 20% of the more than 20,000 genes in the human DNA have been patented.[27]

The radical shift in the connotation of "genetic engineering" from an emphasis on the inherited characteristics of people to the commercial production of proteins and therapeutic drugs was nurtured by Joshua Lederberg. His broad concerns since the 1960s had been stimulated by enthusiasm for science and its potential medical benefits. Countering calls for strict regulation, he expressed a vision of potential utility. Against a belief that new techniques would entail unmentionable and uncontrollable consequences for humanity and the environment, a growing consensus on the economic value of recombinant DNA emerged.

With ancestral roots in industrial microbiology that date back centuries, the new biotechnology industry grew rapidly beginning in the mid-1970s. Each new scientific advance became a media event designed to capture investment confidence and public support.[28] Although market expectations and social benefits of new products were frequently overstated, many people were prepared to see genetic engineering as the next great advance in technological progress. By the 1980s, biotechnology characterized a nascent real industry, providing titles for emerging trade organizations such as the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

The main focus of attention after insulin were the potential profit makers in the pharmaceutical industry: human growth hormone and what promised to be a miraculous cure for viral diseases, interferon. Cancer was a central target in the 1970s because increasingly the disease was linked to viruses.[29] By 1980, a new company, Biogen, had produced interferon through recombinant DNA. The emergence of interferon and the possibility of curing cancer raised money in the community for research and increased the enthusiasm of an otherwise uncertain and tentative society. Moreover, to the 1970s plight of cancer was added AIDS in the 1980s, offering an enormous potential market for a successful therapy, and more immediately, a market for diagnostic tests based on monoclonal antibodies.[30] By 1988, only five proteins from genetically engineered cells had been approved as drugs by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA): synthetic insulin, human growth hormone, hepatitis B vaccine, alpha-interferon, and tissue plasminogen activator (TPa), for lysis of blood clots. By the end of the 1990s, however, 125 more genetically engineered drugs would be approved.[30]

Genetic engineering also reached the agricultural front as well. There was tremendous progress since the market introduction of the genetically engineered Flavr Savr tomato in 1994.[31] Ernst and Young reported that in 1998, 30% of the U.S. soybean crop was expected to be from genetically engineered seeds. In 1998, about 30% of the US cotton and corn crops were also expected to be products of genetic engineering.[31]

Genetic engineering in biotechnology stimulated hopes for both therapeutic proteins, drugs and biological organisms themselves, such as seeds, pesticides, engineered yeasts, and modified human cells for treating genetic diseases. From the perspective of its commercial promoters, scientific breakthroughs, industrial commitment, and official support were finally coming together, and biotechnology became a normal part of business. No longer were the proponents for the economic and technological significance of biotechnology the iconoclasts.[32] Their message had finally become accepted and incorporated into the policies of governments and industry.

According to Burrill and Company, an industry investment bank, over $350 billion has been invested in biotech since the emergence of the industry, and global revenues rose from $23 billion in 2000 to more than $50 billion in 2005. The greatest growth has been in Latin America but all regions of the world have shown strong growth trends. By 2007 and into 2008, though, a downturn in the fortunes of biotech emerged, at least in the United Kingdom, as the result of declining investment in the face of failure of biotech pipelines to deliver and a consequent downturn in return on investment.[33]

There has been little innovation in the traditional pharmaceutical industry over the past decade and biopharmaceuticals are now achieving the fastest rates of growth against this background, particularly in breast cancer treatment. Biopharmaceuticals typically treat sub-sets of the total population with a disease whereas traditional drugs are developed to treat the population as a whole. However, one of the great difficulties with traditional drugs are the toxic side effects the incidence of which can be unpredictable in individual patients.

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History of biotechnology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Biotechnology Portal

Welcome to the Biotechnology portal. Biotechnology is a technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine.

Of the many different definitions available, the one declared by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is one of the broadest:

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Biotechnology subcategories:

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Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a species of bacteria that causes tumors (commonly known as 'galls' or 'crown galls') in dicots (Smith et al., 1907). This Gram-negative bacterium causes crown gall by inserting a small segment of DNA (known as the T-DNA, for 'transfer DNA') into the plant cell, which is incorporated at a semi-random location into the plant genome.

Agrobacterium is an alpha proteobacterium of the family Rhizobiaceae, which includes the nitrogen fixing legume symbionts. Unlike the nitrogen fixing symbionts, tumor producing Agrobacterium are parasitic and do not benefit the plant. The wide variety of plants affected by Agrobacterium makes it of great concern to the agriculture industry (Moore et al., 1997).

