Entry #3: Biotechnology in the Home

In this video something very important to me personally, biotechnology. Biotechnology encompasses a large array of things such as, food, vaccines, even clothing. People often get confused or concerned when they hear bio-engineering because that sounds as if people are making new dangerous things. This is far from true. Biotechnology is extremely important because it allows us to alter organisms to create many thing. Insulin was created using biotech and continues to save millions of lives. Most vaccines we get throughout our lives are genetically altered through biotech making it an extremely valuable part of science.

A large shift that has been happening is more genetic research is being done outside of the lab. Computer scientist have made E.coli behave like a piece of film saying "hello world". A huge part of the shift is now we can make DNA, meaning we can make almost anything we think of and run tests on it eliminating the risk of running out of resources. Even the creation of 3D printing has allowed biotechnology to come more into the home. You can print most things on those 3D printers, allowing people at home to create some simple laboratory equipment.

Biotechnology is involved in so many areas in life that people don't realize. There are many advancements happening that could highly benefit people from all over the world. A huge part of Cathal Garvey's talk was the existence of patents in the scientific community. Patents make sure the people who come up with the technology or idea are paid for the idea. This is something both Garvey and I disagree with. He talks about the importance of making information free for people to continue to grow and develop on since now many people can't afford the expensive price of research.

I hope people continue to read more on biotechnology and realize it's not some scary voodoo but things researched to benefit lives. Biotechnology has continued to grow but without new people to keep research going no new discoveries can be made.