Advantages and Disadvantages of Biotechnology

Meaning of Biotechnology

In its most basic form, biotechnology is simply the technology based on biology; it uses cellular and biomolecular methods to produce goods and technologies that enhance our quality of life and the world's health. For almost 6,000 years, we have produced valuable foods like bread and cheese and preserved dairy products using the biological activities of microbes.

Modern biotechnology offers ground-breaking technologies to tackle crippling and uncommon diseases, lessen our environmental impact, feed the needy, use less and healthier power, and have safer, cleaner, and more effective industrial production processes.

Biotechnology history

Since the earliest agricultural settlements, people have been utilizing biological processes to enhance their quality of life. Humans first used microbes' biological processes to manufacture bread, alcoholic drinks, and cheese, and preserve dairy goods some 6,000 years ago. But today's definition of biotechnology, originally referred to the cellular and molecular technologies that started to develop in the 1960s and 1970s, does not include such activities. Mid- to late-1970s saw the beginning of the nascent "biotech" sector, which was spearheaded by Genentech, a pharmaceutical firm founded in 1976 by Robert A. Swanson and Herbert W. Boyer to market the recombinant DNA technology invented by Boyer, Paul Berg, and Stanley N. Cohen. Gene-engineered materials were initially produced by pioneering businesses including Genentech, Amgen, Biogen, Cetus, and Genex, largely for medical and environmental applications.

DNA Sequencing, or genetic engineering, dominated the biotechnology sector for more than ten years. By fusing the DNA for a useful protein (typically a human protein) into production cells, such as yeast, bacterium, or mammalian cells in culture, the protein can be produced in large quantities. A new creature is made when a gene is spliced into a producing cell. The ability to get a patent on an organism was initially a source of concern for investors and researchers in the biotechnology industry; and besides, patents were not permitted on novel creatures that were accidentally discovered and recognized in nature.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that "a living human-made microbe is patentable subject matter" in the matter of Diamond v. Chakrabarty in 1980, putting an end to the controversy. This choice led to the first investment boom for the fledgling sector and a flood of new biotechnology companies. Recombinant insulin was the first genetically engineered product to gain support from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1982. Since then, dozens of medications made from genetically modified proteins have been made available for purchase on a global scale. These include recombinant forms of growth hormone, clotting factors, proteins that encourage the production of red and white blood cells, inflammatory cytokines, and clot-dissolving agents.

Techniques and resources

The capacity to create naturally occurring therapeutic compounds in greater quantities than could be obtained from conventional sources like plasma, animal organs, and human carcasses was the fundamental accomplishment of biotechnology in its early years. Additionally, recombinant proteins are less likely to contain infections or cause allergic responses. Researchers in biotechnology are working to pinpoint the disease's fundamental biological origins and precisely intervene at that level. (Gene therapy involves inserting necessary protein-coding genes into a patient's body or cells, which is a comparable strategy.)

Research towards the creation of conventional medications and antibody-based that halt the progression of the disease has also increased in the biotechnology sector. One of the most significant developments in biotechnology during the final quarter of the twentieth century was the efficient manufacture of monoclonal antibodies. By recognizing hitherto unidentified marker molecules on the surfaces of cells, sensitive tests for a wide variety of physiologically significant chemicals have been developed thanks to the specificity and abundance of monoclonal antibodies. The study of genetics (genomics), the proteins they encode (protein purification), and the wider molecular mechanisms in which they function allowed for such advancements.

The use of biotechnology

There are many uses for biotechnology, especially in agriculture and health. Examples include the application of stem cell studies and cloning to replace deficient or dead cells and tissues, as well as the use of biotechnology to combine biological material with digital technology (bioinformatics), investigate the use of tiny instruments that can enter the body (nanotechnology), and more (regenerative medicine). In a drive to synthesize upwards towards cell genetics toward chemical routes, tissues, and organs, businesses and university laboratories merge these diverse technologies.