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Portal:Biotechnology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Biotechnology is the use of biological processes, organisms, or systems to manufacture products intended to improve the quality of human life. The earliest biotechnologists were farmers who developed improved species of plants and animals by cross pollenization or cross breeding. In recent years, biotechnology has expanded in sophistication, scope, and applicability.

The science of biotechnology can be broken down into subdisciplines called red, white, green, and blue. Red biotechnology involves medical processes such as getting organisms to produce new drugs, or using stem cells to regenerate damaged human tissues and perhaps re-grow entire organs. White (also called gray) biotechnology involves industrial processes such as the production of new chemicals or the development of new fuels for vehicles. Green biotechnology applies to agriculture and involves such processes as the development of pest-resistant grains or the accelerated evolution of disease-resistant animals. Blue biotechnology, rarely mentioned, encompasses processes in marine and aquatic environments, such as controlling the proliferation of noxious water-borne organisms.

Biotechnology, like other advanced technologies, has the potential for misuse. Concern about this has led to efforts by some groups to enact legislation restricting or banning certain processes or programs, such as human cloning and embryonic stem-cell research. There is also concern that if biotechnological processes are used by groups with nefarious intent, the end result could be biological warfare.

Also see nanotechnology and genetic engineering .

This was last updated in May 2007

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What is biotechnology? - Definition from WhatIs.com

Hemolysins or haemolysins are lipids and proteins that cause lysis of red blood cells by destroying their cell membrane. Although the lytic activity of some microbe-derived hemolysins on red blood cells may be of great importance for nutrient acquisition, many hemolysins produced by pathogens do not cause significant destruction of red blood cells during infection. Although hemolysins are capable of doing this for red blood cells in vitro.

As mentioned above, most hemolysins are protein compounds, but others are lipids biosurfactants.[1]

Many bacteria produce hemolysins that can be detected in the laboratory. It is now believed that many clinically relevant fungi also produce hemolysins.[2] Hemolysins can be identified by their ability to lyse red blood cells in vitro.

Not only are the erythrocytes affected by hemolysins, but there are also some effects among other blood cells, such as leucocytes (white blood cells). Escherichia coli hemolysin is potentially cytotoxic to monocytes, lymphocytes and macrophages, leading them to autolysis and death.

Visualization of hemolysis (UK: haemolysis) of red blood cells in agar plates facilitates the categorization of Streptococcus.

In the next image we can see the process of hemolysis by a Streptococcus:

One way hemolysin lyses erythrocytes is by forming pores in phospholipid bilayers.[3][4] Other hemolysins lyse erythrocytes by hydrolyzing the phospholipids in the bilayer.

Due to the importance of hemolysins and the formation of pores, this part looks forward to enhance some more aspects of the process. Many hemolysins are pore-forming toxins (PFT), which are able to cause the lysis of erythrocytes, leukocytes, and platelets by producing pores on the cytoplasmic membrane.

But, in which way does this kind of protein carry out this process?

Hemolysin is normally secreted by the bacteria in a water-resoluble way. These monomers diffuse to the target cells and are attached to them by specific receivers. After this is already done, they oligomerize, creating ring-shaped heptamer complexes.[5]

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Hemolysin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Biotechnology

Bio-Technology is a research oriented science, a combination of Biology and Technology. It covers a wide variety of subjects like Genetics, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Immunology, Virology, Chemistry and Engineering and is also concerned with many other subjectslike Health and Medicine, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Cropping system and Crop Management, Ecology, Cell Biology, Soil science and Soil Conservation, Bio-statistics, Plant Physiology, Seed Technology etc. Bio-Technology is the use of living things, especially cells and bacteria in industrial process. There is a great scope in this field as the demand for biotechnologist are growing in India as well as abroad.

There are many applications of biotechnology such as developing various medicines, vaccines and diagnostics, increasing productivity, improving energy production and conservation. Biotechnology's intervention in the area of animal husbandry has improved animal breeding. It also helps to improve the quality of seeds, insecticides and fertilizers. Environmental biotechnology helps for pollution control and waste management.

Most of the information that has led to the emergence of biotechnology in the present form has been generated during the last five decades. The setting up of a separate Department of Biotechnology (DBT) (www.dbtindia.nic.in ) under the Ministry of Science and Technology in 1986 gave a new impetus to the development of the field of modern biology and biotechnology in India. More than 6000 biotechnologists of higher skill are required in India as per the report from the Human Resource Development Ministry. To overcome this vast requirement the department of Biotechnology (DBT) has highlighted the need to set up a regulatory body for the maintenance of standard education under the name of 'All- India Board of Biotechnology Education and Training' under the AICTE .

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Biotechnology Careers in India : How to become a ...

