Biotechnology in the 21st Century

Biotechnology is a discipline that explains the use of living organisms and systems to construct a product, or it can be defined as an application or technology that uses biological systems and organisms’ processes for a specific purpose. Cells and their components are used in new technologies and inventions in particular “Agriculture”. The majority of biotechnology-based enterprises are agriculture-based, with interests ranging from tissue culture to biopesticides, according to a sectoral breakdown. Companies have focused their efforts on health-related activities and Environmental Biotechnology.

The biopharmaceutical business, which includes vaccines, diagnostics, and recombinant goods, is the most reliable and largest segment. Also, there are bio-services, which mostly include contract research and manufacturing services. The world has achieved significant progress in the bio-industry, including the production of enzymes, biofuels, and biopolymers. In the sphere of agriculture, Biotechnology plays a critical and vital role. New technologies have largely superseded traditional approaches, with a concentration on GM crops, marker-assisted technologies, and the use of biotechnological tools to improve fertilizer and soil quality.

It may only be a small contributor but has shown to have huge potential for growth. Bioinformatics is a computational method which helps to store, manage, arrange and design tools to interpret the extensive data gathered through experimental trials, making it important in the design of drugs.

(Isaac, 2017)

Although the future is uncertain, Biotechnology is quite likely to play a considerably larger and more visible role in the twenty-first century than it did in the twentieth. Biotechnology will significantly increase the amount and types of medications available, and it will be at the forefront of the upcoming bioinformatics revolution.

During the later decades of the twentieth century, society has reaped enormous benefits as a result of advances and developments in biological sciences and Biotechnology. Although humans have long exploited traditional Biotechnology, it was only in the twentieth century that we were able to discover and implement, for example in the therapeutic field, the massive production of antibiotics, which has resulted in an explosive increase in global life expectancy, which has doubled and even tripled in all countries.

The impressive developments in the field of genetic engineering in the last decades of the century have allowed the mass production of human proteins in bacteria (E. coli), yeast (S. cerevisiae, P. pastoris), and animal cells (CHO, BHK, hybridomas), as well as industrial enzymes and biodegradable plastics (PHB).

Insulin for diabetes treatment and streptokinase for cardiac treatment, human growth hormone, a vaccine against hepatitis B (modified virus with no genetic information resulting in a completely safe vaccine), chymosin (animal rennet) for cheese production, detergent enzymes, monoclonal antibodies, interferon, and a variety of other therapeutic proteins and peptides are among these proteins. Thanks to recent advancements in the field of protein engineering, many of them are being tweaked and enhanced.

Recent advancements in molecular biology, computer science, and the development of fresh concepts, powerful programs, and algorithms in 3-D molecular modelling have made this discipline conceivable. The surge in the diversity and variety of biotechnological products, primarily proteins, that was unfathomable just a few years ago has exceeded even the most optimistic predictions.

All of this is in accordance with the "current status" of this fast-growing subject. Even though it is impossible to predict the future in science and technology, it is clear that a large number of studies are being conducted around the world that will have a significant impact on society, improving quality of life, and technological and industrial developments in the coming decades.

We've only been able to "peep" through a small window into the benefits that biotechnology will provide us in the twenty-first century up to now. Gene and cell therapy, stem cell use, mass manufacturing of recombinant proteins in transgenic animals and plants, synthesis of biodegradable polymers in transgenic plants, and effective biotechnological exploitation of natural gas are only a few examples.

Cell therapy, which has only lately begun to be employed in the treatment of leukemia and Parkinson's disease, offers a lot of promise. For example, nerve cells can now be grown and multiplied forever. Gene therapy is also believed to be useful in the treatment of a wide range of genetic illnesses, including diabetes, alcoholism, breast cancer and other types of cancer, as well as Alzheimer's disease.

The use of stem cells in the regeneration of red blood cells or entire organs holds a lot of promise. The discovery of new concepts and procedures in biological sciences, chemistry, physics, and mathematics has enabled the vast bulk of these advancements (PCR, knock-out genes, 2-D electrophoresis, DNA microarrays, molecular modelling of proteins, DNA and protein sequencing techniques, sophisticated computational programs and novel algorithms and mathematical models).

In a climate of food insecurity, when people are hungry and afraid of starving, agricultural biotechnology could play a critical role in closing the severe food gap that developing nations are already experiencing. In this regard, there should be no discrimination between developing and developed countries in the science of producing biotechnological tools. The existing research and development approaches have raised concerns that the gap between industrialized wealthy countries and underdeveloped countries in harnessing biotechnology for agricultural and economic development may widen. The existence and permanence of such a condition will make it impossible for developing countries to ensure that the steadily increasing deficiency in food production will be addressed through agricultural biotechnology. As a result, the first step toward realizing the huge benefits that biotechnology can bring to the agricultural sector and food production is to ensure that these benefits are enjoyed equally by people in the North and South, in both large and small, affluent and poor countries.

(HAMDY, n.d.)

Given the exponential growth of the basic disciplines underlying biotechnology and its applications, it is evident that predicting the most significant advancements in biotechnology in the twenty-first century is impossible. This field, on the other hand, will have a huge impact on people's quality of life and the environment. (Asenjo, 2012)

By: Maha Aslam

 

References

Asenjo, J. A. (2012). XXI Century: The Century of Biotechnology? Retrieved from Electronic Journal of Biotechnology: http://www.ejbiotechnology.info/index.php/ejbiotechnology/article/view/1101/1483

HAMDY, A. (n.d.). Biotechnology for the 21st century: Opportunities in Agriculture. Retrieved from http://www.iamb.it/share/img_new_medit_articoli/497_02hamdy.pdf

Isaac, M. (2017). 21st Century Biotechnological Research and Development Advancements for Industrial Development in India. Retrieved from World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology: https://publications.waset.org/10006476/21st-century-biotechnological-research-and-development-advancements-for-industrial-development-in-india