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The origin of biotechnology can be traced back four millennia when the Sumerians (although not knowingly) used microbes for brewing an alcoholic beverage. Other well-known products of traditional biotechnology are cheese, yoghurt and bread.

Biotechnology uses living organisms, cells or their components (e.g. enzymes) to conduct research and turn the findings into new products and applications for health care, agriculture, food production, environmental protection and alternative production methods for chemicals or other industrial processes. Nowadays, biotechnology is an interdisciplinary science that is influenced by chemistry, biology, physics, material sciences, engineering and informatics.

Modern biotechnology often changes the genetic setup of cells and organisms in order to optimise processes, e.g. by chemical or physical treatment, cell fusion or by genetic engineering. In contrast to the other techniques mentioned, genetic engineering modifies isolated nucleic acids; genes thus can specifically be included or removed. Modern biotechnology and genetic engineering are quite often used like synonymes, but the latter is just one of the fields of biotechnology. The first experiment of genetic engineering published in 1973 opened the doors of the new area of so called recombinant biotechnology.

Biotechnology is an old science with high economic impact and a promising future. It represents a powerful tool, although not a panacea, to help to resolve current acute global problems of our society such as starvation or the sustainability of development.

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Genetic engineering, a scientific discipline of biotechnology, comprises a group of techniques used to investigate and/or modify the genetic constitution of cells or organisms. With the technical and enzymatic "tools" of genetic engineering, it is possible to isolate, amplify, define, select, delete, insert, clone, rearrange or transfer specific DNA sequences. The introduction of DNA sequences into living cells from other organisms may result in production of proteins coded by the transferred DNA, because the genetic code is universal in all organisms. In this way genetic engineering allows the production of cells or of organisms which are adapted to new situations or programmed to specific new tasks. The organisms bearing new genetic information are termed "recombinant" or "transgenic". Legislators agreed to call such transgenic organisms "genetically modified organisms" GMOs The international Biosafety Protocol uses the term Living Modified Organisms (LMO) to highlight their potential to multiply.

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The term GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) refers to an organism whose natural genetic material has been altered by genetic engineering techniques. Bacteria, moulds, plants, insects, fish, or mammals can be genetically modified and as a result become transgenic or recombinant. GMO is the general term for such modified organisms (GM bacteria, GM crops etc). GMOs differ from their natural counterpart by one or several biological properties, being for example able to produce a new protein they were unable to produce before or on the opposite not producing a protein that was produced by the parent organism. The international Biosafety Protocol uses the term Living Modified Organisms (LMO) to highlight their potential to multiply and distinguish the organism from the product (e.g. food) prepared from them. Nevertheless, in short-cut formulation the term "GM food" is also used meaning food produced from GMO.

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Genomics may be defined as the scientific study of genomes. A genome comprises the entire genetic material and genetic information of an organism. Genomics aims at identifying and analysing the role of genes in an organism's structure and growth in health and disease. Once the DNA sequence of the genome of an organism has been determined, the analysis of the DNA data allows a detailed understanding of the genetic information. Genomics helps to shed some light on the development and the functioning of organisms. Studies of model organisms help to improve the knowledge of human biology, thus setting the basis for the development of novel medical approaches.
Studying genomes of plants is necessary to improve their adaptation to specific human needs, to extreme conditions or their resistance to pests. Genomics also serves to optimise micro-organisms for more efficient production processes which require less energy and prevent environmental damage.

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Proteomics may be defined as the scientific study of an organism's complete set of proteins. The protein composition of a cell (the proteome) is dynamic, depending on its biological status and on the environment. Thus, proteomics studies the proteins of a specific cell or tissue at a given state and under defined conditions. It focuses on the role of these proteins for the structure, the function and the status (healthy or sick) of an organism. Proteomics identifies, characterises and quantifies proteins and therefore provides detailed and comprehensive data about specific biological systems. With these data, it is hoped to unravel particular pathways and mechanisms. The ultimate goal is a better understanding of the complex mechanisms involved in the maintenance of life.

Note: the multi-langual FAQs on biotechnology, food, medicine, safety and ethics have been provided by the ECOD-BIO project (www.ecod-bio.org).