BIOTECHNOLOGY 

The most practical use of biotechnology, which is still present today, is the cultivation of plants to produce food suitable to humans. has been theorized to have become the dominant way of producing food since the  The processes and methods of agriculture have been refined by other mechanical and biological sciences since its inception. Through early biotechnology, farmers were able to select the best suited and highest-yield crops to produce enough food to support a growing population. Other uses of biotechnology were required as crops and fields became increasingly large and difficult to maintain. Specific organisms and organism by-products were used to , and  Throughout the use of agriculture farmers have inadvertently altered the genetics of their crops through introducing them to new environments and  them with other plants--one of the first forms of biotechnology. 

Cultures such as those in  and  developed the process of  beer. It is still done by the same basic method of using malted grains (containing enzymes) to convert starch from grains into sugar and then adding specific yeasts to produce beer. In this process the carbohydrates in the grains were broken down into alcohols such as ethanol. Ancient Indians also used the juices of the plant Ephedrine Vulgarism and used to call it Later other cultures produced the process of which allowed the fermentation and preservation of other forms of food. Fermentation was also used in this time period to produce leavened bread. Although the process of fermentation was not fully understood until ’s work in 1857, it is still the first use of biotechnology to convert a food source into another form. Combinations of plants and other organisms were used as in many early civilizations. Since as early as 200 BC, people began to use disabled or minute amounts of infectious agents to immunize themselves against infections. These and similar processes have been refined in modern medicine and have led to many developments such as and other methods of fighting sickness.

In the early twentieth century scientists gained a greater understanding of  and explored ways of manufacturing specific products. In 1917,  first used a pure microbiological culture in an industrial process, that of manufacturing  using  to produce which the desperately needed to manufacture  during The field of modern biotechnology is thought to have largely begun on  when the  ruled that a could be  in the case of  Indian-born Amanda Chakrabarty, working for , had developed a bacterium (derived from the  genus) capable of breaking down crude oil, which he proposed to use in treating oil spills. Revenue in the industry is expected to grow by 12.9% in 2008. Another factor influencing the biotechnology sector's success is improved intellectual property rights legislation -- and enforcement -- worldwide, as well as strengthened demand for medical and pharmaceutical products to cope with an ageing, and ailing, U.S. population Rising demand for befouls is expected to be good news for the biotechnology sector, with the   estimating usage could reduce U.S. petroleum-derived fuel consumption by up to 30% by 2030. The biotechnology sector has allowed the U.S. farming industry to rapidly increase its supply of corn and soybeans -- the main inputs into befouls -- by developing genetically-modified seeds which are resistant to pests and drought. By boosting farm productivity, biotechnology plays a crucial role in ensuring that befoul production targets are met

Most traditional pharmaceutical drugs are relatively simple molecules that have been found primarily through trial and error to treat the symptoms of a disease or illness.  are large biological molecules known as  and these usually target the underlying mechanisms and pathways of a malady (but not always, as is the case with using to treat  as that treatment merely addresses the symptoms of the disease, not the underlying cause which is  it is a relatively young industry. They can deal with targets in humans that may not be accessible with traditional medicines. A patient typically is dosed with a small molecule via a tablet while a large molecule is typically injected. Small molecules are manufactured by chemistry but larger molecules are created by living cells such as those found in the human body: for example, bacteria cells, yeast cells, animal or plant cells. Modern biotechnology is often associated with the use of genetically altered  such as or  for the production of substances like synthetic  or It can also refer to or  such as  Genetically altered mammalian cells, such as (CHOW) cells, are also used to manufacture certain pharmaceuticals. Another promising new biotechnology application is the development of Biotechnology is also commonly associated with landmark breakthroughs in new medical therapies to treat  disorders. The biotechnology industry has also been instrumental in developing molecular diagnostic devices than can be used to define the target patient population for a given biopharmaceutical. for example, was the first drug approved for use with a matching diagnostic test and is used to treat breast cancer in women whose cancer cells express the protein