1.>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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2.>The definition of biotechnology varies, but a simple definition is the use of organisms by man. One example of biotechnology is cloning. We have been cloning plants for centuries. Each time a leaf is excised from a violet plant and placed in soil to grow a new plant, cloning has occurred. Today, we are not only doing the physical manipulation at the visual level but also on the molecular level. In modern or molecular biotechnology, we physically select the desired characteristic at the molecular level and add it to the organism's genetic makeup.
Biotechnology is the science for this century. With its advances, we are on the first part of a great journey. Humans have expanded their understanding of the biosphere by journeying into space and exploring the depths of the ocean. We have not only been able to look at the surrounding universe and the depths below with the advancement of tools and techniques, but we also have been able to live there. The advancement tools and techniques is now allowing us to look at the universe of atoms. Biotechnology is utilizing the sciences of biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, computers, and information technology to develop tools and products that hold great promise and concern. Humans have always been "manipulating" organisms to their advantage, but now we are able to manipulate life and materials at the atomic level through nanotechnology.
The two schools of thought about what biotechnology is can elicit much debate. Both use organisms to help man. Whereas modern biotechnology manipulates the genes of organisms and inserts them into other organisms to acquire the desired trait, traditional biotechnology uses the processes of organisms, such as fermentation.
Adapted with permission from Shoestring Biotechnology: Budget-Oriented High Quality Biotechnology Laboratories for Two-Year and High School co-published by the National Association of Biology Teachers and the Biotechnology Institute.