Biotechnologists use living organisms and substances from these organisms to create new products or processes in fields as diverse as medicine, food science, and the environment. The concept of biotechnology is not entirely new.
People have been doing what biotechnologists do for thousands of years, although they may not have realized it. For instance, to make cheese, they took the milk from a cow, curdled it, and added rennet (traditionally obtained from the lining of a cow’s stomach). To make bread, they added yeast (a living fungus) to a bread mixture to make it rise.
Today, many biotechnologists are hired to develop and improve on products. This often involves extracting DNA from living organisms and scientifically manipulating it. Other biotechnologists are hired to perform a quality control function. This means they carry out testing procedures to ensure high standards are maintained during the development process.
The applications of biotechnology are diverse, and biotechnologists work in many different fields. For example, some devote their careers to developing industrial products that are safer for people and the environment. Plastic made from corn or soybeans instead of petroleum is one such product. Biochemical pesticides which control pests but are not toxic to pets and humans are another.
In the medical field, some biotechnologists aim to learn more about the nature of cancer and various inherited diseases. To do this, they conduct gene studies on plants, people, viruses, and bacteria. Other biotechnologists are involved in the production of new drugs, or in the development of new diagnostic tests.
There are also biotechnologists working in agriculture and animal husbandry. Some of their work involves modifying crops to make them less prone to disease. This lessens the need to use harmful pesticides. Others may work on creating agricultural feed products that are less harmful to the soil and environment when the food ingested by the animals becomes a waste product.
Though the exact work of biotechnologists varies depending on the field they are working in, there are tasks that are relatively common to their jobs. They design and conduct experiments, and study and examine micro-organisms such as fungi, yeast, bacteria, and their enzymes. They also develop and test different ways of making new products, genetically modify organisms to make new products, collect and process data, and interpret results.
Other common duties include preparing reports, presenting the findings of research projects, keeping records, and performing various administrative-related duties.
NOC Code: 2221