What is biotechnology?
Biotechnology is a collective term for an almost unmanageable number of procedures, products and methods. According to the definition of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) biotechnology is ”the use of science and technology on living organisms, parts of them, their products or models of them for the purpose of modifying living or non living material for the improvement of the standard of knowledge, production of goods and for the provision of services“.
- Everything revolves around this: DNA as the buildingplan for all life processes.
In other words: the breadth of its fields of application and possible fields of use makes biotechnology an interdisciplinary technology. It is not only based on biology and biochemistry but also on a multitude of further scientific disciplines, including physics, chemistry, process engineering, materials science and IT. Biotechnology does not only investigate whole organisms such as bacteria, plants, animals and humans, but also individual cells and enzymes or other parts and products of the organisms are objects of research and practice.
Models can be on the one hand living things or cell cultures, or on the other hand technical systems and IT tools. Through biotechnological research people can extend their knowledge of the modules and processes of life, and develop new medications, agricultural products or procedures, which among other things make processes more efficient or environmentally friendly. Furthermore numerous service providers have established themselves in biotechnology, who are for example decoding the structures of biomolecules for their customers or providing medical diagnostic services.
