Description

Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or
make products, or “any technological application that uses biological
systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify
products or processes for specific use” (UN Convention on Biological
Diversity, Art. 2). Depending on the tools and applications, it often
overlaps with the (related) fields of bioengineering, biomedical
engineering, biomanufacturing, molecular engineering, etc. For thousands
of years, humankind has used biotechnology in agriculture, food
production, and medicine. The term is largely believed to have been
coined in 1919 by Hungarian engineer K roly Ereky. In the late 20th and
early 21st centuries, biotechnology has expanded to include new and
diverse sciences such as genomics, recombinant gene techniques, applied
immunology, and development of pharmaceutical therapies and diagnostic
tests