BIOREMEDIATION

The MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor) was invented by Mohamed M.

Atalla and Dawon Kahng in 1959.[18] Two years later, Leland C. Clark and Champ Lyons invented
the first biosensor in 1962.[19][20] Biosensor MOSFETs were later developed, and they have since
been widely used to measure physical, chemical, biological and environmental parameters.
[21]
The first BioFET was the ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFET), invented by Piet
Bergveld in 1970.[22][23] It is a special type of MOSFET,[21] where the metal gate is replaced by
an ion-sensitive membrane, electrolyte solution and reference electrode.[24] The ISFET is widely
used in biomedical applications, such as the detection of DNA hybridization, biomarker detection
from blood, antibody detection, glucose measurement, pH sensing, and genetic technology.[24]
By the mid-1980s, other BioFETs had been developed, including the gas sensor FET
(GASFET), pressure sensor FET (PRESSFET), chemical field-effect
transistor (ChemFET), reference ISFET (REFET), enzyme-modified FET (ENFET) and
immunologically modified FET (IMFET).[21] By the early 2000s, BioFETs such as the DNA field-
effect transistor (DNAFET), gene-modified FET (GenFET) and cell-potential BioFET (CPFET)
had been developed.[24]
A factor influencing the biotechnology sector's success is improved intellectual property rights
legislation—and enforcement—worldwide, as well as strengthened demand for medical and
pharmaceutical products to cope with an ageing, and ailing, U.S. population.[25]
Rising demand for biofuels is expected to be good news for the biotechnology sector, with
the Department of Energy estimating ethanol usage could reduce U.S. petroleum-derived fuel
consumption by up to 30% by 2030. The biotechnology sector has allowed the U.S. farming
industry to rapidly increase its supply of corn and soybeans—the main inputs into biofuels—by
developing genetically modified seeds that resist pests and drought. By increasing farm
productivity, biotechnology boosts biofuel production.[26]

Examples[edit]
Biotechnology has applications in four major industrial areas, including health care (medical),
crop production and agriculture, non-food (industrial) uses of crops and other products
(e.g., biodegradable plastics, vegetable oil, biofuels), and environmental uses.
For example, one application of biotechnology is the directed use of microorganisms for the
manufacture of organic products (examples include beer and milk products). Another example is
using naturally present bacteria by the mining industry in bioleaching. Biotechnology is also used
to recycle, treat waste, clean up sites contaminated by industrial activities (bioremediation), and
also to produce biological weapons.
A series of derived terms have been coined to identify several branches of biotechnology, for
example:

 Bioinformatics (or "gold biotechnology") is an interdisciplinary field that addresses

biological problems using computational techniques, and makes the rapid
organization as well as analysis of biological data possible. The field may also be
referred to as computational biology, and can be defined as, "conceptualizing biology
in terms of molecules and then applying informatics techniques to understand and
organize the information associated with these molecules, on a large scale".
[27]
Bioinformatics plays a key role in various areas, such as functional
genomics, structural genomics, and proteomics, and forms a key component in the
biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector.[28]
 Blue biotechnology is based on the exploitation of sea resources to create products
and industrial applications.[29] This branch of biotechnology is the most used for the
industries of refining and combustion principally on the production of bio-oils with
photosynthetic micro-algae.[29][30]
 Green biotechnology is biotechnology applied to agricultural processes. An example
would be the selection and domestication of plants via micropropagation. Another
 example is the designing of transgenic plants to grow under specific environments in
the presence (or absence) of chemicals. One hope is that green biotechnology might
produce more environmentally friendly solutions than traditional industrial agriculture.
An example of this is the engineering of a plant to express a pesticide, thereby
ending the need of external application of pesticides. An example of this would be Bt
corn. Whether or not green biotechnology products such as this are ultimately more
environmentally friendly is a topic of considerable debate.[29] It is commonly
considered as the next phase of green revolution, which can be seen as a platform to
eradicate world hunger by using technologies which enable the production of more
fertile and resistant, towards biotic and abiotic stress, plants and ensures application
of environmentally friendly fertilizers and the use of biopesticides, it is mainly focused
on the development of agriculture.[29] On the other hand, some of the uses of green
biotechnology involve microorganisms to clean and reduce waste.[31][29]
 Red biotechnology is the use of biotechnology in the medical
and pharmaceutical industries, and health preservation.[29] This branch involves the
production of vaccines and antibiotics, regenerative therapies, creation of artificial
organs and new diagnostics of diseases.[29] As well as the development
of hormones, stem cells, antibodies, siRNA and diagnostic tests.[29]
 White biotechnology, also known as industrial biotechnology, is biotechnology
applied to industrial processes. An example is the designing of an organism to
produce a useful chemical. Another example is the using of enzymes as
industrial catalysts to either produce valuable chemicals or destroy
hazardous/polluting chemicals. White biotechnology tends to consume less in
resources than traditional processes used to produce industrial goods.[32][33]
 "Yellow biotechnology" refers to the use of biotechnology in food production (food
industry), for example in making wine (winemaking), cheese (cheesemaking), and
beer (brewing) by fermentation.[29] It has also been used to refer to biotechnology
applied to insects. This includes biotechnology-based approaches for the control of
harmful insects, the characterisation and utilisation of active ingredients or genes of
insects for research, or application in agriculture and medicine and various other
approaches.[34]
 Gray biotechnology is dedicated to environmental applications, and focused on the
maintenance of biodiversity and the remotion of pollutants.[29]
 Brown biotechnology is related to the management of arid lands and deserts. One
application is the creation of enhanced seeds that resist extreme environmental
conditions of arid regions, which is related to the innovation, creation of agriculture
techniques and management of resources.[29]
 Violet biotechnology is related to law, ethical and philosophical issues around
biotechnology.[29]
 Cerulean Biotechnology has been proposed for the rapidly emerging area of
biotechnology applications in space and microgravity
 Dark biotechnology is the color associated with bioterrorism or biological
weapons and biowarfare which uses microorganisms, and toxins to cause diseases
and death in humans, livestock and crops.[35][29]