The future of biotechnology
Biotechnology, despite all the pathos and innovativeness of the name, is one of the most ancient industries, which appeared when the very concept of science was not yet established. In this case, without any doubt, today biotechnology in the broad sense of this concept is one of the most promising and promising areas of study of the possibilities of using living organisms.
In fact, humanity first encountered biotechnologies (in the simplest and broadest sense) at the same time that they encountered "biota" - that is, the biologically active population of the most diverse entities on our planet: when baking bread, brewing (in both cases, yeast cultures) and at the very first, timid, steps in the selection of those plants that helped to feed themselves.
Of course, the conscious and systematic development of biotechnology began later, in fact - not so long ago by the standards of science, at the end of the 17th century, when the existence of microorganisms was discovered. A huge role in this discovery was played by St. Petersburg academician K.S. Kirkhgov, who discovered the phenomenon of biological catalysis and tried to biocatalytically obtain sugar from available domestic raw materials (primarily beets). And we owe the term “biotechnology” to the Hungarian engineer Karl Ereki, who first used it in his work in 1917. Great merit in the initial formation of biotechnology, as a direction in the science of biology, is also given to one of the most famous microbiologists - Louis Pasteur, thanks to the discoveries of which no one doubted that biotechnologies are an independent scientific direction.
The first patent in the field of biotechnology was issued in 1891 in the United States - the Japanese biochemist Dz. Takamine discovered the method of using enzyme preparations for industrial purposes: to use diastase for saccharification of plant waste.
In the XX century, the development of biotechnology took on a new look and many directions - in particular, they began to influence other sectors and areas of human economic activity. It is worth saying only that the active development of the fermentation and microbiological industry has given us hundreds, if not thousands, of methods and drugs that significantly improve the lives of everyone: it became possible to produce antibiotics, food concentrates, as well as to control the fermentation of products of plant and animal origin, which insanely important for food.
Isolation and purification to an acceptable level of the first antibiotic - penicillin, became possible only in 1940, while taking the entire biotechnology industry to a whole new level and setting new tasks, such as: searching and developing technologies for the production of drugs produced by microorganisms, reducing the cost and increased safety when taking medications by the patient and so on.
In today's world, biotechnology is almost inextricably linked with engineering (including genetic), energy, medicine, agriculture, ecology, and many other industries and scientific fields of thought.
Over the past 100 years, thanks to unbridled progress in all directions, the range of tasks and methods for solving them in biotechnology has changed significantly. The basis of the so-called The “new” biotechnology is based on very advanced and high-tech methods of genetic and cellular engineering, with the help of which many complex operations are carried out, including the reconstruction of individual viable copies from individual cell fragments.
At the junction of biotechnology and other scientific fields, the most interesting and unexpected solutions can be born that allow you to more deeply recognize and use the potential of a wide variety of living organisms. As a result, we learn more about the processes by which we obtain:
- Materials and composites
- Fuels and methods of synthesis
- Medicines and vaccines
- Methods for the diagnosis and prevention of diseases, including genetically determined ones.
- Not to mention the aging processes, which are, in a sense, the “philosophical stone” of the biotechnology world, there are many absolutely mundane and, forgive me, “simple” prospects for real-life application with its practice.
First of all, here, of course, “genetically modified organisms”, the notorious “GMO”, are unjustifiably unloved by an uneducated reader / viewer / listener. In fact, humanity, from the very moment that it changed nomadism to a settled way of life and began to cultivate the land and raise livestock, was engaged in the creation of “genetically modified” crops in agriculture. Without this, we would not have a harvest in principle, since the conditions of the biocenosis (that is, the sustainable development of organisms) simply would not have allowed to grow either a cow or wheat. And that is why biotechnologies in the field of plant crops can solve many problems, from hunger and food supply, to improving the quality of life for all people due to the harmonization of nutritional levels of a wide variety of plant products.
It is not necessary to think that biotechnologies today have reached the peak of their own development - such an opinion would be fundamentally wrong. Further fragmentation of "biotechnology" into capacious areas that deal with their own applied tasks. For example, in Russia, the “Comprehensive Biotechnology Development Program” was adopted, within the framework of which it is planned to create a globally competitive bio-economy sect and enterprises working in this field. Moreover, it is expected that by 2020 the volume of this sector amounted to at least 1% of GDP, and by 2030 - at least 3% of the GDP of the Russian Federation. These are not just ambitious plans, this is a harsh reality that must be met.
Which industries might be affected by biotechnology in the very near future? Almost everything, because we see further integration of various scientific and applied fields with each other.
Take, for example, the space industry, which is already actively working with microorganisms, using real biotechnological methods. For example, thanks to sending various types of microorganisms to the ISS, we know that a huge number of bacteria are resistant to hard cosmic radiation of a wide variety of spectra and waves. Moreover, we found on Earth microorganisms that are in a state of suspended animation (roughly speaking: “hibernation”), which emerged from it only after being irradiated with cosmic rays. They simply could not form on our planet, they were brought to us in the process of the formation of the solar system from other space objects of our galaxy.