Top 10 biotech companies in India 1. Biocon Established in the year 1978 Biocon, global biopharmaceutical enterprise is actively involved in the manufacturing and development of innovative technologies that includes large-scale chemical synthesis, microbial fermentation, mammalian cell culture, purification of protein & antibody and various aseptic formulations. Chairman Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw; Corporate Office Bangalore, India | Sector Private | Website http://www.biocon.com 2. Serum Institute of India Serum Institute of India Ltd. established in the year 1966 is the world's largest producer of Measles and DTP group of vaccines. The company manufactures life-saving Biologicals including Anti-Snake Venom and Tetanus Antitoxin serum, DTP (Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis) and MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) group of vaccines at affordable prices. Chairman Cyrus S. Poonawalla; Location: Pune, India | Sector Private | Website http://www.seruminstitute.com 3. Panacea Biotech Ltd Panacea Biotec established in the year 1976, has strong R and D capabilities with a wide range of pipeline including: Development various complex pharmaceutical generic compounds Technologies) Development of New Chemical Entities (NCE) Vaccines Chairman Soshil Kumar, Corporate Office New Delhi, India | | Business Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology | Sector Private | Website http://www.panacea-biotec.com 4. Novo Nordisk Established in the year 1923, Novo Nordisk is the worlds leader in diabetes care, manufacturing broadest diabetes product that includes development of the most advanced products related to insulin delivery systems. Chairman Sten Scheibye, Corporate Office Denmark, Business -Sector Pharmaceutical- Private | Website http://www.novonordisk.co.in 5. GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. One of the earliest pharmaceutical companies in India is GSK India. It was established in the year 1924. The GSK India is an important group of manufacturing products of wide range of prescription medicines and vaccines in therapeutic areas such as dermatology, anti-infectives, diabetes, oncology, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The company also manufactures vaccines for prevention of hepatitis A and B, invasive diseases caused by H. influenzae, chickenpox, DPT, cervical cancer, rotavirus, Streptococcal pneumonia etc. Chairman Chris Gent; Corporate Office London, United Kingdom Business Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical, Sector Private | Website http://www.gsk-india.com 6. SIRO Clinpharm Established in the year 1996 the company provides a wide range of services including Clinical Operations & Clinical Monitoring, Clinical Data management, medical and scientific writing, biostatistics and statistical programming, clinical trial supplies management, pharmacovigilance. Chairman Dr. Gautam Daftary; Corporate Office Thane, India | | | Business Drug Development; Sector Private | Website http://www.siroclinpharm.com 7. Novozymes, South Asia Novozymes a biotech company established in 1925 strongly focus on production of novel enzymes. The companys biosolution provides everything from the removal of trans fats in food to advancements in bioenergy sources. Chairman Kbenhavns Lufthavne; Corporate Office Bagsvaerd, Denmark; Novozymes South Asia Pvt. Ltd. Bangalore, India; Sector Private | Website http://www.novozymes.com 8. Zydus Cadila Zydus Cadila, established in the year 1952, is a fully integrated, global healthcare company with complete healthcare solutions ranging from active pharmaceutical ingredients, formulations products related to animal health care to wellness products. The company is the only Indian pharma establishment that launched the worlds first drug NCE Lipaglyn for treatment of diabetic dyslipidemia. Chairman - Mr. Pankaj R. Patel, Corporate office-Ahmedabad, Sector- Private Website- http://www.zyduscadila.com 9. Indian Immunologicals Indian Immunologicals Ltd. (IIL) was established in 1982 by The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) with the focus to manufacture Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine available to poor people at an affordable price. IIL provides a range of adult as well as child vaccines. Chairman Dr. Amrita Patel; Corporate Office Hyderabad, India Business-sector Biotechnology-private; Website http://www.indimmune.com 10. Wockhardt Ltd. Established in the year 1960 Wockhardt Ltd. is an international manufacturer of biopharmaceutical formulations along with Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API). An integrated multi-technology capability was developed by the company for manufacturing all types of dosage formulation that includes sterile injectables and lyophilised products. Chairman Habil Khorakiwala; Corporate Office Mumbai, India; Business Sector Biotechnology and Pharmaceutics-private Website http://www.wockhardt.com

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The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health. The NCBI is located in Bethesda, Maryland and was founded in 1988 through legislation sponsored by Senator Claude Pepper.

The NCBI houses a series of databases relevant to biotechnology and biomedicine. Major databases include GenBank for DNA sequences and PubMed, a bibliographic database for the biomedical literature. Other databases include the NCBI Epigenomics database. All these databases are available online through the Entrez search engine.

