Biotechnology

Biotechnology has been defined as the use of techniques to modify deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or the genetic material of a microorganism, plant, or animal in order to achieve a desired trait. The word biotechnology was coined by Karl Ereky, a Hungarian engineer, in 1919. He used biotechnology as an umbrella term to describe methods and techniques that allow the production of substances from raw materials with the aid of living organisms. This emerging field of applied biology has tremendous scope in engineering, technology, and medicine, and includes techniques such as genetic engineering, and cell and tissue culture technologies. The 1993 United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity defines biotechnology as “any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or ...