How else can biotechnologies affect the exploration by people of the space closest to us? Imagine even a simple exploratory expedition to other planets within our local group - for example, to Mars. In addition to the psychological stability of the crew of such an expedition (and a one-way flight will last at least a year at the current level of development of rocket and other types of engines suitable for interplanetary communication), she will need a decent supply of food and fuel. Even now, it is impossible to deliver an annual supply of food to the ISS for a group of 3-5 cosmonauts - this is too difficult and several launch vehicles will be required. What can we say about the long-term space mission, under which there will simply be no possibility of replenishing supplies on the way.
Therefore, it will be necessary to establish uninterrupted food cultivation on the spot - only such a scheme will ensure the safety of both flight missions and colonization. Scientists of the National Laboratory named after Berkeley ”in the United States, which suggests, once again, resorting to the use of the latest achievements in the field of synthetic biology. What does it mean?
Researchers estimate that for an expedition to Mars lasting about two and a half years, the use of modern methods used in biotechnology will reduce the need for combustible fuel by two and a half times and ⅓ for food. In the report, the researchers noted that the latest developments at the intersection of biology and nanotechnology will also help in the construction of residential modules. Directly on another planet, whether it be Mars or some other. All the materials necessary for this can be synthesized on the spot, and building blocks can be obtained using multilayer 3D printing technology.
Naturally, biotechnologies also have numerous "balances" and constraints, the first of which are the socio-ethical and religious premises. A person can, in fact, use the capabilities of living organisms to solve a wide variety of problems in an endless cycle, but, in practice, only up to a certain point - some trait that can’t be crossed. First of all, this concerns the complete cloning of living organisms (recall the Dolly sheep and all that was said about it). Today it is prohibited in most developed countries, and people who, despite everything, are ready to do this, have to look for financing and working conditions where they do not violate any laws - for example, in the neutral waters of the oceans (which are not controlled by national laws or one country).
At the same time, of course, no one today excludes the fact that in the future full human cloning will become possible. The future will show how this will stimulate the entire biotechnology industry and what new high-tech areas of work will appear in it after this event.
This applies to the general development of biotechnology, as a large scientific and industrial industry at the intersection of technology and biology. And what professions and spheres of employment are affected by broad “biotechnologies”, as concepts? In fact, there are many. Let's try to list only the most interesting and promising.
He is a specialist in replacing existing and formally aging solutions in various industries with new techniques from the field of biotechnology (for example, biofuels instead of diesel fuel, or organic building materials instead of cement, concrete and steel).
He is a specialist in planning, designing and creating closed-loop technologies with the participation of genetically modified organisms and microorganisms (bioreactors, food production systems in urban areas).
This is a specialist in the design of a new type of city, using the latest achievements in the field of biotechnology, including clean biological energy and pollution control systems.
This is a specialist in creating new medicinal biological products with desired properties that can replace artificially synthesized drugs.
This is a specialist in the introduction of genetically modified crops in agriculture, also engaged in the implementation of biotechnological solutions and obtaining results with desired properties, which can be very different: high yield, increased resistance to adverse weather conditions and parasites.
This is a specialist in the arrangement and maintenance of agricultural enterprises on the roofs and walls of skyscrapers and residential buildings, that is, in urban areas. Here can be both food and livestock breeding.
This is a specialist who applies the properties and organization of wildlife and living organisms (including humans) to create automated systems and improve computer technology. For example, distributed computing networks based on microorganisms already today solve specific problems that are not subject to computer modeling.
Read more about future professions on the atlas of new professions website.
Of course, the conscious and systematic development of biotechnology began later, in fact - not so long ago by the standards of science, at the end of the 17th century, when the existence of microorganisms was discovered. A huge role in this discovery was played by St. Petersburg academician K.S. Kirkhgov, who discovered the phenomenon of biological catalysis and tried to biocatalytically obtain sugar from available domestic raw materials (primarily beets). And we owe the term “biotechnology” to the Hungarian engineer Karl Ereki, who first used it in his work in 1917. Great merit in the initial formation of biotechnology, as a direction in the science of biology, is also given to one of the most famous microbiologists - Louis Pasteur, thanks to the discoveries of which no one doubted that biotechnologies are an independent scientific direction.
The first patent in the field of biotechnology was issued in 1891 in the United States - the Japanese biochemist Dz. Takamine discovered the method of using enzyme preparations for industrial purposes: to use diastase for saccharification of plant waste.
In the XX century, the development of biotechnology took on a new look and many directions - in particular, they began to influence other sectors and areas of human economic activity. It is worth saying only that the active development of the fermentation and microbiological industry has given us hundreds, if not thousands, of methods and drugs that significantly improve the lives of everyone: it became possible to produce antibiotics, food concentrates, as well as to control the fermentation of products of plant and animal origin, which insanely important for food.
Isolation and purification to an acceptable level of the first antibiotic - penicillin, became possible only in 1940, while taking the entire biotechnology industry to a whole new level and setting new tasks, such as: searching and developing technologies for the production of drugs produced by microorganisms, reducing the cost and increased safety when taking medications by the patient and so on.
In today's world, biotechnology is almost inextricably linked with engineering (including genetic), energy, medicine, agriculture, ecology, and many other industries and scientific fields of thought.
