Biotechnology: principles and applications

This chapter begins by defining biotechnology. It explains how, with time, the field has expanded based on advances in science and engineering to result in the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary modern biotechnology. The overlap between biotechnology, bioengineering, and biomedical engineering is explained, followed by a brief history of biotechnology, from ancient through classical to modern biotechnology. A color code is used to distinguish between various applications that impact the biomanufacture of industrial products (white), the development of novel therapeutic agents (blue), diagnostics and medical treatments (red), and animal and food crop production (green). The chapter culminates in a section on the key techniques in genetic engineering.