Biotechnology is the manipulation of living organisms through processes of genetic engineering. It is used primarily in agriculture, food science, and medicine. Living organisms are taken and used to make chemicals and products useful to humanity, or to perform a task in the industrial industry.

Biotechnology can often be called genetic engineering technology of the 21^st century, but it is much broader. Bioengineering is a hub of sorts in which all biotechnological appliances are based. Development in new approaches and modern techniques have allowed the biotechnology industry to set new goals and improve the standard they work upon.

One example of Biotechnology is using the living organism yeast that has been fermented to make beer and other alcoholic drinks, such as vodka. Vodka is produced with just yeast and potatoes, but there are a variety of other ways for the process to produce a variety of alcohols.

Another way it can be seen is through using carbon dioxide produced by yeast to make bread rise. Once the ingredients are put together (flour, salt, water, etc.), in an industrial setting, it passes through a conveyor belt and left to have the yeast fill the dough with gas, making the dough rise. This process was only figured out through biotechnology.

Vaccinations are another creation of biotechnology. They are some of the earliest known examples of it. Vaccinations are the giving of a non-active version of a virus into a person who lived through the sickness or virus. This allows the immune system to pick up cues and can defend against harmful cells.

Antibiotics are vital to our everyday life now. They are drugs that fight bacteria from spreading and used to treat anything from strep throat to sinus infections. The first known antibiotic was created in the early 20^th century, when a variety of mold was found to stop bacteria from spreading. This developed the miracle drug Penicillin, which is the building block for almost all modern medicine

Biotechnology is not without its share of issues and problems, however. Monsanto and Dow, two major biotechnology companies, have been accused of "using blatant lies and propaganda" to promote their genetically modified foods. Because of situations like this, biotechnology has a sort of stigma around it, where some people don't approve of the tampering of food. This is in the face of evidence which shows only positive results.

Another more recent issue is the complaints about vaccinations. There have been a couple (very, very little) studies that have shown vaccines to cause things, such as autism, but most tests fail to produce results of the same kind in any environment. Scientists see it mostly as fear mongering, and there has never been conclusive data to say they are bad for you.

Bioengineering will get us far, but only if we use the various advances in biotechnology like vaccines. There are many modern-day applications to this, from bread to vaccines, we see bioengineering every day. It is something that has positively changed our lives forever.

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