NCBI is directed by David Lipman, one of the original authors of the BLAST sequence alignment program and a widely respected figure in bioinformatics. He also leads an intramural research program, including groups led by Stephen Altschul (another BLAST co-author), David Landsman, Eugene Koonin (a prolific author on comparative genomics), John Wilbur, Teresa Przytycka, and Zhiyong Lu.

NCBI is listed in the Registry of Research Data Repositories re3data.org.[1]

NCBI has had responsibility for making available the GenBank DNA sequence database since 1992.[2] GenBank coordinates with individual laboratories and other sequence databases such as those of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ).[3]

Since 1992, NCBI has grown to provide other databases in addition to GenBank. NCBI provides Gene, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, the Molecular Modeling Database (3D protein structures), dbSNP (a database of single-nucleotide polymorphisms), the Reference Sequence Collection, a map of the human genome, and a taxonomy browser, and coordinates with the National Cancer Institute to provide the Cancer Genome Anatomy Project. The NCBI assigns a unique identifier (taxonomy ID number) to each species of organism.[4]

The NCBI has software tools that are available by WWW browsing or by FTP. For example, BLAST is a sequence similarity searching program. BLAST can do sequence comparisons against the GenBank DNA database in less than 15 seconds.

The NCBI Bookshelf is a collection of freely available, downloadable, on-line versions of selected biomedical books. The Bookshelf covers a wide range of topics including molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, microbiology, disease states from a molecular and cellular point of view, research methods, and virology. Some of the books are online versions of previously published books, while others, such as Coffee Break, are written and edited by NCBI staff. The Bookshelf is a complement to the Entrez PubMed repository of peer-reviewed publication abstracts in that Bookshelf contents provide established perspectives on evolving areas of study and a context in which many disparate individual pieces of reported research can be organized.[citation needed]

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At its simplest, 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. We have used the biological processes of microorganisms for more than 6,000 years to make useful food products, such as bread and cheese, and to preserve dairy products.

Modern biotechnology provides breakthrough products and technologies to combat debilitating and 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 18 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. And more than 50 biorefineries are being built across North America to test and refine technologies to produce biofuels and chemicals from renewable biomass, which can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Recent advances in biotechnology are helping us prepare for and meet societys most pressing challenges. Here's how:

Biotech is helping toheal the worldby harnessing nature's own toolbox and using our own genetic makeup to heal and guide lines of research by:

Biotech uses biological processes such as fermentation and harnesses biocatalysts such as enzymes, yeast, and other microbes to become microscopic manufacturing plants. Biotech is helping tofuel the worldby:

Biotech improves crop insect resistance, enhances crop herbicide tolerance and facilitates the use of more environmentally sustainable farming practices. Biotech is helping tofeed the worldby:

Source: Healing, Fueling, Feeding: How Biotechnology is Enriching Your Life

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What is Biotechnology? | BIO

Bacteria are the unicellular organisms and cannot be seen with naked eye. There is no particular method of cell division, they simply divide by binary fission in which cell divides into two daughter cells. They do not have proper nucleus within the cell but the genetic material is attached to the cell membrane in an irregular form. They are found everywhere like top of the mountains, rivers, on land and in ice. Bacteria have the property of living in extreme weathers like extreme cold and extreme heat. They are able to live long because they become inactive for a long period of time.

Bacteria play an important role in the environment: Decomposition of Dead/Complex Organic Matter:

Ever imagined the fate of nature with dead matter of animals/plants lying around? Bacteria play a very crucial role of silently getting the nature rid of the dead matter through the decomposition of dead organic matter by the micobes. Bacteria use them as a source of nutrients, and in turn help in recycling the organic compounds trapped in the dead matter. Through this process, other organisms also get benefited, who can use the simpler forms of organic compounds/nutrients released from the dead matter by various bacteria.

Bioremediation by bacteria Bioremediation refers to the process of depletion/degradation of toxic compounds present in the natural environment by living organisms. Bacteria are one of the key players in Bioremediation. For example, oil spills due to oil digging operations or accidents on oil transport channels in the ocean or on the soil, is highly determinant to the healthy environment. Bacteria like Pseudomonas have been well known for the degradation of oil spills on oceans/soils.

Similarly, Contamination of heavy metals in the environment is a major global concern because of their toxicity and

threat to human life and environment. Bacteria like Alcaligenes faecalis (Arsenic),Pseudomonas fluorescens and Enterobacter clocae (Chromium) are well known for heavy metal uptake/compound metabolism. Waste Water Treatment Owing to their characteristics of degrading harmful chemicals and pollutants, bacteria naturally (as well as deliberately used by industries), help in treatment of waste water.

