Question

What are the importance of biotechnology?

Answer 1

While technology generally aims to create tools to empower man, biotechnology aims to change man himself, to better fit him to the world. 

Simply put, biotechnology is the application of advances made in the biological sciences, especially involving the science of genetics and its application.  Biotechnology has helped improve food quality, quantity and processing.  It also has applications in manufacturing, where simple cells and proteins can be manipulated to produce chemicals. 

But biotechnology is most important for its implications in health and medicine.  Through genetic engineering – the controlled alteration of genetic material – scientists have been able to create new medicines, including interferon for cancer patients, synthetic human growth hormone and synthetic insulin, among others. In recent years, scientists have also attempted to employ the methods of genetic engineering to correct certain inherited conditions, and have been making great strides in their ability to manipulate genetic materials. These advances suggest the prospect of human control over the very genetic makeup of man, and thus the ability to manipulate our inherited traits.  

The consequences of man's growing power over human genetics are enormous, and they become ever more immediate each day. Many observers have suggested that just as the late 20th century has been the age of computer technology, so the early 21st century will be the age of biotechnology. But how can we be sure that this new power will be used correctly? 

How much control should individuals be allowed to exercise over the genetic makeup of their children? How much do we want to know about our own genetic tendencies or dispositions? How will society be affected if we come close to actually answering the age old nature-versus-nurture question? What are the implications of human cloning? How can we ensure that the sanctity of human life is safeguarded in an age when genetic manipulation and scientific eugenics are possible? Can society exercise some control over the uses of biotechnology, or has the genetic genie forever escaped its bottle? 

These are the sorts of questions opened up for society by the growth and advancement of Biotechnology.

Answer 2

Explanation:

rDNA biotechnology- derived food crops offer growers: increased crop resistance to pests, disease, and environmental stress; increased crop yields; and decreased production costs. ... Farmers choose biotech crops because they increase yield and lower production costs.