Biotechnology: Types, Applications, Principles, Tools and Importance!

Biotechnology refers to using living organisms, cells, and biomolecules to develop new technologies and products. It has a wide range of applications. Medicine, agriculture, industrial processes and environmental conservation are among them. In the context of UPSC, biotechnology is an important area to study. It has significant implications for human health, food security, environmental sustainability & global economic development. It is also a rapidly evolving field. Discoveries and innovations are constantly emerging. 

Understanding the basics of biotechnology and its various applications can be useful for UPSC aspirants in multiple exams. That includes Civil Services Examination, Indian Forest Service Examination, and Engineering Services Examination. Biotechnology is a significant part of the Science and Technology in the General Studies Paper-3 syllabus and current events.

In this article, we shall see an overview of the Types, Applications, Principles, Tools, Importance of Biotechnology and other important facts related to the UPSC exams.

What is Biotechnology?

Biotechnology is a field of applied biology. It involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses. It is used in engineering, medicine, technology & other fields that require bioproducts. Biotechnology integrates natural sciences and engineering sciences. 

• It integrates various sciences to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof, and biological processes.
• It develops technologies and products.
• It helps improve our lives and the health of our planet.
• Biotechnology produces scientific breakthroughs and goods. 
• It improves our quality of life by utilizing cellular and biomolecular processes.
• 'Biotechnology' refers to a broad range of techniques for altering living things for human purposes. 
  • It dates back to the domestication of animals and the cultivation of plants. 
  • Also, their "improvements" through breeding programmes that use artificial selection & hybridization.
• Biotechnology provides methods to support and perform basic research in biology. 
• It is the research and development in the laboratory. 
  • It uses bioinformatics to explore, extract, exploit, and produce living organisms. 
  • It uses means of biochemical engineering where high-value-added products could be planned.
  • It also can be reproduced by outcomes anticipated to improve human lives.

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What are the Types of Biotechnology?

Biotechnology is the application of biology to create new things, processes, and organisms. Its main goal is to enhance society and human health. Biotechnology has existed since the beginning of civilization. Lived along with the domestication of plants, animals and the discovery of fermentation. Based on frequent uses and applications, various biotechnology types are colour-coded. There are 4 main categories of biotechnology. Medical biotechnology or red, industrial biotechnology or white, environmental biotechnology or green, and marine biotechnology or blue.

• Medical biotechnology aims to fight and prevent disease and improve healthcare. It includes developing vaccines, gene therapy, regenerative medicine, diagnostics, and pharmaceuticals. 
• Industrial biotechnology makes use of living cells derived from sources. Such as plants, bacteria, and yeast to create products that need fewer resources during their production. They also produce less waste. 
• Environmental biotechnology is concerned with using technology to develop new processes. Technology consumes less energy and natural resources than traditional ones. 
  • It places a strong emphasis on agriculture. This includes the development of new plant varieties with agricultural value. Also, biopesticides and biofertilizers.
• Marine biotechnology is related to marine life forms. Such as algae for food production or for developing new medicines.
• Other types of biotechnologies include animal biotech. It involves genetic engineering in animals for food production or medical research purposes. 
• Plant biotech involves genetic engineering in plants. GE for food production or developing new medicines. 
• Informatics is another type known as gold biotech. It concentrates on hardware and software development for data analysis in biological research.

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Principles of Biotechnology

Major principles in biotechnology include: 

• Genetic engineering: Genetic engineering involves manipulating genes within an organism. It produces a desired trait. 
• Recombinant DNA technology: Recombinant DNA technology allows scientists to alter existing genes using the insertion mutations or deletion mutations. 
• Gene therapy: Gene therapy treatments involve introducing healthy copies of genes into cells. To treat diseases caused by defective versions of the same gene. 
• Cell culture techniques: Cell culture techniques are used for growing entire populations of specific cell types. They can then be used as models for further experimentation. 
• Immunoscience research: Immunoscience deals with studying how the immune system works. Also, developing ways to prevent or cure certain diseases through vaccination & other therapies.
• Pharmaceutical development: Pharmaceutical development involves researching drugs to design formulas that meet safety standards as well as efficacy goals.
• Drug discovery and manufacturing processes: Drug discovery focuses on identifying new molecules from natural sources. That may potentially become therapeutic agents in medicine. Manufacturing processes take all this research information into consideration. It produces medicines safely for public sale at affordable prices around the world.

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Application of Biotechnology 

Biotechnology has many applications, some of the important application od biotech in environment, medicine, animal husbandry, agriculture and food processing are discussed below in detail.

Environment

Biotechnology can contribute to sustainable development by manipulating primary energy flows, reducing fossil-fuel energy inputs into agricultural systems, and mitigating environmental problems such as deforestation and soil erosion. 

• Environmental biotechnology has several applications, including preventing pollution and restoring water quality in reservoirs, lakes, rivers, coastal areas, aquifers of groundwater, and treatment of potable water.
• Environmental biotechnology also includes tests of toxicity and pathogenicity, biosensors, and biochips to monitor environmental conditions. 
• Bioremediation is one of the most important applications of environmental biotechnology. It involves the use of microorganisms to degrade pollutants in soil or water.
• Bioremediation can clean up oil spills, contaminated groundwater, and other hazardous waste sites.
• Another application is phytoremediation which uses plants to remove pollutants from soil or water.

Medicine

Biotechnology has numerous applications in medicine, including producing therapeutic proteins and other drugs. Thanks to modern biotechnology, as drugs can be produced in greater quantities from existing genetic sources, they can now be made more quickly and affordably.

• Synthetic insulin and synthetic growth hormone are examples of drugs produced using biotechnology. 
• Biotechnology is also used for genetic diagnosis, which involves testing for suspected genetic defects before administering treatment through genetic testing.
• Stem cell research is another area where biotechnology plays a significant role in medicine. 
• Biotechnology encourages the study of in vitro or lab-grown stem cell growth because it may be able to treat patients with diseases or disorders by reviving their vitality and giving them a fresh start in life.

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Animal Husbandry

Biotechnology has various applications in animal husbandry, including increasing production efficiency through the manipulation and control of genetics. 

• Embryo transplantation is one such application that aims to increase the number of offspring from a single female animal. 
• Cloning is another biotechnological development that can be used to produce genetically identical animals with desirable traits.
• Animal biotechnology encompasses fundamental and applied research, including molecular modeling, genetics, gene manipulation, diagnostics and vaccine development, and tissue or digestion metabolism manipulation by growth promoters.
• In animal husbandry specifically, biotechnology plays an important role in improving livestock health and productivity. 
  • For example, genetic engineering can be used to develop disease-resistant animals or animals with higher milk or meat yields. 
  • Biotechnology can also be used for artificial insemination to improve breeding programs and produce superior offspring.

Agriculture

Agricultural biotechnology is a range of tools, including traditional breeding techniques, that alter living organisms to make or modify products, improve plants or animals, or develop microorganisms for specific agricultural uses. 

• Biotechnology in agriculture has several applications, such as increasing crop production through better disease control and increased tolerance to drought and flooding. 
• Biotechnology can also be used to address the causes and consequences of climate change and achieve important societal goals such as reduced poverty, improved global food security, and reduced environmental impacts from agriculture.
• One of the most prevalent applications of biotechnology in agriculture is genetic engineering. 
  • Genetic engineering involves the specific modification of an organism's DNA using technology. 
  • This technology can be used to create genetically modified organisms (GMOs) with desirable traits such as resistance to pests or herbicides.
  • GMOs have been used in corn, soybeans, and cotton crops.
• Another application of biotechnology in agriculture is marker-assisted selection (MAS). MAS is a process that uses molecular markers to identify desirable traits in plants or animals without altering their DNA. 
  • This process allows breeders to select plants or animals with desirable traits more efficiently than traditional breeding methods.

Overall, biotechnology has several applications in agriculture that can lead to increased crop production, improved food security, and reduced environmental impacts from agriculture.

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Food Processing

Biotechnology has a pivotal role in food processing and preservation. 

• It encompasses genetic engineering approaches to enhance food quality by
  • Microorganisms, animals, or plants; 
  • Microbial fermentation processes for manufacturing innovative food, enzyme, and additives; 
  • The introduction of new technologies for food packaging and preservation. 
• Biotechnology can be used to produce new products with desirable characteristics, such as:
  • Disease and drought-resistant plants, leaner meat, enhanced flavour, and nutritional quality of foods.
• In cereal processing, biotechnology is used to develop:
  • Hybrid plant and genetically modified disease-resistant mutant strain. It contains seeds for high-yielding superior, quality plants. 
• Biotechnology applications in food processing can improve properties. They are taste, aroma, shelf-life, safety, texture and nutritional value of foods. 
• Inoculants used in controlled fermentations contain high concentrations of live microorganisms. 
• Spontaneous fermentations use microbes found in the raw food and the processing environment.
• Finally, biotechnology can also be used to improve food safety. Thus reducing contamination risks during processing.

Important Tools of Biotechnology

Some important tools of biotechnology are discussed below: 

Recombinant DNA

Recombinant DNA is a powerful tool used in biotechnology. It involves manipulating genetic material from one organism. The genetic material is then inserted into another organism. This results in a recombinant DNA molecule. The recombinant DNA molecule contains new combinations of genes.