Biotechnology is useful in improving manufacturing procedures through the exploration and creation of biological enzymes that catalyze chemical responses (catalysts); for environmental remediation using enzymes that metabolize harmful by-products into harmless toxins and then perish after consuming the available "food supply"; and in agricultural output through genetic engineering.

Biotechnology's uses in agriculture have generated the greatest debate. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have received calls for bans from certain activists and consumer advocacy groups, as well as for labeling regulations to alert people to the rising prevalence of GMOs in the food supply. When the FDA authorized bovine somatotropin (BST), a growth hormone that increases milk output in dairy cows, the introduction of GMOs into agriculture in the United States officially began.

The FDA authorized the first genetically altered whole product the following year, a tomato with a longer shelf life. Numerous agricultural GMOs have since received regulatory clearance in the United States, Europe, and other countries. These include crops that make their insecticides and crops that can withstand the application of certain herbicides used to eradicate weeds.

GMO foods are safe according to studies conducted 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. Skeptics, however, argue that it is still too early to determine the long-term health and ecological effects of such crops.

The area of land planted with genetically modified crops expanded substantially in the late twentieth and early 21st centuries, going from 1.7 million ha (4.2 million acres) in 1996 to 180 million ha (445 million acres) by 2014. About 90% of the maize, cotton, and soybeans that were grown in the United States in 2014-15 were genetically altered. The Americas were where the bulk of genetically modified plants was cultivated.

Over the course of five years from 1996 to 2000, the combined revenues of the U.S. and European biotechnology sectors almost quadrupled. The development of new products, notably in the healthcare industry, kept the economy expanding quickly into the twenty-first century. The worldwide biotechnology market is expected to reach $752.88 billion by 2020, with fresh growth prospects coming in particularly from government and business initiatives to speed up medication research and product clearance procedures.

Medicine

Modern biotechnology has a wide range of uses in medicine, including the development and manufacture of pharmaceutical drugs, precision medicine, and genetic analysis (or genetic screening). Oncology accounted for roughly 40% of the global pharmaceutical and biotech industry's total business value in 2021, with neurological and serious illnesses being the remaining two significant applications.

The field of technology known as pharmacogenomics, which combines the fields of pharmacology and genomics, studies how a person's genetic composition impacts how they respond to medications. By connecting the expression of genes or single-nucleotide polymorphisms to a medicine's efficacy or toxicity, researchers in the discipline examine the impact of genetic diversity on patient treatment reactions.

Pharmacogenomics' goal is to provide logical ways to tailor pharmacological therapy based on the genotype of the patient to achieve optimum efficacy with a minimum of side effects. Such strategies signal the coming of "personalized medicine," where medications and pharmaceutical combinations are tailored to each person's particular genetic profile.

The tripartite symmetry, the zinc ions that keep it all together, and the histidine by-products involved in zinc binding are all highlighted in this computer-generated picture of insulin hexamers. Conventional small-molecule pharmaceutical medications as well as pharmaceuticals created by biotechnology (biopharmaceutics) have benefited from the discovery and production of biotechnology. Existing medications may be made reasonably quick and inexpensive using modern biotechnology. Drugs created through genetic engineering were the first goods produced.

A child's parentage (genetic mother and father) or lineage, in general, can be ascertained via genetic testing, which also enables the genetic diagnosis of susceptibility to hereditary disorders. Genetic screening in a broader sense comprises biochemical tests for the potential existence of genetic illnesses or mutant versions of genes linked with a higher likelihood of developing genetic disorders, in addition to analyzing chromosomes to the level of specific genes.

Chromosome, gene, and protein alterations can be found by genetic testing. Testing is frequently performed to identify alterations linked to hereditary diseases. An individual's likelihood of getting or passing on a genetic ailment may be determined using the findings of a genetic test, which can also confirm or rule out a suspected genetic condition.