Over the past 100 years, thanks to unbridled progress in all directions, the range of tasks and methods for solving them in biotechnology has changed significantly. The basis of the so-called The “new” biotechnology is based on very advanced and high-tech methods of genetic and cellular engineering, with the help of which many complex operations are carried out, including the reconstruction of individual viable copies from individual cell fragments.
At the junction of biotechnology and other scientific fields, the most interesting and unexpected solutions can be born that allow you to more deeply recognize and use the potential of a wide variety of living organisms. As a result, we learn more about the processes by which we obtain:
- Materials and composites
- Fuels and methods of synthesis
- Medicines and vaccines
- Methods for the diagnosis and prevention of diseases, including genetically determined ones.
- Not to mention the aging processes, which are, in a sense, the “philosophical stone” of the biotechnology world, there are many absolutely mundane and, forgive me, “simple” prospects for real-life application with its practice.
First of all, here, of course, “genetically modified organisms”, the notorious “GMO”, are unjustifiably unloved by an uneducated reader / viewer / listener. In fact, humanity, from the very moment that it changed nomadism to a settled way of life and began to cultivate the land and raise livestock, was engaged in the creation of “genetically modified” crops in agriculture. Without this, we would not have a harvest in principle, since the conditions of the biocenosis (that is, the sustainable development of organisms) simply would not have allowed to grow either a cow or wheat. And that is why biotechnologies in the field of plant crops can solve many problems, from hunger and food supply, to improving the quality of life for all people due to the harmonization of nutritional levels of a wide variety of plant products.
It is not necessary to think that biotechnologies today have reached the peak of their own development - such an opinion would be fundamentally wrong. Further fragmentation of "biotechnology" into capacious areas that deal with their own applied tasks. For example, in Russia, the “Comprehensive Biotechnology Development Program” was adopted, within the framework of which it is planned to create a globally competitive bio-economy sect and enterprises working in this field. Moreover, it is expected that by 2020 the volume of this sector amounted to at least 1% of GDP, and by 2030 - at least 3% of the GDP of the Russian Federation. These are not just ambitious plans, this is a harsh reality that must be met.
Which industries might be affected by biotechnology in the very near future? Almost everything, because we see further integration of various scientific and applied fields with each other.
Take, for example, the space industry, which is already actively working with microorganisms, using real biotechnological methods. For example, thanks to sending various types of microorganisms to the ISS, we know that a huge number of bacteria are resistant to hard cosmic radiation of a wide variety of spectra and waves. Moreover, we found on Earth microorganisms that are in a state of suspended animation (roughly speaking: “hibernation”), which emerged from it only after being irradiated with cosmic rays. They simply could not form on our planet, they were brought to us in the process of the formation of the solar system from other space objects of our galaxy.
How else can biotechnologies affect the exploration by people of the space closest to us? Imagine even a simple exploratory expedition to other planets within our local group - for example, to Mars. In addition to the psychological stability of the crew of such an expedition (and a one-way flight will last at least a year at the current level of development of rocket and other types of engines suitable for interplanetary communication), she will need a decent supply of food and fuel. Even now, it is impossible to deliver an annual supply of food to the ISS for a group of 3-5 cosmonauts - this is too difficult and several launch vehicles will be required. What can we say about the long-term space mission, under which there will simply be no possibility of replenishing supplies on the way.
Therefore, it will be necessary to establish uninterrupted food cultivation on the spot - only such a scheme will ensure the safety of both flight missions and colonization. Scientists of the National Laboratory named after Berkeley ”in the United States, which suggests, once again, resorting to the use of the latest achievements in the field of synthetic biology. What does it mean?
Researchers estimate that for an expedition to Mars lasting about two and a half years, the use of modern methods used in biotechnology will reduce the need for combustible fuel by two and a half times and ⅓ for food. In the report, the researchers noted that the latest developments at the intersection of biology and nanotechnology will also help in the construction of residential modules. Directly on another planet, whether it be Mars or some other. All the materials necessary for this can be synthesized on the spot, and building blocks can be obtained using multilayer 3D printing technology.
Naturally, biotechnologies also have numerous "balances" and constraints, the first of which are the socio-ethical and religious premises. A person can, in fact, use the capabilities of living organisms to solve a wide variety of problems in an endless cycle, but, in practice, only up to a certain point - some trait that can’t be crossed. First of all, this concerns the complete cloning of living organisms (recall the Dolly sheep and all that was said about it). Today it is prohibited in most developed countries, and people who, despite everything, are ready to do this, have to look for financing and working conditions where they do not violate any laws - for example, in the neutral waters of the oceans (which are not controlled by national laws or one country).
At the same time, of course, no one today excludes the fact that in the future full human cloning will become possible. The future will show how this will stimulate the entire biotechnology industry and what new high-tech areas of work will appear in it after this event.
This applies to the general development of biotechnology, as a large scientific and industrial industry at the intersection of technology and biology. And what professions and spheres of employment are affected by broad “biotechnologies”, as concepts? In fact, there are many. Let's try to list only the most interesting and promising.
Read more about future professions on the atlas of new professions website.