When many people hear the word biotechnology, they may think about cloning. But according to Wikipedia:
Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make products, or “any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use”… Depending on the tools and applications, it often overlaps with the (related) fields of bioengineering, biomedical engineering, biomanufacturing, molecular engineering, etc.
For thousands of years, humankind has used biotechnology in agriculture, food production, and medicine. The term is largely believed to have been coined in 1919 by Hungarian engineer Károly Ereky. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, biotechnology has expanded to include new and diverse sciences such as genomics, recombinant gene techniques, applied immunology, and development of pharmaceutical therapies and diagnostic tests.
Here are some of the options that biotechnology encompasses if you’re considering a career in this industry.
Uses in the Medical Field
As the population ages, creating new drugs that are more targeted in nature has become a big push. Hospitals are one of the areas in which this type of technology is needed. A segment of the biotechnology field has devoted itself to the tracking and reporting for aggregate spend that helps hospitals become more efficient. There are a variety of software programs that make this tracking possible. Companies like Porzio AggregateSpendID® is just one option for hospitals to help them manage their biotech programs.
https://youtu.be/kIY5PKAft-o?t=23s
Research Opportunities
Cloning and gene manipulation is another area of the biotech field. The large majority of this research is about being able to modify a gene segment to treat previously incurable conditions. This may sound like something out of your favorite sci-fi movie. The Human Genome Project revolutionized this portion of the biotech field. How genetics plays a role in disease is becoming more understood. Scientists are attempting to modify viruses that will target these defective portions of the genome.
Food Betterment Programs
There has been a lot of debate surrounding GMO foods. This isn’t something that’s new to the food industry. According to The Balance: “Although this definition could broadly cover thousands of years of agriculture and animal breeding, the term biotechnology (often abbreviated as “biotech”) usually means the gene engineering technology that revolutionized the biological sciences starting with Cohen and Boyer’s demonstration of DNA cloning in their Stanford lab in 1973.” This has opened the way for new debate on what it means to modify your food.
Bioremediation Cleanup
Bioremediation is a fairly new aspect of the biotech field. This is where scientists use bacteria or some other organism to clean up toxic waste. Scientists may have inadvertently stumbled on this when they noticed that certain bacteria thrive in harsh climates. This technology can be safely used to clean up oil spills or even dispose of radioactive waste. It’s still an evolving field that has a lot of potential to mitigate disasters around the world.
Biotechnology isn’t just one thing anymore. It may have started out with very simple roots, but it has since grown. There are lots of opportunities that can be taken advantage of in this growing industry.
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