Article 02: BIOTECHNOLOGY AS AN INSTRUMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Biotechnology is marked by the combination of a "building block" that combines existing research protocols with new scientific procedures derived from different disciplines such as biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology (KREUZER, H .; MASSEY, A. 2002 ). In addition to these disciplines, biotechnology encompasses chemical engineering, computer sciences, materials sciences, genetics, immunology, physiology, microbiology and biochemical engineering (COSTA, E.T, 2006). Therefore, the definition of biotechnology evolves as its protocols, themes and areas of research are refining and succeeding over time. An example, according to Valle (2005), are the themes "that a few years ago elicited great interest and volume of research, such as fermentation and are gradually deferred by new themes and concerns, such as genomics and proteomics." Kreuzer and Massey (2002) argue that biotechnology is formed by a set of technological skills produced by the technical and scientific knowledge developed in these various disciplines. The biotechnology instruments that belong to this set are: monoclonal antibody technology, protein engineering, antisense technology, bioprocessing technology, biosensor technology, tissue engineering, cell and tissue culture technology, genetic engineering and chip technology of DNA. For them, this diverse set is capable of originating a wide range of products and most of its commercial applications mainly reflect in three markets: human health care, environmental management and agriculture. The use In the field of health, for example, biotechnology is adopted as a possible form of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases. In agriculture, from the planting of the seeds to the foods that are in the supermarkets can be affected by her. The environment can also be influenced by biotechnology as it is able to uncover new and clean sources of recyclable energy, new methods of detecting and treating environmental contamination, and developing new products and processes that are less harmful to the environment than previously used (KREUZER , H .; MASSEY, A. 2002). These contributions to society are the fruits of the technological information revolution of recent years that played an important role in the speed with which new discoveries in biology arose.