20. Biotechnology, which gained momentum in the middle of the century and developed rapidly, was considered more as a sub-discipline when it started to make its name in the scientific world. The science of biotechnology, which we are accustomed to hearing in the field of medicine, has become a discipline on its own, rather than being a sub-discipline with the developments that took place at the end of the 20th century.
The science of biotechnology, which we see frequently in the basic science world, especially in multidisciplinary studies, is the science that brings technology together with the world of living things. Let’s get to know what this interesting branch of science is, from gene regulation to microorganisms, where and how it is used.
What is biotechnology?
Biotechnology aims to solve problems and produce useful products using biology. The most used field of biotechnology is the production of therapeutic (a clinical pharmacology process for measuring the blood plasma concentration of drugs) proteins and other drugs through genetic engineering.
For those who work in the field of biotechnology, biotechnologists conduct research on biological organisms to improve the quality of human life and to ensure the advancement of the other living world. It investigates the physical, genetic and chemical properties of cells, tissues and organisms, and reveals practical uses and products.
History of biotechnology from yesterday to today:
Humans have been using biological processes to improve their quality of life for nearly 10,000 years, starting with the first farming communities. About 6,000 years ago, humans began to exploit the biological processes of microorganisms to make bread, spirits and cheese, and preserve dairy products.
Going back a little further than today, in the mid to late 1970s a new ‘Biotechnology’ led by Genentech, a pharmaceutical company founded by Robert A. Swanson, Herbert W. Boyer, and Paul Berg, and founded in 1976 to commercialize recombinant DNA technology. ‘ industry began to flourish. In line with these developments, early companies such as Genentech, Amgen, Biogen, Cetus and Genex continued by producing genetically modified substances primarily for medical and environmental uses.
He then continued for more than a decade in the biotechnology industry, predominantly in the field of recombinant DNA technology and genetic engineering. The term recombinant DNA (rDNA) simply refers to the DNA molecule that results from combining the DNA of two different species. That is, in the process of inserting a gene into a production cell, a new organism is created.
Initially, biotechnology researchers and investors were unsure of the regulations to obtain a new patent; after all, it was a new technology, and from the point of view of scientific ethics, new organisms discovered and described in nature were not allowed to be patented.
However, in 1980 the US Supreme Court, Diamond v. In the Chakrabarty case, he resolved the issue by ‘deciding that a living man-made microorganism is a patentable subject’. This decision spawned a wave of new biotech firms and the first investment boom in this baby industry.
In 1982, recombinant insulin became the first genetically engineered product to gain approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since then, dozens of genetically modified protein drugs have been commercialized around the world, including recombinant versions of growth hormone, clotting factors, proteins that stimulate the production of red and white blood cells, interferons, and clot-dissolving agents.
What are the tools of biotechnology?
The biotech industry has also expanded its research into the development of conventional pharmaceuticals and monoclonal antibodies that stop the progression of a disease. The successful production of monoclonal antibodies was one of the most important techniques of biotechnology that emerged in the last quarter of the 20th century.
The specificity and quantitative availability of monoclonal antibodies made it possible to design sensitive assays for a wide variety of biologically important substances and to distinguish cells from each other by identifying previously unknown marker molecules on their surface. Such advances have been made possible through the study of genes (genomics), the proteins they encode (proteomics), and the larger biological pathways in which they act.
Application areas and applications of biotechnology:
- Bioinformatics
- Nanotechnology
- Catalysts
- Genetically modified crops
Biotechnology has many applications, especially in medicine and agriculture. Examples include the use of biotechnology in combining biological information with computer technology (Bioinformatics), the study of the use of microscopic equipment that can enter the human body (Nanotechnology), and the application of stem cell research and cloning techniques to possibly replace dead or defective cells and tissues (Regenerative medicine).
In addition to its use in healthcare, biotechnology has proven helpful in refining industrial processes through the discovery and production of biological enzymes (catalysts) that trigger chemical reactions. As an example, we can show the solutions developed to prevent or reduce the environmental pollution of chemicals, and the increased efficiency in agriculture with genetic engineering.
Some activist and consumer groups have called internationally to ban or clearly label and identify genetically modified organisms (GMO foods). The introduction of GMOs into agriculture in the United States began in 1993 when the FDA approved bovine somatotropin (BST), a growth hormone that increases milk production in dairy cows.
The following year, the FDA approved the first genetically modified whole food, a tomato designed for a longer shelf life. Since then, regulatory approval has been won by dozens of agricultural GMOs in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, including crops that produce their own pesticides and crops that survive the application of certain herbicides used to kill weeds.
The entry of GMO into our country dates back to 1998. It has been recorded that 30 million tons of corn and soybean entered into our country in 1998 were consumed without labeling. In accordance with the regulation enacted in 2009, foods containing GMO ingredients are now labeled.
We’ve talked so much. So, are GMO foods safe?
Studies by the United Nations, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the European Union, the American Medical Association, U.S. regulatory agencies, and other organizations have concluded that GM foods are safe, but skeptical groups have long claimed it’s too early to make a judgment. When we look at the world in general, the lands cultivated with such GMO crops increased almost 4 times from 1996 to 2014.
Overall, the revenues of the US and European biotech industries roughly doubled in the five-year period from 1996 to 2000. The rapid growth accelerated by the launch of new products, especially in health services, continued in the 21st century. The biotechnology market size is estimated to be $752.88 billion globally by 2020, and there are new growth opportunities arising from government and industry efforts to accelerate pharmaceutical and product R&D processes.
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