Lesson 3 Brief History of Biotechnology world of"engineered"products that are based in the natural world rather than on chemical and industrial processes. Biotechnology has been described as"Janus-faced"This implies that there are two sides.On one. techniques allow DNA to be manipulated to move genes from one organism to another.On the other,it involves relatively new technologies whose consequences are untested and should be met with caution. The termbiotchnologywas coind inby Karl Ereky,an Hungarian engineer.At that time,the term meant all the lines of work by which products are produced from raw materials with the aid of living organisms.Ereky envisioned a biochemical age similar to the stone and iron ages. A common misconception among teachers is the thought that biotechnology includes only DNA and genetic engineering To keep students abreast of current knowledge,teachers sometimes have emphasized the techniques of DNA science as the "end-and-all"of biotechnology.This trend has also led to a misunderstanding in the general population.Biotechnology is NOT new.Man has been manipulating living things to solve problems and improve his way of life for millennia.Early agriculture concentrated on producing food.Plants and animals were selectively bred,and microorganisms were used to make food items such as beverages,cheese,and bread The late eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century saw the advent of vaccinations crop rotation involving leguminous crops and animal drawn machinery.The end of the nineteenth century was a milestone of biology.Microorganisms were discovered.Mendel's workon genetics was accomplished,and institutes for investigating fermentation and other microbial processes were established by Koch,Pasteur,and Lister. Biotechnology at the beginning of the twentieth century began to bring industry and agriculture together.During World War I,fermentation processes were developed that produced acetone from starch and paint solvents for the rapidly growing automobile industry.Work in the 1930s was geared toward using surplus agricultural products to supply industry instead of importsor petrochemicals.The advent of World War II brought the manufacture of penicillin.The biotechnical focus moved to 55 Lesson 3 Brief History of Biotechnology Biotechnology seems to be leading a sudden new biological revolution. It has brought us to the brink of a world of "engineered" products that are based in the natural world rather than on chemical and industrial processes. Biotechnology has been described as "Janus-faced." This implies that there are two sides. On one, techniques allow DNA to be manipulated to move genes from one organism to another. On the other, it involves relatively new technologies whose consequences are untested and should be met with caution. The term "biotechnology" was coined in 1919 by Karl Ereky, an Hungarian engineer. At that time, the term meant all the lines of work by which products are produced from raw materials with the aid of living organisms. Ereky envisioned a biochemical age similar to the stone and iron ages. A common misconception among teachers is the thought that biotechnology includes only DNA and genetic engineering. To keep students abreast of current knowledge, teachers sometimes have emphasized the techniques of DNA science as the "end-and-all" of biotechnology. This trend has also led to a misunderstanding in the general population. Biotechnology is NOT new. Man has been manipulating living things to solve problems and improve his way of life for millennia. Early agriculture concentrated on producing food. Plants and animals were selectively bred, and microorganisms were used to make food items such as beverages, cheese, and bread. The late eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century saw the advent of vaccinations, crop rotation involving leguminous crops, and animal drawn machinery. The end of the nineteenth century was a milestone of biology. Microorganisms were discovered, Mendel's work on genetics was accomplished, and institutes for investigating fermentation and other microbial processes were established by Koch, Pasteur, and Lister. Biotechnology at the beginning of the twentieth century began to bring industry and agriculture together. During World War I, fermentation processes were developed that produced acetone from starch and paint solvents for the rapidly growing automobile industry. Work in the 1930s was geared toward using surplus agricultural products to supply industry instead of imports or petrochemicals. The advent of World War II brought the manufacture of penicillin. The biotechnical focus moved to pharmaceuticals