User:Ragesoss/History of biotechnology 2

The history of biotechnology is as extensive as it is complex, beginning with the agricultural and medical advances of prehistoric man and continuing all the way up to the high-tech, well funded biotechnology companies of today. Placing biotechnology in this historical context is important because it allows for a better understanding of how biotechnology could go from such humble beginnings to the political, commercial, scientific, and ethical giant that dominates so much of modern life currently.

Many may be surprised to note that biotechnology is not a “modern” invention, but has in fact been in existence since prehistoric times, and was used primarily in agricultural advances, though it was also used for medical advances as well as plant and food production. This mode of “ancient” biotechnology contributed to the crucial inventions such as fermentation, the use of yeast to make bread, and the practice of inoculation which was used as a way to protect against smallpox. As human society transitioned from the B.C. to A.D. era, efforts became more concentrated on investigating biological and technological phenomena on a more scientific level. Innovators such as Gregor Mendel, Anton van Leeuwenhoek, Edward Jenner, and Louis Pasteur made discoveries that laid the foundation for modern biotechnological research.

However, the actual term “biotechnology” was not coined until 1919, and biotechnology as it is understood today was marked by the discovery of the double helix by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953. This revolutionized the way DNA was understood and allowed for scientists to use this knowledge to greatly expand its use, culminating is such scientific landmarks like cloning and mapping the human genome. Over time biotechnology has expounded by leaps and bounds, leading to powerful and highly lucrative biotechnology industries. This new form of biotechnology has brought about a plethora of ethical and moral issues, which paint an interesting picture of where biotechnology will be headed in the future.

Biology + Technology=Biotechnology
What is biotechnology? On a technical level, it is the combination of two words: biology and technology. The next question then must be: what are the definitions of these two words, what does it mean to combine them, and why were they combined to begin with? Biology is the field of science that studies life and living organisms, focusing specifically on their structure, nature, function, and behavior. From a historical perspective, the term “biology” was coined in 1802 and was the result of the Romantic Movement, which began in the late 18th/early 19th century and originated in Germany. This form of “biologie”, as it was known, referred to the study of an organism in its environment, coinciding with Romantic principles of viewing science as a part of nature, and abiding by the philosophy that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Thus biology in its early stages was meant as a sort of “poetic science”, one which involved the study of life as it relates to nature and human existence, and used methods involving creativity, experience, and direct participation with the organisms one was studying. Since then biology has branched out and contributed to the rise of new scientific fields such as molecular biology, biochemistry, biophysics, and of course biotechnology. The term “technology” is the application of knowledge (in general scientific knowledge) for practical purposes. Indeed human civilization has been using technology since time immemorial, from products such as the wheel to many agricultural and farming techniques. Altogether, the relation between biology and technology “can in principle be considered as social organizations which differ only in terms of the goals that guide them. Science implies complete publicness of the result of research, whilst technology entails the private appropriation of such results and therefore encourages secrecy. Yet in every other respect science and technology can be considered as indistinguishable.”

Given these two individual definitions, it is interesting to note that the actual term “biotechnology” did not come about until 1919 when it was coined by a Hungarian engineer and economist named Karl Ereky. To Ereky, he dreamed that biotechnology would usher a new era in scientific advancement that “would be comparable to the Stone Age and the Iron Age in terms of its historical significance. For him, science was part of an all-embracing economic theory: in combination with political measures such as land reform, the new techniques would provide adequate food for the rapidly growing world population.” Yet in general the intertwining of these two terms refers to any practice which uses biological knowledge (however basic) and applies it in a way that creates a product that is useful or beneficial to society.

Ancient biotechnology
Ancient biotechnology refers to B.C. and early A.D. era, in which loosely understood biological concepts were applied to everyday life, in particular for agriculture, food, and medical purposes. The most notable civilizations to first use “biotechnology” in its most basic sense were the Babylonians, Mesopotamians, and Egyptians. The Babylonians, in particular, (around 6000 B.C.) were known for their use of fermenting yeast, which was done to make beer. In a similar vein, around 4000 B.C. the Egyptians discovered how to make bread using yeast, and other civilizations, in particular China, used to the fermentation of yeast to create food like cheese, yogurt, and wine. Applications of biotechnology for medicinal purposes were also used in ancient times, especially in China, where the anti-biotic properties of tofu were used to treat illnesses, Chrysanthemum seeds were used as insecticides, and inoculation was used to protect people against smallpox.

“Pre-Modern” Biotechnology
“Pre-modern” biotechnology refers to the time period (in particular the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries) in which scientific thought was becoming more advanced and centralized. Certain individuals were making discoveries that would lay the foundation for biotechnological thought and would allow for it to be pursued in modern times.

