Biotechnology
Few developments in science have had the potential for such profound impact on research, technology, and society in general as has biotechnology. Yet authorities do not agree on a single definition of this term. Sometimes, writers have limited the term to techniques used to modify living organisms and, in some instances, the creation of entirely new kinds of organisms.
In most cases, however, a broader, more general definition is used. The Industrial Biotechnology Association, for example, uses the term to refer to any "development of products by a biological process." These products may indeed be organisms or they may be cells, components of cells, or individual and specific chemicals. A somewhat more detailed definition is that of the European Federation of Biotechnology, which defines biotechnology as the "integrated use of biochemistry, microbiology, and engineering sciences in order to achieve technological (industrial) application of the capabilities of microorganisms, cultured tissue cells, and parts thereof."
By almost any definition, biotechnology has been used by humans for thousands of years, long before modern science existed. Some of the oldest manufacturing processes known to humankind make use of biotechnology. Beer, wine, and breadmaking, for example, all occur because of the process of fermentation.
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