by Russell M. Stewart

Biotechnology can be defined in many ways and although different involved organizations do explain it in their own terms, ultimately, biotechnology is the use of biology as the foundation for developing various technologies as applied to research and product development. So, biotechnology can be used in food science, agriculture, environment, medicine and even robotics fields.

People have always tried to manipulate the environment, but never before have we been so close to controlling it. It started from the time when we started fermenting beer, which went to another level when bacteria were cultured. Now we have moved forward to a point where animal cloning and advanced forms of nucleotide-based organ regeneration are being attempted successfully.

But even before there was a name to call it by, biotechnology was in existence. Even something that people have been doing for centuries, like preservatives to keep food edible during winter, is a form of biotechnology. When around 6000 BC, fruit juice was first fermented to form alcohol, it was another instance of biotechnology. Of course, it has emerged as a science only recently.

The biotechnology we know today started gaining attention only about twenty years ago, when genetics were discovered to be the primary element for synthesizing essential proteins in an organism. The discovery of DNA and the related development of molecular biology was the true beginning of biotechnology as we know it now.

The eighties saw technological advances being made in leaps and bounds. The same was true in the case of biotechnology. Use of biotechnology in the fields of medicine and biological research became very important and more common. The concept of transgenic organisms was discovered, which led to vast advancement in the fields of disease resistance and productivity rates. Now we have plant-generated pharmaceuticals and production of antibiotics and insulin, as a direct result of this research.

Modern biotechnology is practiced in three different categories – red, white and green. Red Biotechnology is when the genetically altered microorganisms are used to produce medical and pharmaceutical substances, such as proteins, vitamins, antibiotics and vaccines etc. It’s also used in genome manipulation.

White Biotechnology is also called bio-manufacturing, or Grey Biotechnology. In this field, live organisms are changed and controlled to produce industrial chemicals. The organisms that White Biotechnology uses are moulds, enzymes, yeast and bacteria.

Agricultural Biotechnology, also known as Green Biotechnology, is what’s applied into creating better, fresher, more nutritious and longer-lasting agricultural produce. A traditional agricultural biotechnology example is how wheat varieties are cross-bred to produce a disease-resistant crop.

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