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1 - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2021

Bal Ram Singh
Affiliation:
Institute of Advanced Sciences, USA
Raj Kumar
Affiliation:
Institute of Advanced Sciences, USA
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Summary

Biotechnology – Its Background and History

The office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress defines biotechnology as “any technique that uses living organisms or their products to make or modify a(another) product, to improve plants or animals, or to develop microorganisms for specific uses.” In its broadest terms, such a definition includes human beings, making biotechnology to be as old as the development of human skills such as to grow crops, harvest them, and use them as ingredients to cook their meals. In fact, a term Biotechnik, originally referring to social biology by Goldscheid in 1911, was used in the Nature journal of 1933 to print an editorial on Biotechnology (Bud, 1989; Goldcheid, 1911). Ironically, time has come a full circle as scientists are now examining gene expression patterns under different social conditions (Cole, 2014).

Biotechnology as a system of knowledge and application probably goes back to Vedic times, when the system of Ayurveda (literally meaning knowledge of life) was developed. Reference to the use of herbs for treating medical conditions are to be found in the earliest literature of India, over 14,000 years ago. According to BioREACH (which stands for Biotechnology Resource for Educational Advancement of Curriculum in High Schools at Arizona State University) some forms of biotechnology were being practiced by the ancients in Babylon, Egypt, and Rome in their selective breeding practices with livestock, over 10,000 years ago. There are instances where people around 6000 BC used fermentation to make wine and beer; and when the Chinese used lactic acid producing bacteria to produce yogurt around 4000 BC.

The modern term ‘biotechnology’ was first coined by a Hungarian engineer, Karl Ereky (1878–1952), in 1919. He defined biotechnology as general processes of converting raw materials into useful products, such as on industrial farms, using living organisms. A previous term ‘zymotechnology’ was used in the nineteenth century for using microorganisms to produce products like bread, wine, tofu, and so on. In the early twentieth century zymotechnology also included biological chemistry and covered usage of biological molecules such as enzymes, amino acids, and proteins for industrial production.

Modern biotechnology took root after the discovery of genetic material and the central theme of the gene progression route, namely DNA → RNA → Proteins, during the 1930s to the 1950s.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Introduction
  • Bal Ram Singh, Raj Kumar
  • Book: Practical Techniques in Molecular Biotechnology
  • Online publication: 15 October 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108659161.002
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  • Introduction
  • Bal Ram Singh, Raj Kumar
  • Book: Practical Techniques in Molecular Biotechnology
  • Online publication: 15 October 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108659161.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Bal Ram Singh, Raj Kumar
  • Book: Practical Techniques in Molecular Biotechnology
  • Online publication: 15 October 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108659161.002
Available formats
×