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Biotechnology is the application of scientific technology applied to areas that focus on biological processes, especially agriculture and medicine. Biotechnology is broken into three distinct groups all assigned a different color: red, white, and green. Ethical questions have been raised about certain areas of biotechnology, cloning being an example, which has led to government restrictions on just how far biotechnology can go.
Red biotechnology refers to the way in which biotechnology is applied to the area of medicine. White biotechnology, or industrial biotechnology, is the use of biotechnology for industrial purposes, such as chemical production. When biotechnology is applied to agriculture, it is referred to as green biotechnology. Genetic alterations of plants for the purpose of increasing crop output are an example of green biotechnology at work. Another biotechnology group not associated with any color is bioinformatics. This is a more technical field that uses computers to analyze biological data and create applicable formulas especially useful in the area of pharmaceuticals.
Drug production, gene therapy, and pharmacogenomics are some of the areas of medicine on which biotechnology has had the greatest impact. For developing and creating drugs, biotechnology is used to search for new proteins and in turn putting them into use. Microorganisms are genetically altered to make drugs such as antibiotics and insulin. Biotechnology is also responsible for developing drugs to treat certain illnesses like hepatitis, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, as well as some cardiovascular diseases. Apart from altering microorganisms, biotechnology is also used to genetically alter animal cells for the purpose of developing pharmaceuticals.
Gene therapy is a type of biotechnology used to genetically alter human cells for the purpose of curing diseases. Genetically altered cells are used to replace defective ones in the body resulting in a reversal of the diseases effects. Gene therapy can be done in two ways: ex vivo and in vivo. Ex vivo is the extraction of a patient’s cells for the purpose of genetically modifying them and then return them to the patient’s body. In vivo is the introduction of engineered cells in a patient without first removing some of their cells. Gene therapy has been proven to be quite effective, but it has many drawbacks that limit its application like its high cost as well as the limited amount of scientific knowledge pertaining to gene functions.
Another application for biotechnology in medicine is with pharmacogenomics. Pharmacogenomics is the process of improving a patient’s ability to positively respond to drugs. Since certain people have different responses and reactions to different drugs, it is a way to customize drugs for a particular patient. Biotechnology is used to do these customizations.
Biotechnology is also used in the agriculture industry. By transferring traits from one plant into another and performing a variety of other alterations, biotechnology has the ability to increase crop output and reduce their susceptibility to environmental risks and pests.
The apparent endless possibilities of biotechnology have raised a host of ethical concerns about its practice, particularly with cloning. Scientists have successfully cloned a sheep, bringing the idea of cloning human closer to reality. The proposal to clone humans for the purpose of harvesting body organs for those in need of transplants is quite unsettling to many people. Due to this, laws and limits have been placed on biotechnological practices dealing with cloning.