Agriculture

Genetically modified crops (sometimes known as "GM crops" or "biotech crops") are agricultural plants whose DNA has been altered via the use of genetic engineering techniques. The primary goal is often to introduce a novel characteristic that does not exist in the species normally. By enhancing the health and profitability of urban agriculture, biotechnology companies may help ensure future food security. Additionally, agrobiotechnology private sector investment is encouraged by the safeguarding of intellectual property rights.

Examples in edible crops include resilience to certain pests, illnesses, harsh environmental circumstances, chemical resistance treatments (such as herbicide resistance), a decrease in spoilage, or improvement of the crop's nutritional profile. Examples of non-food crops used for bioremediation for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, biofuels, and other products with industrial use.

GM technology has been broadly embraced by farmers. The total surface area of land used to grow GM crops rose by a factor of 94 between 1996 and 2011, going from 17,000 square kilometers (4,200,000 acres) to 1,600,000 sq. km (395 million acres). In 2010, genetically modified crops were grown on 10% of the planet's cropland. As of 2011, there were 395 million acres (160 million hectares) of commercially cultivated transgenic crops spread throughout 29 nations, including the US, Brazil, Argentina, India, China, Paraguay, Pakistan, South Africa, Uruguay, Bolivia, Australia, Philippines, Myanmar, Burkina Faso, Mexico, and Spain.

Foods generated from creatures that have had particular alterations incorporated into their DNA via genetic engineering techniques are referred to as genetically modified foods. These procedures have made it possible to introduce new agricultural features and have far more influence over a food's genetic makeup than was previously possible with techniques like selective breeding and mutant breeding. When Calgene first introduced its Flavr Savr delayed-ripening tomato in 1994, the commercial marketing of genetically altered foods officially started.

Currently, most food genetic engineering has concentrated on high-value cash crops including soybean, corn, canola, and cotton seed oil. These have improved nutritional profiles and are resistant to diseases and herbicides. In November 2013, there were no GM animal products on the market, but in 2015, the FDA authorized the first GM fish for industrial production and consumption. GM livestock has also undergone experimental development.

There is scientific agreement that food made from GM crops that is now on the market does not represent a larger risk to a person's health than traditional food, but each GM product should be examined individually before it is released. However, the general population is significantly less inclined than experts to believe that GM foods are safe. The regulatory and legal status of genetically modified foods varies by nation, with some prohibiting or limiting them while others allow them with varying levels of restriction.

If utilized sparingly, GM crops also have a variety of positive ecological effects. However, critics have raised objections to GM crops per se for several reasons, such as environmental concerns, questions about the safety of food made from GM crops, questions about whether GM crops are necessary to meet the world's largest food needs, and concerns about the economy raised by the fact that these organisms are protected by intellectual property law.

Industrial

The use of biotech for industrial purposes, particularly industrial fermentation, is known as industrial biotechnology, often referred to as white biotechnology outside of Europe. It comprises the process of creating industrially useful products from cells, such as microbes, or from cell parts, such as enzymes, in industries including chemicals, food and animal feed, cleansers, paper and pulp, textiles, and biofuels. The development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which increase the variety of uses and commercial viability of industrial biotechnology, has made tremendous strides in recent decades. Industrial biotechnology is actively working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and shift away from a petrochemical-based economy by using renewable raw materials to create a range of chemicals and fuels.

Considering its monetary and long-term benefits to the manufacturing industry, synthetic biology is regarded as one of the fundamental pillars of industrial biotechnology. Synthetic biology and biotechnology work together to produce items that are both affordable and environmentally benign by employing bio-based manufacturing methods rather than fossil fuel-based ones.

Using genome editing technologies, synthetic biology may be utilized to modify model microorganisms like Escherichia coli so that they can better create bio-based goods like biofuels and pharmaceuticals. By using metabolic engineering in a co-culture technique, for example, E. coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a consortium might be exploited as industrial microorganisms to create precursors of the chemotherapeutic drug paclitaxel.

Environmental

Diverse fields of environmental biotechnology, such as biofiltration and biodegradation, are crucial in minimizing environmental waste and delivering ecologically safe methods. Biotechnologies have the potential to have both beneficial and negative effects on the environment.