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(Biotechnology Pay Scales)

What are the average salary ranges for jobs in the Biotechnology category? Well there are a wide range of jobs in the Biotechnology category and their pay varies greatly. If you know the pay grade of the job you are searching for you can narrow down this list to only view Biotechnology jobs that pay less than $30K, $30K-$50K, $50K-$80K, $80K-$100K, or more than $100K. If you are unsure how much your Biotechnology job pays you can choose to either browse all Biotechnology salaries below or you can search all Biotechnology salaries. Other related categories you may wish to browse are Healthcare -- Technicians jobs and Pharmaceuticals jobs.

Accounting Administrative, Support, and Clerical Advertising Aerospace and Defense Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Architecture Arts and Entertainment Automotive Aviation and Airlines Banking Biotechnology Clergy Construction and Installation Consulting Services Customer Services Education Energy and Utilities Engineering Entry Level Environment Executive and Management Facilities, Maintenance, and Repair Financial Services Fire, Law Enforcement, and Security Food, Beverage, and Tobacco Government Graphic Arts Healthcare -- Administrative Healthcare -- Nursing Healthcare -- Practitioners Healthcare -- Technicians Hotel, Gaming, Leisure, and Travel Human Resources Insurance Internet and New Media IT -- All IT -- Computers, Hardware IT -- Computers, Software IT -- Executive, Consulting IT -- Manager IT -- Networking Legal Services Library Services Logistics Manufacturing Marketing Materials Management Media -- Broadcast Media -- Print Military Mining Non-Profit and Social Services Personal Care and Service Pharmaceuticals Planning Printing and Publishing Public Relations Purchasing Real Estate Restaurant and Food Services Retail/Wholesale Sales Science and Research Skilled and Trades Sports and Recreation Telecommunications Training Transportation and Warehousing jobs in All Aerospace & Defense Biotechnology Business Services Chemicals Construction Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit Energy & Utilities Financial Services Healthcare Hospitality & Leisure Insurance Internet Media MFG Durable MFG Nondurable Pharmaceuticals Retail & Wholesale Software & Networking Telecom Transportation industry All $100,000+ $80,000 - $100,000 $50,000 - $80,000 $30,000 - $50,000 $10,000 - $30,000 salary range

Alternate Job Titles: Entry Level Biochemist , Chemist I, biological

Alternate Job Titles: Intermediate Level Biochemist , Chemist II, biological

Alternate Job Titles: Senior Biochemist , Chemist III, biological

Alternate Job Titles: Entry Level Biologist

Alternate Job Titles: Intermediate Level Biologist

Alternate Job Titles: Senior Biologist

Alternate Job Titles: Biologist - Specialist , Biologist - Consultant

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biotechnology,the use of biology to solve problems and make useful products. The most prominent area of biotechnology is the production of therapeutic proteins and other drugs through genetic engineering.

People have been harnessing biological processes to improve their quality of life for some 10,000 years, beginning with the first agricultural communities. Approximately 6,000 years ago, humans began to tap the biological processes of microorganisms in order to make bread, alcoholic beverages, and cheese and to preserve dairy products. But such processes are not what is meant today by biotechnology, a term first widely applied to the molecular and cellular technologies that began to emerge in the 1960s and 70s. A fledgling biotech industry began to coalesce in the mid- to late 1970s, led by Genentech, a pharmaceutical company established in 1976 by Robert A. Swanson and Herbert W. Boyer to commercialize the recombinant DNA technology pioneered by Boyer and Stanley N. Cohen. Early companies such as Genentech, Amgen, Biogen, Cetus, and Genex began by manufacturing genetically engineered substances primarily for medical and environmental uses.

For more than a decade, the biotechnology industry was dominated by recombinant DNA technology, or genetic engineering. This technique consists of splicing the gene for a useful protein (often a human protein) into production cellssuch as yeast, bacteria, or mammalian cells in culturewhich then begin to produce the protein in volume. In the process of splicing a gene into a production cell, a new organism is created. At first, biotechnology investors and researchers were uncertain about whether the courts would permit them to acquire patents on organisms; after all, patents were not allowed on new organisms that happened to be discovered and identified in nature. But, in 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Diamond v. Chakrabarty, resolved the matter by ruling that a live human-made microorganism is patentable subject matter. This decision spawned a wave of new biotechnology firms and the infant industrys first investment boom. In 1982 recombinant insulin became the first product made through genetic engineering to secure approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since then, dozens of genetically engineered protein medications have been commercialized around the world, including recombinant versions of growth hormone, clotting factors, proteins for stimulating the production of red and white blood cells, interferons, and clot-dissolving agents.

