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Biotechnology
Biotechnology uses living cells and their products to create pharmaceutical, diagnostic, agricultural, environmental and other products to benefit society. Because biotechnology uses the basic ingredients of life to make new products, it is both a cutting-edge technology and an applied science.
The United States is currently the world leader in the research, development and commercialization of biotechnology products. The industry employs almost 200,000 employees and represents more than $40 billion in business. Those figures continue to grow as advances are made in science such as the discovery of DNA. These advances have brought to market life-saving health care products and microbial pesticides, and will soon offer healthier foods, disease- and insect-resistant crops, additional energy resources, environmental clean-up techniques and more. In fact, biotechnology is not new. Humans have been manipulating living things to solve problems and improve our way of life for tens of thousands of years. For example, early agriculture used biotechnology to plant seeds as a way of controlling plant growth. The industry now includes firms involved in drug discovery and production, research and biologically engineered food preparation. 
Industry Education
Did You Know?
The term ""biotechnology"" was coined in 1919 by Karl Ereky, a Hungarian engineer.
The biotechnology industry has mushroomed since 1992, with U.S. revenues increasing from $8 billion in 1992 to $39.2 billion in 2003.
Analysts have predicted that biotechnology will be one of the most important applied sciences of the 21st century.
The most lucrative industry markets are the health care markets, particularly therapeutics and diagnostics.
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