According to Valero and others, applications and implications can be used to distinguish between the positive effects of biotechnology (such as the use of bioremediation to clean up an oil spill or hazardous chemical leak) and the negative ones (such as the transfer of genetic information from transgenic animals into wild strains). Environmental biotechnology can be used to clean up environmental trash, but it can also have negative effects on the environment, such as the loss of biodiversity or the inability to confine dangerous microbes.

Regulation

The regulation of genetic engineering refers to the methods used by governments to evaluate and control the dangers posed by the application of genetic engineering technology, as well as the creation and distribution of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), such as genetically modified fish and crops. There are regional variations in GMO regulation, with the US and Europe having a few of the most pronounced variations.

Depending on how a particular country intends to use genetic engineering goods, different regulations apply. For instance, officials in charge of food safety often do not evaluate a crop that is not intended for consumption as food. The European Union makes a distinction between authorization for domestic cultivation and authorization for import and manufacturing. The production of GMOs has brought up the topic of GMO and non-GMO crops coexisting. The incentives for growing GM crops change depending on the cohabitation laws.

Advantages of Biotechnology

The World Economic Forum claims that biotechnology has a variety of advantages for people.

1. Sustainable chemical, energy, and other material production through biotechnology

Massive portions of the world's fossil fuel reserves have been used by humans. These reserves are non-renewable and finite. Additionally, the greenhouse gases produced by their use have a harmful influence on the environment. Biotechnology can support environmental sustainability through synthetic biosynthesis, which employs live organisms like bacteria, fungi, or plants to manufacture fuels, chemicals, and other materials.

2. Genetically modified plants boost the production of sustainable foods

Producing adequate food for both humans and animals will remain a challenge while the world's population continues to grow at an uncontrollable rate. The World Economic Forum's Council on Biotechnology claims that, although debatable, genetically modified crops can aid in the solution to this issue. The research suggests that current GM crops are boosting agricultural production in regions where they are legal. For instance, 16.7 million farmers produced transgenic crops in 29 countries, including 19 developing countries, on about 400 million acres in 2011. Existing GM staple crops also aid in crop sustainability by enabling the use of fewer pesticides and lowering the requirement for ploughing, which promotes erosion. By boosting agricultural production and lowering grain fungal contamination, such crops also improve the well-being of people and animals.

3. Using seawater bioprocesses to make chemicals and fuel

Regarding biofuels, the ocean provides a plentiful supply of potential fuels and chemicals. Given that the world's surface is covered by water over 70% of its area, seaweed is probably prevalent in the air. Bioprocesses can be used to transform that seaweed into biofuels. It is also possible to modify marine bacteria and microalgae to increase their productivity and use them to produce chemicals and fuels.

4. Bioprocessing with no waste

A zero-waste world was once only a pipe dream, but thanks to biotechnology, it might not be entirely absurd. Biorefineries can close the production cycle and move us one step closer to creating a zero-waste society by using industrial waste streams to make chemicals and fuels.

5. Using carbon dioxide as a primary ingredient

Biotechnology may truly be able to modify the perception that carbon dioxide is the primary contributor to global warming & climate change. Recent developments in science have improved our knowledge of how carbon dioxide is absorbed by living things. As a result, researchers are starting to comprehend how carbon dioxide may truly be captured and used to produce fuels, electricity, chemicals, and materials to fulfill global demand.

6. Organ regeneration via regenerative medicine

This one should go without saying, but recently there has been a rise in demand for regenerative medicine. When the system is unable to mend itself, biotechnology would make it possible to create organs and tissue in a lab and safely implant them.

7. Medicine and vaccines are developed and manufactured with great haste

The capacity of medicines and vaccinations to prevent and treat illnesses has been widely demonstrated, and this is highly relevant to the current state of the world. The ability to quickly create medicines and vaccines against almost any target is now made possible by biotechnology.

