Biotechnology, broadly defined, refers to the manipulation of biology or a biological product for some human end. Before recorded history, humans grew selected plants for food and medicines. They bred animals for food, for work, and as pets. The ancient Egyptians learned how to maintain selected yeast cultures, which allowed them to bake and brew with predictable results. These are all examples of biotechnology. In more recent times, however, the term "biotechnology" has mainly been applied to specifically industrial processes that involve the use of biological systems. Today many biotechnology companies use processes that make use of genetically engineered microorganisms.

A Revolution in Biology

Following 1953, when Thomas Watson and Francis Crick published their famous paper on the double helix structure of DNA, a series of independent discoveries were made in chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, and microbiology, which together brought about a revolution in biology and led to the first...