Biotech is the evolving branch of science that combines knowledge from traditional biological and chemical procedures with tech tools to produce better organisms and products for daily use.
Ongoing research has enabled us to use biotech for various purposes. Biotech experts rely on advanced techniques like the protein expression and purification service to develop better medicines and products to solve various problems.
Everyone should be familiar with how biotech is shaping our future. In this blog, we will show you how biotech is making the world a better place – keep reading!
1. Space and Biotech
Scientists around the world have focused on space exploration during the past decades. With each space exploration and investigation, we find that space can provide us with minerals and even become “habitable” if certain conditions are met.
But there are still many challenges to overcome before we can conquer space.
For example, improving air and water is necessary to make space travel accessible for everyone. Handling biowaste is another challenge when it comes to space travel. Recycling organic products is also important to ensure that spaceships can perform properly for years to come.
Biotech procedures can solve the space exploration challenges mentioned above. For example, the methanogenic bacteria can allow us to break down biomaterials into methane gas that we can use as fuel for spaceships.
2. Food and Biotech
Experts suggest that we might face a food crisis in the future if we don’t handle food production properly. One of the things we can adopt to improve food production is to use biotechnology and its applications.
Biotech has helped us produce transgenic crops. These genetically modified crops are more resistant to weather and pests. Transgenic or genetically modified crops can help us save our costs spent on pesticides and allow us to have better crop production.
3. Industrial Biotech
The amazing thing about biotech is that its applications are not limited to food or medicine. With proper processes, we can use biotech for industrial advantages as well. For example, biotech can help us with the production of biofuels.
Genetically modified bacteria can convert organic matter into methane gas which we can use for industrial purposes. Biofuel is an excellent alternative to fossil fuels and can help industries lower the cost of production.
Another biotech application is the production of microbes that can convert plants into biodegradable plastics. Biotech has also played its part in the improvement of the textile industry. Some of its applications are:
- Production of wrinkle-free clothes
- Enhanced longevity of fabrics
- Improved dye uptake
4. Environmental Biotech
Industrialization has harmed our environment over the years. We cannot reverse the damage done by fossil fuel emissions and industrial waste unless we develop proper processes to overcome the environmental problems. Biotech is enabling us to produce products that can help our environment.
A leading example of using biotech to conserve the environment is the development of bioremediation. Scientists utilized the catabolic properties of microorganisms through bioremediation to purify contaminated soil and water.
Bioremediation of soil and water through biotech is done in three processes:
- Degradification
- Detoxification
- Restoration
Biotech has also enabled us to purify the gases in the environment. Microbes allow us to remove the toxins from the emission sites of industrial plants that can harm the environment. Biotech can also be used to keep the ocean clean by removing the impurities from industrial effluents released into the ocean.
5. Forensics and Biotech
Forensic science plays a vital role in maintaining law and order in society. With the adoption of advanced methods by criminals to carry out illegal activities, law enforcement agencies now rely on advanced solutions like biotech processes to identify criminals.
Forensic experts could only rely on serology and the study of fluids in the past. But biotech is now providing forensics with advanced solutions that can help rapidly identify criminals in trials.
For example, DNA forensics is a developing branch of biotech, which encompasses procedures like:
- DNA profiling
- DNA footprinting
- DNA fingerprinting
With PCR analysis, forensics can now extract information from small evidence items collected at the crime scene.
6. Synthetic Biology
What if we can modify organisms on purpose and use them for advanced applications? Biotech has turned this dream into reality with synthetic biology. In synthetic biology, experts specifically redesign organisms so they can adopt new abilities, which we can use for various purposes.
Thanks to the flexible nature of biotech, synthetic biology benefits from multidisciplinary research that can speed up the production of better organisms. Some of the techniques used in synthetic biology are:
- Genetic engineering
- Computer engineering
- Biophysics
- Molecular biology
- Evolutionary biology
A common application of synthetic biology is its use for food production. For example, synthetic enzymes are responsible for producing around 90% of hard cheeses in the U.S.
Synthetic biology has been a dormant field of research until recently. However, the research in synthetic biology has become easier thanks to the affordable costs of genetic engineering processes.
7. Stem cell research
Stem cells can play an important part in the development of medicine. Due to their unique intrinsic properties, stem cells can grow rapidly in different types of body cells. The newly-produced body cells produced by stem cells can be used to cure a disease by introducing the cells into a patient’s body.
Biotech can help us produce desired types of cells from stem cells. With stem cell research techniques, biotech experts can develop stem cells in a lab setting or in vitro to speed up the production of body cells from stem cells.
Ongoing stem cell research using biotech practices hints that we might be able to control the growth of stem cells through deterministic mechanisms.
8. Tissue Nanotransfection
Tissue Nanotransfection is another promising application of biotech. In this approach, specific genetic codes are entered into skin cells. These codes can dictate the growth of skin cells and can help us produce different types of body cells efficiently.
The good thing about Tissue Nanotransfection is that it can potentially lower our dependency on stem cell research. Some studies hint that Tissue Nanotransfection might also allow us to produce desired body cells by injecting genetic codes into cells other than skin cells.
Tissue Nanotransfection is a developing gene therapy that might help us revolutionize medicine along with other medical biotech procedures.