In 1665, Englishman Robert Hooke looked at a piece of cork under a microscope and noticed tiny spaces, which he called “cells” because they reminded him of small rooms. Thus the term “cell” was coined, which later became the fundamental unit by which all living organisms in biology are studied. Just a few years later in the late 1660s and early 1670s, a Dutchman named Antony van Leeuwenhoek expounded upon Hooke’s observation of cells by making the first recorded observations of “animalcules”, commonly known as bacteria cells. Thus by the late 17th century the central foundations for modern biological understanding (the cell and bacteria) had been discovered, and would provide the basis for biological breakthroughs in the future.

In the 18th century a British surgeon named Edward Jenner created the first vaccine by injecting a small boy with a bovine form of smallpox. This historic occasion, which occurred in 1796, marked a turning point in science, in particular biotechnology, because it used a biological understanding of the human body to create a “vaccine”, a form of medical technology that was used to prevent smallpox and help eradicate it from the world. He detailed his efforts in a book he published two years later called An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae, and became a renowned hero.

The 19th century brought about even more discoveries in the scientific field that contributed significantly to the development of biotechnology. In 1866, Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, made a revolutionary discovery by observing pea plants to see how certain traits were inherited and passed on through generations Though is work initially was not well received, it later became very popular and he was eventually credited as the “father of modern genetics”. In the 1870s and 1880s, French chemist Louis Pasteur confirmed the germ theory of disease, which challenged centuries of fixed medical dogma that had so long believed in the miasma theory and spontaneous generation. He then utilized this theory for practical purposes, developing pasteurization, which is the process of heating liquids to destroy bacteria before making it ready to consume. He is also widely known for discovering anthrax and creating a rabies vaccine. Expounding upon this knowledge was Joseph Lister, a British surgeon who, in the 1870’s, built upon Pasteur’s germ theory of disease to develop carbolic acid disinfectants, which proved to significantly reduce the likelihood of infection in hospital operating rooms.

The early 20th century also brought about significant advances in biotechnology, the most widely known being Alexander Fleming’s invention of Penicillin in 1928. Like Jenner’s vaccination in the 1790s, Flemings invention 130 years later demonstrates how biotechnology throughout history has been commonly used to address disease and illness. For Jenner, his use of biotechnology focused on preventing disease, whereas for Fleming, his focus was treatment.

Modern biotechnology
“Modern” biotechnology as it is known today is different from ancient biotechnology or “pre-modern” biotechnology because “Prior to the advancement of the methods of recombinant DNA, scientists were limited to the techniques of their time - cross-pollination, selective breeding, pesticides, and herbicides. Today's biotechnology has its "roots" in chemistry, physics, and biology. The explosion in techniques has resulted in three major branches of biotechnology: genetic engineering, diagnostic techniques, and cell/tissue techniques.” Thus, the history of modern biotechnology begins with the discovery of the double helix by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953. This sparked the modern biotechnology revolution by providing a better understanding of how DNA worked, which allowed subsequent scientists to expound upon this knowledge and create the many biotechnological discoveries such as cloning, gene therapy, AIDS medication, and other scientific innovations which have hugely benefited the medical field and earned biotech companies billions of dollars.

The discovery of the double helix ushered in a plethora of subsequent genetic discoveries, including the discovery of interferon protein in 1957, the isolation of m-RNA in 1960, the isolation of reverse transcriptase in 1970 and the discovery of restriction enzymes in 1971. Economically and profitably minded scientists saw the promising nature of these discoveries, and eventually the biotech company Genentech, which is now a corporate giant, was founded in 1976. Coupled with the first gene patent issued in 1980 and the authorization of the first r-DNA product in 1982, it was only a matter of time before a historically simple and socialistic form a science was transformed into a capitalist venture. Simultaneously, biotech research in universities skyrocketed during this time, in particular renowned universities of the Bay Area which were inspired by student activists and public sentiment to shift away from “pure research” and focus more on applying scientific knowledge, which encompassed both the use of biology and technology for the public good. Currently biotechnology is a huge and profitable industry, with numerous amounts of biotech companies, among the most notable Genentech, Celera, and Pfizer. Each day these companies pour millions of dollars into biotech research, hoping to find new ways of treating diseases, societal ills, and contributing to the profits of the company. It is interesting to see how biotechnology has evolved so dramatically, yet throughout history its underlying purpose has seemed to stay constant: to advance society in all facets of life, with the hope of improving ways of living and the quality of life in general.