Where is biotechnology used

These amazing enzyme catalysts are what make industrial biotechnology such a powerful technology. Alcohol production is one of the most basic applications of industrial biotechnology.

Enzymes and microbes are two common tools used in industrial biotechnology. First generation biofuel is produced by fermenting plant-derived sugars to ethanol, using a similar process to that used in beer and wine-making, or by converting plant-oils to biodiesel.

It requires crops such as sugar cane, corn, wheat, oil seed rape or sugar beet. Biofuels such as bio ethanol and biodiesel are blended with petrol and diesel to meet legislation on greenhouse gas emissions.

Blending bio fuels into road transport fuel can reduce their carbon impact. Reducing the carbon footprint by producing aviation fuel from bio-based feedstocks is also heavily in development, with biorefineries being constructed to produce low-carbon alternative fuels to fossil-derived jet fuel. Such products come either directly from cells, or are made using enzymes taken from cells. In a way, cells are biofactories, with production lines of enzymes workers assembling our desired product.

We can either use the whole factory or just specific workers to produce what we want, i. We have used the biological processes of microorganisms for more than 6, 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.

Biotech is helping to heal the world by 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 to fuel the world by:. Biotech improves crop insect resistance, enhances crop herbicide tolerance and facilitates the use of more environmentally sustainable farming practices.

Biotech is helping to feed the world by:. Currently, there are more than biotechnology health care products and vaccines available to patients, many for previously untreatable diseases. More than 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.

BIO is the world's largest trade association representing biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. We offer membership, events, industry analysis reports and more that serve the entire spectrum of the biotech industry. BIO has put together several comprehensive reports and tools for detailed industry analysis on COVID therapeutic developments, emerging company investment trends, chronic disease trends, clinical success rates and more.

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Join BIOAction. View Advocacy Toolkit. Watch Best of BIO. Human Health. Cost and Value of Biopharmaceuticals. Antimicrobial Resistance. Food and Farm Innovation. Sustainable Fuels. Biobased Manufacturing. Multilateral Organizations. Today, when most people think of biotechnology, they probably think of recombinant DNA. Although much of modern biotechnology does deal with manipulating DNA, classical biotechnology began long before we even knew about genes or chromosomes. What began as recipes for production of food now includes technology to enhance everything from farming to pharmaceuticals.

What we think of as modern biotechnology began around the end of the nineteenth century. By then, Mendel's work on genetics was completed and institutes for investigating fermentation along with other microbial processes had been founded by Koch, Pasteur, and Lister.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, industry and agriculture started to incorporate biotechnology. The growing automobile industry, for example, used fermentation processes to produce acetone and paint solvents. In addition to the genetically modified foods mentioned above, thanks to biotechnology products such as WEMA have been created, a type of crop resistant to droughts and certain insects that may prove essential in fighting hunger in Africa.

Through bioremediation processes, very useful for ecological recovery, the catabolic properties of microorganisms, fungi, plants and enzymes are used to restore contaminated ecosystems. Like the stripes of the rainbow, the different biotechnology applications are grouped into seven colours or research and development areas. In this section, we highlight the most relevant of each of them.

The benefits of biotechnology are tangible, but at the same time some warn of its possible adverse effects on the environment, health and ethics. The advantages of BIO are as follows:. Skip to main content. You are in Innovation What is biotechnology?

Share in Twitter. Share in Facebook. Whatsapp Whatsapp. Biotechnology and its impact on today's and tomorrow's world Biotechnology is not a new discipline, but it is advancing by leaps and bounds and it has more and more applications in our day-to-day lives: from pharmaceutical development to food production and the treatment of polluting waste.

Carousel of images and videos. Biotechnology uses DNA to develop innovative products and services. The evolution of biotechnology over the last century. Year The first bionic eye is produced in the US giving hope to blind people worldwide.