k THE CONCEPT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

Biotechnology is the utilization of organisms to solve problems or to make useful products. But now, the definition of biotechnology is the utilization of cellular and molecular biology to solve problems or to make useful products. Biotechnology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. Biotechnology is often used to refer to genetic engineering technology of the 21st century, however the term encompasses a wider range and history of procedures for modifying biological organisms according to the needs of humanity, going back to the initial modifications of native plants into improved food crops through artificial selection and hybridization. Bioengineering is the science upon which all Biotechnological applications are based. With the development of new approaches and modern techniques, traditional biotechnology industries are also acquiring new horizons enabling them to improve the quality of their products and increase the productivity of their systems. Before 1971, the term, biotechnology, was primarily used in the food processing and agriculture industries. Since the 1970s, it began to be used by the Western scientific establishment to refer to laboratory-based techniques being developed in biological research, such as recombinant DNA or tissue culture-based processes, or horizontal gene transfer in living plants, using vectors such as the Agrobacterium bacteria to transfer DNA into a host organism. In fact, the term should be used in a much broader sense to describe the whole range of methods, both ancient and modern, used to manipulate organic materials to reach the demands of food production. So the term could be defined as, "The application of indigenous and/or scientific knowledge to the management of (parts of) microorganisms, or of cells and tissues of higher organisms, so that these supply goods and services of use to the food industry and its consumers. Biotechnology combines disciplines like genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, embryology and cell biology, which are in turn linked to practical disciplines like chemical engineering, information technology, and robotics. Pathobiotechnology describes the exploitation of pathogens or pathogen derived compounds for beneficial effect.

k SHORT HISTORY OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

Biotechnology is the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agents to provide goods and services.[1] From its inception, biotechnology has maintained a close relationship with society. Although now most often associated with the development of remarkable drugs, historically biotechnology has been principally associated with food, addressing such issues as malnutrition and famine. The history of biotechnology begins with zymotechnology, which commenced with a focus on brewing techniques for beer. By World War I, however, zymotechnology would expand to tackle larger industrial issues, and the poential of industrial fermentation gave rise to biotechnology. The belief that the needs of a society could be met by fermenting industrial waste was an important ingredient of the chemurgic movement, which began in the 1930s. Expectations were raised during the 1960s by a process that grew singlecell protein from petroleum oil. This new product was seen to be a solution to growing food shortages and world hunger. In the 1970s, biotechnology offered a possible solution to the escalation in oil prices and the increasing energy demands by synthesizing a new product called gasohol. However, both the single-cell protein and gasohol projects failed to progress due to varying issues including public resistance, a changing economic scene, and shifts in political power. Yet the formation of a new field, genetic engineering, would soon bring biotechnology to the forefront of science in society, and the intimate relationship between the scientific community, the public, and the government would ensue. These debates gained exposure in 1975 at the Asilomar Conference, where Joshua Lederberg was the most outspoken supporter for this emerging field in biotechnology. By as early as 1978, with the synthesis of synthetic human insulin, Lederberg's claims would prove valid, and the biotechnology industry grew rapidly. Each new scientific advance became a media event designed to capture public support, and by the 1980s, biotechnology grew into a promising real industry. In 1988, only five proteins from genetically engineered cells had been approved as drugs by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but this number would skyrocket to over 125 by the end of the 1990s. The field of genetic engineering remains a heated topic of discussion in today's society with the advent of gene therapy, stem cell research, cloning, and geneticallymodified food. While it seems only natural nowadays to link pharmaceutical drugs as solutions to health and societal problems, this relationship of biotechnology serving social needs began centuries ago.

k CONVENTIONAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
Conventional biotechnology relies on the work of microbes to make available new products that fulfil human needs through fermentation. An example of conventional biotechnology is the process happening in sequence from flour being changed into glucose by the aspergillus to the glucose or sugar being changed into alcohol by the saccharomyces and so on.

