Basics of Biotechnology

Biotechnology deals with techniques of using live organisms or enzymes from organisms to produce products and processes useful to humans.

• The phrase ‘biotechnology’ was coined by the Hungarian engineer Karl Ereky in 1919 but this term has been used by humans since ancient times for producing food.

Applications of Biotechnology

Biotechnology has application in four major industrial areas, including health care (medical), crop production and agriculture, non-food (industrial) uses of crops and other products (e.g. biodegradable plastics, vegetable oil, biofuels), and environmental uses.

• In biological literature, Biotechnology is knowledge based on biology, particularly when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine.