What is biotechnology?

What is biotechnology?

• A. The study of climate change impacts on agriculture.
• B. A form of technology that uses living organisms, usually genes, to modify products, to make or modify plants and animals, or to develop other microorganisms for specific purposes.
• C. A system of farming that relies only on synthetic chemicals.
• D. A process of breeding plants by traditional methods only.

Answer: (B)

Biotechnology is technology that uses living organisms or their components, especially genes, to modify products, improve plants and animals, or develop microorganisms for specific purposes. This includes methods like genetic modification, fermentation to produce medicines or enzymes, and gene-editing tools to achieve targeted traits. It’s what enables GM crops, production of insulin by microbes, and industrial enzymes. The other ideas describe different areas: studying climate change impacts on agriculture is about environmental effects, farming with only synthetic chemicals relies on non-biological inputs, and traditional breeding uses selection without directly altering genes with modern biotechnologies.

Biotechnology is technology that uses living organisms or their components, especially genes, to modify products, improve plants and animals, or develop microorganisms for specific purposes. This includes methods like genetic modification, fermentation to produce medicines or enzymes, and gene-editing tools to achieve targeted traits. It’s what enables GM crops, production of insulin by microbes, and industrial enzymes. The other ideas describe different areas: studying climate change impacts on agriculture is about environmental effects, farming with only synthetic chemicals relies on non-biological inputs, and traditional breeding uses selection without directly altering genes with modern biotechnologies.