BIOTECHNOLOGY AND ITS INNOVATIONS
Biotechnology is any application that uses biological systems or their derivates to make products
The term
Was coined in 1919 by Hungarian engineer Karl Ereky
In the 19th century
Mendel identified the principles of inheritance
And
Koch and Pasteur established institutes for investigating microbial processes
In the early 20th century
Scientists started exploring new ways of manufacturing products
During World War II
Microorganisms began to be used to produce antibiotics
In the 1970s
New gene transfer techniques were developed
And in the 1980s
Insulin was the first commercial product obtained from gene transfer
In the 1990s
Genetically engineered vaccines and hormones and new cloning techniques were introduced
Generally
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology
That
Involves the use of living organisms to solve problems
Today
Biotechnology is used in several areas such as
Agriculture
Medicine
Bioinformatics
Industrial processes
The scientific community
Is divided concerning the extensive use of biotechnological techniques
On the one hand
They lead to remarkable advances
On the other hand
Untested new procedures should be dealt with cautiously