8. Personalized, quick, inexpensive, and accurate diagnosis

Even though the WEF's Council on Biotechnology produced its report on the advantages of biotechnology a while ago, its predictions regarding a worldwide pandemic were accurate.

"A possible worldwide pandemic represents one of the most severe and actual risks to the human species. Biotechnology can offer the platforms required for the quick detection of biological hazards, the creation of possible treatments, and the mass production of remedies. The development of quick, precise, individualized, and affordable diagnostics and prognostics systems is now achievable because of the identification of improved targets and the integration of nanotechnology and computer systems.

9. Excellent for producing healthy food

With the use of biotechnology, our food's nutritional value has increased. The speed and accuracy of scientists have grown due to food biotechnology, which can enhance the food manufacturing process. The primary nutrients in food are created by the crops grown on farms. However, by employing biotechnology to manage pests and weeds and enhance soil nutrients, the agricultural industry may increase productivity and the nutritional content of the crops produced.

Therefore, improving food availability and reducing health problems associated with nutritional deficiencies are two benefits of doing so. Additionally, about 35% less food is produced globally owing to food loss and food rotting rates brought on by illnesses and pests. For farmers, this rotting results in a significant financial loss. But with the help of biotechnology, typical crops may be produced with less tillage, resulting in less waste and more significant financial savings for farmers.

10. Contributes to medical sector improvement

The study of the genetic composition of the rest of humanity gained via biotechnology has a significant positive impact on medicine. Among other things, pharmacogenomics and genetic testing are two of the most important uses in medicine. Pharmaceutical and diagnostic goods are created by medical biotechnology using biological systems for research and development to cure or prevent illness.

Understanding cancer, coming up with treatments for it, inventing vaccinations, synthetic tissue growth, etc. are only a few medical achievements made possible by biotechnology. With these advancements in medicine, it is now feasible to extend both normal human life and the lives of unwell individuals.

11. Reduces environmental footprints around the globe

Environmental biotechnology is positioned to replace less sustainable chemical and material processes with more environmental friendly and biological ones.

Our environment is contaminated in many ways, and the main culprits are crude oil, plastics, building materials, etc. These substances release a lot of harmful toxins and carbon dioxide emissions that may have an impact on global warming. For instance, the main source of air pollution which results in several health problems and millions of deaths each year is fossil fuels.

However, it is now possible to manufacture biofuels from crops, and numerous businesses are employing biotechnology to transform agricultural waste into fuels, which is an even better choice. In addition, new developments in industrial biotechnology are being developed to make manufacturing processes safer by lowering the pollution caused by harmful chemicals. Also greatly reducing emissions of greenhouse gases from agricultural operations was biotechnology in crops. Groundwater treatment and sanitizing polluted soil are two other ways biotechnology is used to lessen global footprints. Additionally, it enables us to produce waste materials with improved biodegradability.

12. Lowers the infectious diseases rate

Reliable sources claim that individuals with incurable conditions have access to more than 250 biotech medical goods. All of the aforementioned information indicates that the advantages of biotech in the medical field should not be diminished. However, a discussion of the advantages of biotechnology would be incomplete without discussing the development of vaccinations to lower the prevalence of infectious illnesses.

The creation of vaccines is made possible by biotechnology's understanding of genetic engineering and cell culture. Biotechnology has made it possible for us to cure complex diseases and understand how infectious diseases spread and how to treat them. Certain advancements have helped us save many lives and safeguard people whose genetic makeup makes them more susceptible to these diseases, providing them a chance to live longer.

13. Aids in preservation and conservation

The development of goods and technologies that would benefit our planet by utilizing cell and biomolecular processes is the main goal of biotechnology.

Biotechnology offers us a way to extend our food's shelf life and longevity while also helping to save natural resources. Recombinant antifreeze proteins created by biotechnology are an illustration of a food preservation technique. Proteins called recombinant antifreeze proteins can alter how ice crystals develop and lower the freezing point of water. They increase the fruit and dairy products' frozen shelf lives.

