Areas of Everyday Life That Use Biotechnology

The world around us features so many everyday items and processes that people often overlook how these things came to fruition. Some behind-the-scenes magic makes almost anything tangible, but biotechnology is one thing that exists in our everyday lives we don’t realize is there. Here we explore a handful of areas of everyday life that use biotechnology and how biotech impacts basic consumers.

Medical Vaccinations

There is a long list of vaccinations in modern society; some are for annual protection, and some are once in a lifetime. Regardless of their intent, vaccines remain one of the most significant forms of biotech-based consumer products. The vaccine production process begins in a lab of highly educated and skilled experts. These experts use biotechnology processes such as pathogenic, protein, and antibody production to test or create a viable vaccination plan.

DNA Fingerprinting

DNA and biotechnology go hand in hand. But forensic scientists access snippets of this distinct technology on a consistent basis when they fingerprint or scan prints. The DNA sequencing provided with the technology showcases unique patterns and traits characterized by an individual’s DNA.

An innovative technology advancing the biotech industry is gene editing, which allows these existing tools and techniques to evolve. Forensic scientists can expand their DNA processes to draw better, more accurate conclusions with these advancements by altering or dissecting DNA sequences.

Cheese Manufacturing

A significant area of everyday life that we see a huge consumeristic benefit from biotechnology is cheese manufacturing and production. A specific enzymatic component known as chymosin, found in calf milk, helps create the curdled, aged milk that we know and love as cheese. Thanks to the help of biotechnology, we can mass-produce cheese with this enzyme and produce cheeses with high potencies by eliminating the need for animal milk.

Alcoholic Beverages

Alcohol is another one of the most common areas the everyday consumer can find a form of biotechnology. Beer, for example, requires a yeast enzyme for proper production. The fermented sugars from the barley combine with the yeast, and the yeast can metabolize these sugars to produce the alcohol. These are basic items found in beer and require the powers of biotech to come to fruition.

Without realizing it, everyday people consume products that use the evolving powers of biotechnology. Who knew an aged white cheddar and biotech had anything in common?