The real future of biotechnology has more to do with chemistry than was ever imagined. Biotechnology depends on the ability to manipulate chemical structure. Opportunities are opening up for chemists across the biotechnology industry, offering the chance to work on the cutting edge of a dynamic and still largely developmental field.
Biotechnology is a source of great promise for innovations ranging from improving the diagnosis and treatment of hereditary diseases, to safer drugs, to more environmentally friendly herbicides and pesticides, to microbial processes to clean up the environment. Making these promises a reality requires rethinking some fundamental assumptions.
"Molecular biology has not given us everything that we thought it would," says Gary Kuroki, a chemist and research scientist at DNA Plant Technologies. "Companies are integrating the sciences, bringing new perspectives from chemistry, biochemistry, and genetics to tackle questions from as many angles as possible."
Blake Pepinsky, a group leader at Biogen, agrees. "When I started out, you could clone a new gene and it was automatically a product," he says. "Now, we need a better understanding of both biology and chemistry to discover new products." When the biotechnology industry started to reach this conclusion, more companies began hiring chemists than ever before.
"What we do," explains Mark Reynolds, a chemist and scientist who works on biotechnology drug development at Genentech, "is use biological products like peptides, DNA, and amino acids to develop a molecule that will bind to receptors in the human body. When these molecules bind to the receptor, they can turn it on or off. Having achieved this result, we can then make a new drug."
Offers a Range of Career Possibilities
When most people think of opportunities for careers in biotechnology, they think of a scientist in a white coat in a laboratory developing drugs to improve the quality of life. However, biotechnology has a wide variety of career opportunities ranging from sales and marketing, to research and development, to manufacturing and quality control and assurance.
- Biotechnology
- Agricultural Biotechnology
- Livestock and poultry
- Livestock and Fish
- Biotechnology in Plant
- Bioinfomatics
- Biological technology
- Food Biotechnology
- Green Biotechnology
- Red Biotechnology
- White Biotechnology
- Blue Biotechnology
- Health Biotechnology
- Molecular Biotechnology
- Plant Tissue Culture
- Plant Genetic Engineering
- Biotech Food Security
- Biotech Food Processing
- Food Biotech Issues
- Bio health
- Biotech Market
- GM Foods and human health
- Foods Biotech Risks
- Environmental Biotechnology
- Bio Food Security
- Direct impact of GM Crops
- Costing and GM Crops
- Future Trends of GM Crops
- Research on GM Crops
- Agricultural Biotech Issues
- Biotechnology in Health
- Animal Biotechnology
- GM crops on world agriculture
- GM crops Research
- GM crops Risks
- GM crops Ethical concerns
- Botany
- Forensic
- Biotech Promotion
- Marine Biotechnology
- Zoologist
- Biotech Investment
- Cellular Biologist
- Modern Biotechnology
- National Biotechnology
- Biotech Investment
What You Can Do Now
Get as much background in biology, chemistry, and genetics as you can. All these disciplines are critical in biotechnology, and being well-rounded only works to your benefit. Lab experience is also important. Most companies have summer student programs and students profit from this experience by finding out if this is a field they might enjoy. The earlier you participate in this type of experience, the more advantages you will reap.
No comments:
Post a Comment