Biotechnology dates back to the naturalistic knowledge of mankind, knowledge that has been applied thanks to the evolution of science and technology over millennia and centuries. In a way, biotechnology is the science of life . Today, its fields of application are multiple, with the number of biotechnology companies having increased significantly in the last decade, offering interesting professional opportunities.
Biotechnology: What is it and how does it work?
The term 'biotechnology' combines the nouns 'biology' and 'technology', where the former designates the study and knowledge ( logos ) of living beings ( bios ) and the latter ( techné ) the application and use of technical tools. The expression first appeared in 1917 , by a Hungarian engineer who used it in reference to the processing of certain agricultural products .
Traditional biotechnologies include all those productive technologies that have been used for millennia and refer, in particular, to the use of living organisms such as bacteria, yeasts, plant or animal cells. Examples of traditional biotechnologies are milk transformed into cheese and grape juice converted into wine, among others. But their use dates back to when there was still no knowledge of biology, much less biotechnology.
One of the first official definitions comes from the European peru whatsapp data Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) , which, in 1982, referred to the integrated use of microbiology, biochemistry, genetics and chemical engineering "in order to obtain applications of microorganisms and other cellular systems for the production of compounds of interest or for clinical therapies."
Among the many subsequent definitions, the most comprehensive is the one contained in the Convention on Biological Diversity , an international treaty adopted in Nairobi in 1992. According to this definition, biotechnology, or biotechnologies, to indicate the plurality of technologies developed and their respective fields of application, is: the technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to produce or modify products or processes for a specific purpose.
While it is true that the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) distinguishes four macro areas in innovative biotechnologies (pharmacology, medicine and diagnostics; agriculture, veterinary science and animal husbandry; bioindustry and the environment), it is also true that the fields of application of biotechnology are multiple, so much so that each sector has sub-branches and more than one variant.
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The intersection between pharmacy and biotechnology
Medical biotechnologies represent that branch of biotechnology dedicated to the discovery and development of active ingredients, the production of vaccines and the development of new techniques for the analysis and diagnosis of diseases and their respective gene and cell therapies. More specifically, they apply biochemistry, microbiology and genetic engineering to the production of goods and services in the medical-pharmaceutical field, for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. This is the connection and intersection between pharmacy and biotechnology, from which two sub-branches of study derive: molecular biotechnologies and cellular biotechnologies.