Students who have completed 12th grade and seeking guidance for a lucrative career options can opt for the course in biotechnology- technology based on biology which harnesses cellular and biomolecular processes to develop techniques and products that help improve lives of living beings and the health of the planet earth.
This research-oriented course that includes the fusion of biology and technology is applied in developing various vaccines, medicines and diagnostics, improving energy production and conservation, also increasing the productivity of food. Since the knowledge in the life-science has exploded during the last two decades, the major applications of this subject includes fields like pharmaceutical industry, farming, industrial, food processing and environmental technology along with the incorporated techniques such as genetic engineering, cell culture techniques, and cultivation of micro-organisms. Hence, it can be said biotechnology is a fast growing and promising field and is making marked contributions for human and animal health, agriculture, medicine, forestry, fisheries, horticulture, medicine, food production and so forth.
Best b tech courses in Madhya Pradesh or elsewhere in the country include the program in biotechnology for the aspiring students that encompasses both the biological sciences as well as the engineering aspect of the subject. These curriculums cover life sciences such as microbiology, molecular biology, genetics, and cell biology and so on, along with engineering subjects like biopress and biochemical engineering, thermodynamics, mass transfer, etc. Hence, the scope of biotechnology can be specifically summarized as-
- To produce enough food for the growing population using the available land without damaging the fertility of the soil.
- To cultivate high-yielding varieties and disease-resistant crops.
- To bring in harmless bio fertilizers instead of harmful chemical fertilizers
- To preserve germplasm of animals, plants and microbes.
- To produce biofuels for reducing the felling of forest trees for fuel wood.
- To make use of various microorganisms in food processing and preservation of food.
- To employ microorganisms in the extraction of minerals from their poor quality ores.
Based on the applications, the subject biotechnology is divided into five major branches. They are discussed below:
Medical Biotechnology
This branch deals with the diagnosis of various diseases and curing them with the large scale production of various drugs and hormones such as insulin, vaccines and growth hormones. Genetic engineering, in the field of medical science, has helped in a large scale production of hormones, development of antibiotics and various other medically useful products.
Animal Biotechnology
This branch deals with the development of transgenic animals for increased milk and meat production, along with the animals’ resistance to various diseases. It also studies about vitro fertilization of egg and its transfer of embryo to the womb of female animal for further development.
Plant Biotechnology
This subject studies the combining concepts on tissue culture and genetic engineering. It basically deals with the development of transgenic plants with the resistance to biotic and abiotic stress, development of haploids, clonal multiplications, cryopreservation, etc.
Agriculture
This branch of biotechnology has contributed for the improvements and development in areas like crop, fruits and vegetables production, along with higher yield stressing on the nutritional value, increasing efficiency of nitrogen fixation in plants.
Industrial Biotechnology
This branch deals with the commercial production of various useful organic substances such as acetic acid, citric acid, glycerine, etc. Apart from that, it studies on the development of antibiotics like penicillin, streptomycin, mitomycin and so on, through the use of micro-organisms especially bacteria and fungi.
Environmental Biotechnology
This subject studies on the concepts of detoxification of waste and industrial effluents, treatment of sewage water, control of plant diseases and insects through the use of biological agents such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and so forth.
Bioinformatics
This branch studies and recognizes the importance of the information technology for pursing advanced research in modern biology and biotechnology. This program is envisaged as a distributed database and network organization. It became a very successful medium to transfer and exchange of knowledge, information, technology packages.
Therefore, today’s biotechnology is multidisciplinary activity involving chemists, biologists, engineers and many other specialists. Its scope is enormous and these professionals play a major role in serving the mankind. Biotechnology, one of the bachelors of technology courses Gwalior or for that matter anywhere in India is incorporated with both the theoretical and practical aspects, ensuring plenty of job opportunities in its respective domain.