In the early years, the main achievement of biotechnology was the ability to produce naturally occurring therapeutic molecules in larger quantities than could be derived from conventional sources such as plasma, animal organs, and human cadavers. Recombinant proteins are also less likely to be contaminated with pathogens or to provoke allergic reactions. Today, biotechnology researchers seek to discover the root molecular causes of disease and to intervene precisely at that level. Sometimes this means producing therapeutic proteins that augment the bodys own supplies or that make up for genetic deficiencies, as in the first generation of biotech medications. (Gene therapyinsertion of genes encoding a needed protein into a patients body or cellsis a related approach.) But the biotechnology industry has also expanded its research into the development of traditional pharmaceuticals and monoclonal antibodies that stop the progress of a disease. Such steps are uncovered through painstaking study of genes (genomics), the proteins that they encode (proteomics), and the larger biological pathways in which they act.

In addition to the tools mentioned above, biotechnology also involves merging biological information with computer technology (bioinformatics), exploring the use of microscopic equipment that can enter the human body (nanotechnology), and possibly applying techniques of stem cell research and cloning to replace dead or defective cells and tissues (regenerative medicine). Companies and academic laboratories integrate these disparate technologies in an effort to analyze downward into molecules and also to synthesize upward from molecular biology toward chemical pathways, tissues, and organs.

In addition to being used in health care, biotechnology has proved helpful in refining industrial processes through the discovery and production of biological enzymes that spark chemical reactions (catalysts); for environmental cleanup, with enzymes that digest contaminants into harmless chemicals and then die after consuming the available food supply; and in agricultural production through genetic engineering.

Agricultural applications of biotechnology have proved the most controversial. Some activists and consumer groups have called for bans on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or for labeling laws to inform consumers of the growing presence of GMOs in the food supply. In the United States, the introduction of GMOs into agriculture began in 1993, when the FDA approved bovine somatotropin (BST), a growth hormone that boosts milk production in dairy cows. The next year, the FDA approved the first genetically modified whole food, a tomato engineered for a longer shelf life. Since then, regulatory approval in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere has been won by dozens of agricultural GMOs, including crops that produce their own pesticides and crops that survive the application of specific herbicides used to kill weeds. Studies by the United Nations, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the European Union, the American Medical Association, U.S. regulatory agencies, and other organizations have found GMO foods to be safe, but skeptics contend that it is still too early to judge the long-term health and ecological effects of such crops. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the land area planted in genetically modified crops increased dramatically, from 1.7 million hectares (4.2 million acres) in 1996 to 160 million hectares (395 million acres) by 2011.

Overall, the revenues of U.S. and European biotechnology industries roughly doubled over the five-year period from 1996 through 2000. Rapid growth continued into the 21st century, fueled by the introduction of new products, particularly in health care.

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The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) is the largest trade organization to serve and represent the biotechnology industry in the United States and around the world.[1][2][3]

Its members include companies that make Pharmaceutical drugs, biofuels, industrial enzymes, and genetically modified crops.[4] It was founded 1993 in Washington, D.C. and Carl B. Feldbaum was the president from BIO's founding until he retired in 2004,[5] and was succeeded by James C. Greenwood. As of 2013, it represents 1,000 biotech companies in all 50 U.S. states, which employ 1.61 million Americans and support an additional 3.4 million jobs.[6]

Rachel King, president and chief executive of GlycoMimetics, is board chairwoman; the first woman to hold this position.[7][8] James Greenwood is President and CEO.[9]

BIO holds a trade meeting each year in the United States, which are essential for the business development and partnering activities that are required in the biotechnology sector, in which it is expensive to develop products, timelines to develop products are long, and regulatory risks are high.[10] In 2013 the conference was held in Chicago and was attended by 13,594 delegates from 47 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and 62 countries.[11][12]

It also holds regional partnering meetings, for example in China,[13]India,[14] and Europe.[15]

In 2013 it spent $1.98 million on lobbying in the United States.[16] Issues included the amending the Internal Revenue Code to provide an exception from the passive loss rules for investments in high-technology research small business pass-through entities, to include vaccines against seasonal influenza within the definition of taxable vaccines, and to extend, expand, and improve the qualifying therapeutic discovery project program that first became law in 2010.[17][18]

Example of its public lobbying efforts, include support for development of biofuels such as those produced from algae,[19]genetically modified crops,[20] strong intellectual property rights,[21] and for a more efficient and predictable regulatory process for new food and drug products.[22]

In June 2013 it partnered with the Coalition of Small Business Innovators to lobby the U.S. government to modernize the U.S. tax code "to recognize and promote small business innovation as fundamental to the long-term growth of the U.S. economy".[6][23]

It is a member of The Alliance to Feed the Future, an umbrella network, the mission of which is to "raise awareness and improve understanding of the benefits & necessity of modern food production and technology in order to meet global demand".[24][25]