• Recombinant DNA technology is used for many applications. It can be used to engineer novel organisms. It can introduce specific changes to an existing genome sequence or gene expression profile. The technology can create transgenic animals with enhanced traits. It can also develop humanized antibodies for medication purposes.
• This technique significantly expands our capacity to explore and manipulate living things at their most basic levels – making it an essential element of modern biotechnology research.
• Recombinant DNA technology has resulted in breakthroughs in crop and animal biotechnology. Scientists can study gene function by manipulating genes. Genes can be transformed into cells of plants and animals using this technology.
• Recombinant DNA technology has led to the development of genetically modified crops. These crops are resistant to pests or herbicides. The technology has also enabled the production of human insulin for diabetes treatment. This is achieved using recombinant bacteria.

Genetic Engineering

Genetic engineering is one of the most important tools in biotechnology. 

• Recombinant DNA technology utilizes genetic material such as DNA or RNA. The genetic material is sourced from different organisms. The technology is used to alter or introduce new traits into an organism's genome.
• This can be done by removing, modifying, adding, or rearranging specific genes within living organisms. 
• Through this process, scientists can utilize beneficial characteristics found in other species. These characteristics can be combined with those already existing in the target organism. The process can lead to improvements in various aspects, including disease resistance and crop yields.
• Recombinant DNA technology is a major arm of genetic engineering. It has been applied to manufacturing pharmaceuticals. One of its primary applications is the production of therapeutic proteins such as insulin.
• To create large amounts of cells that produce insulin, genetically modified bacteria or yeast are used. These cells are grown in large fermentation vessels. The fermentation vessels contain all the nutrients the cells need to produce insulin.
• Additionally, it enables researchers to develop vaccines more effectively than traditional methods. The technology has greater accuracy and efficiency in developing vaccines for certain diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS.

Cloning

Cloning is an important tool of biotechnology that allows scientists to make exact genetic copies of living things. There are different types of cloning, including reproductive cloning, therapeutic cloning, and gene cloning. 

• While therapeutic cloning creates embryonic stem cells for studies aimed at creating tissues to replace damaged or ill-fated tissues, reproductive cloning creates copies of entire animals.
• Gene cloning, also known as DNA cloning, is a process that makes multiple identical copies of a particular piece of DNA.

In a typical DNA cloning procedure, the gene or other DNA fragment of interest is first inserted into a circular piece of DNA called a plasmid. The plasmid is then introduced into bacteria or other cells, which can replicate and produce many copies of the inserted DNA fragment. This technique has produced medically important human proteins such as insulin and growth hormone.

Cloning has both potential benefits and ethical concerns. Cloning can produce genetically identical animals for research purposes or to preserve endangered species. It can also be used in agriculture to produce plants with desirable traits or to clone high-yielding livestock. However, there are also concerns about the safety and ethical implications of human reproductive cloning and the potential for misuse in creating "designer babies."

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Importance of Biotechnology

Biotechnology is the application of scientific & engineering principles to the processing of biological materials to produce useful products. It is a key field in today's fast-paced world. The major advantages of biotechnology include the following: 

• It has led to breakthrough innovations such as: 
  • Gene therapy and genetic medicine. 
  • It helps prevent diseases by manipulating DNA structures within living cells.
• Biotechnology also helps develop new crops:
  • With improved yields
  • Resistance to drought/ pests through huge advancements in plant genetics technology.
• This ensures a sustainable food supply around the globe. Even when land resources are scarce.
• Additionally, it has enabled advances in medical science. 
  • Allowing more accurate diagnoses, necessitating fewer tests being conducted on patients. 
  • It is due to its ability to detect various illnesses at earlier stages than was possible before.
• In other areas where living organisms play an important part in development. 
  • From drug delivery systems via bloodstream, tiny robots steered by magnets; 
  • Biofuels for clean energy production etc. 
• Giving us endless opportunities to learn about life!

Conclusion

Biotechnology involves using living organisms or their products to create new products or improve existing ones. It has a wide range of applications. They are medicine, agriculture, food production & environmental protection. The industry is always changing and has the potential to solve many global problems. It also raises ethical and legal issues.

UPSC CSE Mains Question on Biotechnology

1. What are the research and developmental achievements in applied biotechnology? How will these achievements help to uplift the poorer sections of society? (UPSC Mains 2021)
2. Why is there so much activity in biotechnology in our country? How has this activity benefitted the field of biopharma? (UPSC Mains 2018)
3. How can biotechnology help to improve the living standards of farmers? (UPSC Mains 2019)
4. Can overuse and free availability of antibiotics without a Doctor's prescription be contributors to the emergence of drug-resistant diseases in India? What are the available mechanisms for monitoring and control? Critically discuss the various issues involved. (UPSC Mains 2014)

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