WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

Whenever someone gets to know that we are studying biotechnology, the first question we face is what biotechnology is?! {And of course the next question will be “What will you do next?”J}. Normally many people have a misconception about biotechnology, (though not their fault), that biotechnology speaks just about genes, genetic codes and pharmaceutical studies. It’s mainly because of the media which highlights only these parts mostly and also because it is the most successful part of biotechnology.

So our first post is for all such people who have just heard the word “Biotechnology” and the people who think biotechnology is just creating “Xerox copies” of an animal using cloning techniques or its just genetic engineering.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF BIOTECHNOLOGY…. :-)

So when did Biotechnology begin and what biotechnology is?

It’s difficult to define this technology. But it has a history of centuries. The timeline actually begun in 1750 BC when The Sumerians brew beer for the first time. 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 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.

Then what Biotechnology is?! Biotechnology is a broad term that applies to all practical uses of living organisms—anything from microorganisms used in the fermentation of beer to the most sophisticated application of gene therapy. The term covers applications that are old and new, familiar and strange, sophisticated and simple. It can be defined as “The controlled and deliberate application of simple biological agents-living or dead cells or cell components-in technically useful operations, either of their productive manufacture or as service operation.” (B.D.Singh).

Biotech is recognised the world over as the technology of the future. Today, the Indian biotech sector has attained critical mass in manufacturing as well as research services and has slowly built a market for biotech products.

Biotechnology being a very powerful and valuable source of economic strength for sustainable future of any developed or developing nation, India is pacing fast in the arena of biotechnology and genomics to harness all potentials of productivity, growth and sustainable development.

But this technology has always been a controversial field of science and a stage for many critics. The criticisms (?) like “tampering with nature” and the scientists “playing god” are the complements according to us. What’s actually wrong in it? Honestly we are keeping this opinion as common people and NOT AS BIOTECHNOLOGISTS. Nature has of course given us everything we want but it has its own limitations. Don’t you think that the nature is a ‘blind designer’? Hence whatever things are bad in nature are made or being tried to made good using BIOTECHNOLOGY. Medicine, and hence biotechnology, is only necessary because evolution has left us with shoddily built bodies that constantly break down, leaving us with terrific diseases like cancers and coronaries, the mitochondrial diseases and the chromosomal abnormalities. So why shouldn't we try to alter and improve our genome? When the world is dying with hunger and nature is not able to provide enough bread, why should not we create GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS?

The science has still long way to go….