FLOUR yeast : Aspergillus GLUCOSE Yeast : Saccharomyces ALCOHOL Bacteria : Acetobacter VINEGAR Bacteria : Methanobacterium METHANE (BIOGAS)

k EXAMPLES OF DAILY APPLICATION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

The production of bean cake with the help of the fungus Rhizopus sp. the production of nata de coco makes use of the bacterium Aetobacter xylinum. The production of wine, which make use of Saccharomyces cerevisae, and the production of cheese, whixh makes use Propionibacterium shermanii. Using Microorganisms to Alter Food Material i Aspergillus wentii is used to ferment seeds, beans and salt into tauco. i Rhizopus Orizae, Rhizopus olgosporus, Rhizopus stolonifer, Rhizpous chlamydopus are used to ferment peeled beans. i In making ketchup, the main actor is Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus Soyae with Saccharomyces rouxii or Pediococcus soyae or Torulopsis sp. i The other foodstuffsmade with the help of microorganisms pass through fermentation process are oncom (Neurospora), tape (Aspergillus oryzae, Saccharomyces, Rhizzpous sp., Hansenula sp., and Torulopsis sp.), bread, cake, wine, and beer (Saccharomyces), and cheese, yoghurt, and butter (Streptococcus lactis). Microorganisms Becoming Food Material Microproteins are food products from fungus mycelia. In making microproteins, the fungus Fusarium graminearium is put into service. Microproteins are obtained through fermentation using glucose as raw material and other substances together with ammonia gas and ammonia salts. Compared with proteins from animals, microprotein production has some advantages, one of which is that the process of swift.

k MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY (Genetics Engineering)

Modern biotechnology in general and genetic engineering in particular attempt to alter characteristics of organisms so that tey posses the capabilities desired. For example, while in the past bacteria could not provide the insulin humanly needed, in the present a human achievement is adding new characteristics to bacteria so that bacteria could produce insulin. The human technology used in modern biotechnology is in the form of, among otehrs, recombinant DNA. DNA is the chemical substance composing chromosomes, the carries of characteristics, in organisms. In modern biotechnology DNA is cut and then new DN that carries superior or prime characteristis is inserted and connected with the old DNA. How is recombinat DNA made? First, a search is made to find a prime DNA. I may be from another organism or manmade. It is humanly possible todat to make one. Then a vehicle to insert it into the organism whose characteristics are to be changed is prepared. The vehicle is ussually in virus or plasmid from. A plasmid is another form from DNA located in bacteria and it can enter and leave cells and combine with cell chromosome and separate itself again. The recombinant DNA is afterward put inside cells. Next, recombinant DNA is cloned. The DNA put inside cells is treated in such a way that the bacteria where is it located now make a copy of it in their cells. A final step is nurturing the cells in order that they make available the product desired in accordance with the characteristics carried by the DNA is inserted. The organisms receiving the new DNA carrying teh new characteristics will then ussually posses the new characteristics. Such organisms are called transgenic organisms or GEO, short for geneitcally engineered organisms. Comparison Between Conventional and Modern Biotechnology Bitechnology Characteristic Conventional Modern Technique used Fermentation Recombinant DNA Human involvement Limited not altering Altering characteristis natural characteristics Examples of products Fermented cassava, bean Insulin from bacteria, cake, vinegar, yoghurt long-lastic tomato

k PRODUCTS OF CONVENTIONAL AND MODERN BITECHNOLOGY

Products of Conventional Biotechnology The main products of conventional biotechnology are fermentative foods, those made through fermentation. In addition to food mmaterials, services have also been provided directly or indirectly by microorganisms through biotechnology. Direct services provided through conventional biotechnology are, for example, the service provided byfungi in transforming beans into bean cake, or tempe, and the service provided by yeast in transforming sugar into alcohol. Indirectly the servicee of microbes can be used, for example, to test teh quality of milk. Products of Modern Biotechnology The products of modern biotechnology are, among others, transgenic organisms, organisms whose caharacteristic have been changed so that they posses certain superiority. Examples of transgenic organisms are bacteria which are able to mine copper, cleann a polluted environment, or change pollutants into substances which are not dangerous, corn with high protein content long-lastic tomatoes, pest-resistant cotton, and so on. In addition, there are also transgenic organisms capable of providong useful products. By means of modern bitechnology, many genetic diseases can also be cured. They are cured by slipping the genes lacked into the patient. This process is called genetic therapy. Another product of genetic engineering is the Falvr Savr tomato and a super coffe by Escagenetics, an American company. Conventional and modern Biotechnology have provided human life with added value through products inthe form of food, enzymes and medicine and services like food making mining, and quality testing. Biotechnology also yields technologies in the mass production of plants to overcome limited farmland or to produce uniform plants in a short times. The technologies referred to are hydroponics and tissue culture. Hydroponics Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel or mineral wool. A variety of techniques exist. Plant physiology researchers discovered in the 19th century that plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. In natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth. When the mineral nutrients in the soil dissolve in water, plant roots are able to absorb them. When the required mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant's water supply artificially, soil is no longer required for the plant to thrive. Almost any terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics, but some will do better than others. It is also very easy to do; the activity is often undertaken by very young children with

