Biotechnology is an industry with constant growth and such developments are more often controversial than not. It all comes attached with a heavy demand, but brings in lots of profits too. As long as the desire for more and better understanding of things around us keep increasing, biotechnology will keep up with tis ever-growing speed and be a significant component of the changing world in every way.

The industry of biotechnology consists of many diverse fields and quite often, each of the separate fields have sub-fields too. Some instances of day-to-day biotechnology include agriculture, biopharmaceuticals, antibody technologies, gene therapy, molecular biology, industrial and environmental biology, biomaterials, enzymes, informatics, genomics, genetic engineering etc.

Over 90 biotechnology products exist in today's world, including a variety of drugs and vaccines approved by the world-renowned medical and related authorities, such as the United States Food and Drug Administration. Around 350 biotechnology drug and vaccine products are still under the human clinical trial stage and research and development continues with over 500 more products in other diverse fields, such as agriculture and gene therapy.

The clinical trials and experiments carried out under the name of biotechnology provides hope to millions of sufferers worldwide. The fatality associated with their illnesses and the potential for recovery and sustenance make living another agonising day all the more worthwhile. A few of the drugs undergoing tests at present include treatments for cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, diabetes and multiple sclerosis.

Besides the applications in the medical field, biotechnology has also made excellent progress in the fields of agriculture and general biological science. We now know how certain genes can contribute to specific traits in a child and in some cases, how to avoid such genes being transferred to a fetus. The discovery of DNA in the 1970s was a milestone at the time and while we are still looking for another breakthrough, the progress so far is remarkable.

Agriculturally, introducing biopesticides is a great achievement in biotechnology. Replacing the harmful chemicals used in traditional agricultural processes, the biopesticides ensure only the pests are weeded out and no harm comes to either humans or the surroundings. Biotechnology is commonly used as a key science in energy, chemical and environmental management procedures too.

The biotechnology industry as a whole is an extremely profitable sector, because biotech companies generate over $50 billion every year. Used in almost every field where living beings are concerned, biotechnology will continue to evolve and give more to the community, hopefully always for the society's betterment.

Are you up to date with your biotechnology knowledge? If not, research more, read more and learn more. Don't be left behind as the world goes forward.