Biotechnology's drawbacks

Biotechnology has several advantages, from lessening environmental pollution to being used in industrial and medicinal procedures. However, if biotechnology is used improperly, it may result in several problems.

1. Destroy the crop

The soil serves as the crop's natural source of nutrients, as was already indicated. However, biotechnology has made it possible for extra nutrients to be absorbed by crops in addition to their natural ones. However, if the soil has been overburdened with minerals from the crop, it may eventually lose its fertility, which might come at a cost. If this occurs, there will be a period of recovery, which would lower the yield of produced food at that time. For some, it may never recover, which would result in the croplands being permanently destroyed.

2. Reduces human life to a marketable commodity

The benefit of increasing human longevity is crucial for biotechnology. Yes, however, there is discussion as to whether biotechnology has turned human life into a commodity that may be controlled by others. For instance, payment may be necessary before using biotechnology to apply a certain technique to treat a certain ailment. Given the substantial expense and effort invested in the research, it is highly questionable. However, because it doesn't make biotechnology completely accessible, this is still clearly a drawback.

3. Has a lot of unknowns

Because there are so many unanswered questions, biotechnology has several drawbacks. Even though biotechnology has developed recently, there are still many long-term repercussions that we are unaware of. What would happen if live cells' DNA were changed to achieve a certain goal in the long run, for instance? Future generations may suffer, but we don't yet know for sure.

4. Might be used as a weapon

Let's say that biotechnology can change cells and the parts of cells to our advantage. What guarantees that it cannot be changed to damage people? The development of biological weapons via biotechnology opens the door to their use by terrorists.

To prevent situations when biotechnology is utilized to frighten or exterminate mankind, the proper authorities must check the biotechnology process.

Biotechnology examples

1. Cloning of DNA

The technique of making an exact duplicate (or clone) of a Sequence of DNA is known as DNA cloning. Experts at Harvard University created this method in 1976. They gave microorganisms frog DNA, after which they saw it proliferate throughout time.

2. Gel electrophoresis

Routing an electric charge across molecules is the process of gel electrophoresis. By passing electricity across DNA in a gel, scientists can determine what kind of molecule they are looking at because different portions of the molecule move at different speeds. The gel is a barrier to prevent the DNA from interacting with other substances, allowing for the separation of each molecule. Using compounds like silver nitrate to produce pictures on film after being separated has allowed scientists to learn more about human and animal cells.

3. Polymerase Chain Reaction

A DNA sequence is replicated using the polymerase chain reaction. To identify infections in food or water or to create new species like glow-in-the-dark cats, scientists introduce DNA to bacteria and watch how it reproduces over time.

Polymerase chain reactions are another tool that scientists may employ on their cells. For instance, they can utilize Parkinson's disease-affected individuals' cells to clone Parkinson's disease-free cells over time.

4. The sequencing of DNA

Analyzing a genetic code is the procedure of DNA sequencing. It may be used to identify the genes a person contains, which in turn enables medical professionals to predict the likelihood that they will experience the onset of specific hereditary disorders over their lifetime.

DNA sequencing can also help us learn further about cells and creatures; for instance, researchers have found that mice with obesity-related gene abnormalities eat less when they're hungry. They discovered this by examining their DNA to determine which genes were responsible for the variation.

Advance research in Biotechnology

1. Cloning: Over the years, cloning has been used to create new species and glow-in-the-dark animals, among other things. For instance, when scientists cloned a banana plant, they discovered that it had twice as much vitamin A.

2. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR): Pathogens can be found using the Polymerase Chain Reaction method. The Polymerase Chain Reaction is also employed in DNA sequencing, which aids medical professionals in predicting if a patient may get illnesses like AIDS or cystic fibrosis. This method is so useful that it has emerged as one of the most crucial tools in biology and medicine, aiding in the discovery of treatments for diseases like cancer, AIDS, and cystic fibrosis.