such plants as watercress. Hydroponics is also a standard technique in biology research and teaching and a popular hobby. The two main types of hydroponics are solution culture and medium culture. Solution culture does not use a solid medium for the roots, just the nutrient solution. The three main types of solution culture are static solution culture, continuous flow solution culture and aeroponics. The medium culture method has a solid medium for the roots and is named for the type of medium, e.g. sand culture, gravel culture or rockwool culture. There are two main variations for each medium, subirrigation and top irrigation. For all techniques, most hydroponic reservoirs are now built of plastic but other materials have been used including concrete, glass, metal, vegetable solids and wood. The containers should exclude light to prevent algae growth in the nutrient solution. Tissue Culture Plant Tissue Culture, also called micropropagation, is a practice used to propagate plants under sterile conditions, often to produce clones of a plant. Different techniques in plant tissue culture may offer certain advantages over traditional methods of propagation, including;
y The production of exact copies of plants that produce particularly good flowers, fruits, or have other desirable traits. y To quickly produce mature plants. y The production of multiples of plants in the absence of seeds or necessary pollinators to produce seeds. y The regeneration of whole plants from plant cells that have been genetically modified. y The production of plants in sterile containers that allows them to be moved with greatly reduced chances of transmitting diseases, pests, and pathogens. y The production of plants from seeds that otherwise have very low chances of germinating and growing, i.e.: orchids and nepenthes. y To clean particular plant of viral and other infections and to quickly multiply these plants as 'cleaned stock' for horticulture and agriculture.

Plant tissue culture relies on the fact that many plant cells have the ability to regenerate a whole plant (totipotency). Single cells, plant cells without cell walls (protoplasts), pieces of leaves, or (less commonly) roots can often be used to generate a new plant on culture media given the required nutrients and plant hormones.

k APPLICATION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
At first biotechnolgy was hopped to be able to help solve various problems in the world mankind faces like famine, disease, obstacles in human activities such as mining, and so on. Impact in the Social and Economic Fields As the patenting of products of engineering, ownership by private companies, and concentration of biotechnology on certain groups exert extremely broadd effects on society. It forces traditional farmers not to develop their own seed plants. Products of biotechnology can harm small farmers. Biotechnology can cause economic gaps to raise. Soon tobacco, chocolate, coffe, sugar, coconut, vanilla, ginseng and opium plants will able to be produced through modifications on the genetics of other plants. That situation will push aside the original plants. The third world as the producers of the original versions of those plants willl suffer great losses. Impacts in the Environmental Fields Freely releasing transgenic creatures into nature will able to cause an impact in the form of biological pollution which can be more dangerous than chemical and nuclear pollution. With the presence and availability of genetic engineering, genotype changes are not naturally programmed according to the need of the practitioners of the biotechnology. Such drastic changes will cause potential dangers. Impacts in the Fields of Health Some products of engineering in the fields of health have already caused serious problems. For example, the use of insulin produced through genetic engineering has caused the death of thirty-one people in England. Flavr Savr tomatoes have been found to contain genes resistant to antibiotics. It is suspected that milk from cows injected with BGH contains new chemical subbstances which have a potential to be dangerous for human health. Impacts in the Fields of Ethics and Moral Insserting the genes of one organisms into the genes of another organisms has a serious ethical impact. Inserting the genes of another organism is considered breaking laws of nature and difficult for human society to accept. Unlabelled transgenic food material also brongs consequences to disciples of certain religions. The application of patent rights on organisms resulting from genetic engineering is giving personal rights over the organisms. It is in opposition to the many cultural norms which honor the intrinsic value of any orgaanisms.