BIOTECHNOLOGY (n.)- This scientific discipline, though the term is quite new, encompasses a vast array of applications which, using techniques of conventional biology as well as state-of-the-art techniques, seek to extend the duration of life or improve the quality of it. While biology research has typically been performed with the intent of augmenting the body of knowledge about life forms, research in biotechnology is carried out with the specific intent of modifying or improving a biological process so as to be of greater benefit to human society.

Whereas biologists of the past were mainly concerned with observing the life forms of the plant and animal kingdoms, the last century and a half has witnessed a paradigm shift in biology and the creation of this new field of biotechnology. The “old biology” may be defined by the work of individuals such as Charles Darwin and Gregor Mendel. Although both men contributed valuable insight to the field, their work was a far cry from the style of work that biologists and biotechnologists perform today. Darwin’s research consisted of a series of observations on the types of species present on the Galapagos Islands, and Gregor Mendel is best known for his observations in the field of genetics. Today, instead of passively making observations or sketches of life forms, biologists and biotechnologists are actively involved in manipulating life forms and exploiting unique properties of certain life forms to benefit humanity. The point at which biotechnology emerged, it appears, was when scientists became deliberate in their research, performing experiments to accomplish a specific goal, rather than to satisfy their curiosity. While quaint, Gregor Mendel’s experiments in genetics using pea plants served mainly to satisfy his and others’ curiosity about trait transmission in the plants. He left us with new information about the plants, but failed to look for an application to his findings. A biotechnological approach to this research would have sought to accomplish a specific task in the research, possibly suggesting a way to grow the peas in order to produce the largest yield, the hardiest species, or a species of superior nutritional value.

Biotechnology is seen when biologists seek to apply their studies of biology to solve problems in the world. True to the adage, “necessity is the mother of invention”, wars and natural disasters have provided the impetus to discover substitutes for materials that were scarce during these times. Some of the earliest applications of biotechnology were in the manufacture of alcoholic beverages, where the biological process of fermentation with yeast is used to produce beer, whiskey, and other alcoholic beverages. During the Prohibition in the United States, demand for fermentation increased as people looked for substitutes to their favorite alcoholic beverages, and biotechnology was called on to carry out fermentation more efficiently. During the war, biotechnology was used to create acceptable substitutes for explosives materials, animal feed, and glycerol. Later, other products of the fermentation process included penicillin and steroids. Finally, during the fuel shortage that occurred in the United States in the 1970s, the need arose for a substitution for gasoline. From these research attempts emerged gasohol, a gasoline-alcohol combination that reduced the consumption of gasoline during this time. In all of these cases, biotechnology research was simply responding to an expressed need in society.

Biotechnology today also seems to be largely concentrated on the advancement of a certain biological species in particular, humans. While experiments in biotechnology have habitually been performed first on other animals, the hope is to be able to replicate desirable results in human specimens. The main goals of current trends in biotechnology appear to be the extension or enrichment of human life. Rarely has biotechnology been used to heal animals. When animals are included in the research, it has (so far) only been to test a procedure for the safety of implementing it into humans, or with the intention of creating a better product for human consumption. This defines another major difference between biotechnology and biology. Whereas traditional biologists concerned themselves with the study of all types of life forms, biotechnologists conduct research that will benefit humans in some form or another.

In sum, biotechnology can be differentiated from the field of biology by the assertions that biotechnology is purpose-driven and anthropocentric. Observation of trends reveals that the definition of biotechnology is likely to change in the coming years, as new necessities pave the way for new biotechnology research, procedures, and discovery.

Bud, Robert. ”Molecular Biology and the Long-Term History of Biotechnology” Private Science: Biotechnology and the Rise of the Molecular Sciences. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998. pp.3-19.
“Genetics” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2002.
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