biotechnology summary

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see biotechnology.

biotechnology, The use of biology to solve problems and make useful products. The growth of the field is linked to the development in the 1970s of genetic engineering. Biotechnology merges biological information with computer technology to advance research in other areas, including nanotechnology and regenerative medicine. Today there are numerous commercial biotechnology firms that manufacture genetically engineered substances for a variety of mostly medical, agricultural, and ecological uses.

genetically modified organism Summary

Genetically modified organism (GMO), organism whose genome has been engineered in the laboratory in order to favour the expression of desired physiological traits or the generation of desired biological products. In conventional livestock production, crop farming, and even pet breeding, it has long

recombinant DNA Summary

Recombinant DNA, molecules of DNA from two different species that are inserted into a host organism to produce new genetic combinations that are of value to science, medicine, agriculture, and industry. Since the focus of all genetics is the gene, the fundamental goal of laboratory geneticists is

genetic engineering Summary

Genetic engineering, the artificial manipulation, modification, and recombination of DNA or other nucleic acid molecules in order to modify an organism or population of organisms. The term genetic engineering is generally used to refer to methods of recombinant DNA technology, which emerged from