中文(简体)Biotechnology: The use of science and biotechnology to transform agriculture or other aspects. Science utilizes modern genetic engineering technology to select genes with certain excellent characteristics of an organism and transfer them to another species, so that new genetically modified organisms have the expected specific characteristics.
Biotechnology is a well-known term, which is translated from English. The US Science and Technology Commission defines biotechnology as "a series of technologies that utilize organisms or cells to produce the products we need, including gene recombination, cell fusion, and some biological manufacturing processes."
In fact, the history of human beings using organisms or cells to produce the products we need has been very long. For example, cultivation and animal husbandry began 10000 years ago to provide a stable source of food, fermentation technology was used to make wine and bread 6000 years ago, mold was used to treat wounds 2000 years ago, smallpox vaccines were used in 1797, and the antibiotic penicillin was discovered in 1928.
Since humans have been using biotechnology for so long, why has biotechnology suddenly attracted widespread attention since 1990? This is because since the 1950s, the scientific community has gained a deeper understanding of the cells that make up small units of living organisms and the genes that control their genetic characteristics, as well as the development of gene recombination and cell fusion technologies in the 1970s. Due to the fact that these two technologies can more effectively enable cells or organisms to produce the substances we need, and contribute to industrial or agricultural mass production, an emerging biotechnology industry began to emerge in the 1980s!
Bill Gates said in 1996 that "biotechnology will change the world like computer software.". The modern biotechnology industry has developed since 1980, and its applications include industries such as pharmaceuticals, agriculture, environmental protection, food processing, and specialty chemicals. In terms of biomedical pharmaceuticals, 155 kinds of biotechnology drugs or vaccines have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for marketing and used for diabetes, heart disease, cancer, AIDS and other diseases. In agriculture, genetically modified plants such as papaya, tomatoes, corn, soybeans, etc. have been launched. These genetically modified plants have strong resistance to diseases and pests and can reduce the use of chemical pesticides.