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Agricultural Biotechnology, Poverty Reduction, and Food Security

A Working Paper May 2001

Asian Development Bank 2001 All rights reserved

FOREWORD

Recent breakthroughs in biotechnology have led to rapid progress in understanding the genetic basis of living organisms, and the ability to develop products and processes useful to human and animal health, food and agriculture, and industry. In agriculture, there is increasing use of biotechnology for genetic mapping and marker-assisted selection to aid more precise and rapid development of new strains of improved crops and livestock. Other biotechnology applications such as tissue culture and micropropagation are being used for the rapid multiplication of disease-free planting materials. New diagnostics and vaccines are being widely adopted for the diagnosis, prevention, and control of animal and fish diseases. Many of these developments have taken place mainly in the United States and other developed countries. But in recent years several developing countries in Asia including Peoples Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, and Viet Nam have begun to invest heavily in biotechnology.

Biotechnology has given us a new tool to improve food security and reduce poverty. This development is encouraging since the Green Revolution technologies, which have doubled food production and reduced poverty during the past three decades, have already run their course in much of Asia. Conventional breeding, widely used during the Green Revolution era, no longer provides needed breakthroughs in yield potentials, nor the solution to the complex problems of pests, diseases, and drought stress. That is particularly true in the rainfed areas where the poor are concentrated. The challenge is how to use new developments in biotechnology together with information technology and new ways of managing knowledge to make the complex agricultural systems of Asia more productive and sustainable.

The development of agricultural biotechnology is perceived by some as posing considerable risks to human health and the environment. Most of the debate on biotechnology has been focused on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The public debate surrounding GMOs has heightened concerns that genetic engineering may in the long run be harmful to human health and the environment unless effective regulatory frameworks are implemented. Indeed, the public and private sectors must manage the introduction and use of biotechnology to maximize benefits and minimize risks.

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Pamela Peters, from Biotechnology: A Guide To Genetic Engineering. Wm. C. Brown Publishers, Inc., 1993.

Biotechnology in one form or another has flourished since prehistoric times. When the first human beings realized that they could plant their own crops and breed their own animals, they learned to use biotechnology. The discovery that fruit juices fermented into wine, or that milk could be converted into cheese or yogurt, or that beer could be made by fermenting solutions of malt and hops began the study of biotechnology. When the first bakers found that they could make a soft, spongy bread rather than a firm, thin cracker, they were acting as fledgling biotechnologists. The first animal breeders, realizing that different physical traits could be either magnified or lost by mating appropriate pairs of animals, engaged in the manipulations of biotechnology.

What then is biotechnology? The term brings to mind many different things. Some think of developing new types of animals. Others dream of almost unlimited sources of human therapeutic drugs. Still others envision the possibility of growing crops that are more nutritious and naturally pest-resistant to feed a rapidly growing world population. This question elicits almost as many first-thought responses as there are people to whom the question can be posed.

In its purest form, the term "biotechnology" refers to the use of living organisms or their products to modify human health and the human environment. Prehistoric biotechnologists did this as they used yeast cells to raise bread dough and to ferment alcoholic beverages, and bacterial cells to make cheeses and yogurts and as they bred their strong, productive animals to make even stronger and more productive offspring.

Throughout human history, we have learned a great deal about the different organisms that our ancestors used so effectively. The marked increase in our understanding of these organisms and their cell products gains us the ability to control the many functions of various cells and organisms. Using the techniques of gene splicing and recombinant DNA technology, we can now actually combine the genetic elements of two or more living cells. Functioning lengths of DNA can be taken from one organism and placed into the cells of another organism. As a result, for example, we can cause bacterial cells to produce human molecules. Cows can produce more milk for the same amount of feed. And we can synthesize therapeutic molecules that have never before existed.

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What is Biotechnology ? - Access Excellence

A disruptive technology that saves lives and improves patient care Main menu Marx Biotechnology is developing a proprietary first-in-class molecular diagnostic kit for the early detection of Graft versus Host Disease (GVHD). GVHD is a life threatening complication of allogeneic (non-self) stem cell transplantation such as bone marrow, peripheral blood or cord blood transplantation

and solid organ transplantations. The cells from the donor react

adversely to the cells in the patient. GVHD affects approximately 50% of all such transplant patients, frequently resulting in death. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_8PcfZSkrI Marx Bios approach has 5 clear advantages:

Incorporated in Jerusalem in January 2011, the Marx Bio team has completed proof of concept in animal studies, has published in a peer reviewed journal, and has filed three patents. It is commencing a Phase 1 clinical trial in humans in Tel Aviv.

