Biotechnology is a useful science, and for those with talent, a very lucrative career. Acknowledged or not, biotechnology has a massive effect on our everyday lives. Broadly speaking, biotechnology is the use of living systems or organisms to create a useful product or process. The genre is often employed in the fields of agriculture, medicine, and food production. The larger ambit of biotechnology can also cover other fields like Biomedicine, Bio Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering.
The application and scope of biotechnology is vast. For example, India’s green revolution was achieved only with the help of better grains created through the means of biotechnology. Even today, several new varieties of plants and grains are created with the aim of better yields, pest resistance, and greater nutritional content.
Biotechnology is indispensable in the field of medicine as well. Genetic Engineering for example, falls into the ambit of biotechnology. Attempts are being made to use genome sequences of people to identify and treat diseases. The project can be extended to use the genes of a person to account for the probability of a disease, and take preventive steps before the disease hits. Similarly, several disease causing pathogens can be neutralized by making changes to their genes, or targeting them for better results.
It goes beyond just genetic studies. Biotechnology can be used to create efficient medicines, culture cells and tissues, and carry out medical tests.
In the field of technology, Biotechnology can find its application in creating machines that mimic organic life forms and be targeted at specific results. Robots who can walk comfortably, or drones that can fly and maneuver easily are excellent examples. Work is in progress to create organic processing units for computers, which would have much more processing capabilities as compared to traditional computers.
The scope of Biotechnology, is thus wide and limited only by the creativity and skill of an individual. The field offers the cutting edge in technology and science, and even a chance to change the world.
Students can seek admissions to Biotechnology courses after the 10+2 or similar examinations. The duration of a course as B.Sc. in Biotechnology is usually three years, while Biotechnical Engineering runs for four years. The modern world offers various avenues in lucrative careers, world changing research, and higher education for the students of Biotechnology.
