Biotechnology refers to technological methods that make use of living organisms or their cells. Traditional biotechnology is everywhere. Even today, you have certainly been dealing with products of biotechnology. Fermentation and yeast are used to make cheese, yoghurts and bread, whereas microbes are used to make newsprint and enzymes are used to bleach denim.

Modern biotechnology includes the field of genetic engineering. In genetic engineering, for example, genes are transferred from one organism to another. The aim is to produce, for example, crops that can resist herbicides or withstand the cold better. Many drugs today are made with the help of microbes.

Biotechnology can help solve global problems. Its various applications are expected to help with the world's food shortages, the treatment of diseases in developing countries, the depletion of natural resources, energy production and the treatment of environmental pollution. The bioeconomy is likely to be a growing area of economic life in the future.