Marx Bio has a clear work schedule to deliver a validated and cleared product, ready for market entry within 36 to 48 months. The company is looking for strategic partners to join in that journey.

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"Bioscience" redirects here. For the scientific journal, see BioScience. For life sciences generally, see life science.

Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make products, or "any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use" (UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Art. 2).[1] Depending on the tools and applications, it often overlaps with the (related) fields of bioengineering, biomedical engineering, etc.

For thousands of years, humankind has used biotechnology in agriculture, food production, and medicine.[2] The term is largely believed to have been coined in 1919 by Hungarian engineer Kroly Ereky. In the late 20th and early 21st century, biotechnology has expanded to include new and diverse sciences such as genomics, recombinant gene techniques, applied immunology, and development of pharmaceutical therapies and diagnostic tests.[2]

The wide concept of "biotech" or "biotechnology" encompasses a wide range of procedures for modifying living organisms according to human purposes, going back to domestication of animals, cultivation of plants, and "improvements" to these through breeding programs that employ artificial selection and hybridization. Modern usage also includes genetic engineering as well as cell and tissue culture technologies. The American Chemical Society defines biotechnology as the application of biological organisms, systems, or processes by various industries to learning about the science of life and the improvement of the value of materials and organisms such as pharmaceuticals, crops, and livestock.[3] As per European Federation of Biotechnology, Biotechnology is the integration of natural science and organisms, cells, parts thereof, and molecular analogues for products and services.[4] Biotechnology also writes on the pure biological sciences (animal cell culture, biochemistry, cell biology, embryology, genetics, microbiology, and molecular biology). In many instances, it is also dependent on knowledge and methods from outside the sphere of biology including:

Conversely, modern biological sciences (including even concepts such as molecular ecology) are intimately entwined and heavily dependent on the methods developed through biotechnology and what is commonly thought of as the life sciences industry. Biotechnology is the research and development in the laboratory using bioinformatics for exploration, extraction, exploitation and production from any living organisms and any source of biomass by means of biochemical engineering where high value-added products could be planned (reproduced by biosynthesis, for example), forecasted, formulated, developed, manufactured and marketed for the purpose of sustainable operations (for the return from bottomless initial investment on R & D) and gaining durable patents rights (for exclusives rights for sales, and prior to this to receive national and international approval from the results on animal experiment and human experiment, especially on the pharmaceutical branch of biotechnology to prevent any undetected side-effects or safety concerns by using the products).[5][6][7]

By contrast, bioengineering is generally thought of as a related field that more heavily emphasizes higher systems approaches (not necessarily the altering or using of biological materials directly) for interfacing with and utilizing living things. Bioengineering is the application of the principles of engineering and natural sciences to tissues, cells and molecules. This can be considered as the use of knowledge from working with and manipulating biology to achieve a result that can improve functions in plants and animals.[8] Relatedly, biomedical engineering is an overlapping field that often draws upon and applies biotechnology (by various definitions), especially in certain sub-fields of biomedical and/or chemical engineering such as tissue engineering, biopharmaceutical engineering, and genetic engineering.

Although not normally what first comes to mind, many forms of human-derived agriculture clearly fit the broad definition of "'utilizing a biotechnological system to make products". Indeed, the cultivation of plants may be viewed as the earliest biotechnological enterprise.

Agriculture has been theorized to have become the dominant way of producing food since the Neolithic Revolution. Through early biotechnology, the earliest farmers selected and bred the best suited crops, having the highest yields, to produce enough food to support a growing population. As crops and fields became increasingly large and difficult to maintain, it was discovered that specific organisms and their by-products could effectively fertilize, restore nitrogen, and control pests. Throughout the history of agriculture, farmers have inadvertently altered the genetics of their crops through introducing them to new environments and breeding them with other plants one of the first forms of biotechnology.

These processes also were included in early fermentation of beer.[9] These processes were introduced in early Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and India, and still use the same basic biological methods. In brewing, malted grains (containing enzymes) convert starch from grains into sugar and then adding specific yeasts to produce beer. In this process, carbohydrates in the grains were broken down into alcohols such as ethanol. Later other cultures produced the process of lactic acid fermentation which allowed the fermentation and preservation of other forms of food, such as soy sauce. Fermentation was also used in this time period to produce leavened bread. Although the process of fermentation was not fully understood until Louis Pasteur's work in 1857, it is still the first use of biotechnology to convert a food source into another form.

Before the time of Charles Darwin's work and life, animal and plant scientists had already used selective breeding. Darwin added to that body of work with his scientific observations about the ability of science to change species. These accounts contributed to Darwin's theory of natural selection.[10]

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Biotechnology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia