From bread and beer to vaccines and climate durable crops, here is how biotech has changed, and is changing, the world.
We often think about innovation as something basically synthetic, something made from metal that inhabits a realm at odds with the natural, organic one that we, as animals and humans, are a part of. Of course, that is true to most extents, but that does not suggest that there is no changeover between biology and technology. In fact, it's one of the most crucial and prominent sectors of technological innovation. Take food for example; baking bread or brewing beer are essentially biotechnological processes, and one can see how the technological utilisation of natural processes have actually been so impactful throughout the history of biotechnology. From controling crops to make them more durable, or vaccinations, human biotechnology has fundamentally altered the manner in which we live our lives. It's also altered the world, whether that's for better or worse.
If you hear the word technology, what likely comes to mind is the phones or laptop computer that you're likely reading this article on. Nevertheless, consumer communication technology is simply one small subsection of a much vaster thing, and is also most likely one that has had a smaller influence on the world than numerous others. Take medical biotechnologyfor example. The ability to control and use biological functions like disease propagation has actually resulted in the invention of vaccines that have the capability to completely wipe lethal viruses from the face of the planet, conserving numerous lives and preserving a boundless number of potentials that those individuals achieve throughout their significantly longer lifetimes. Biotech advances by no means ended with the invention of a smallpox vaccine however, and we're living in something of a golden era for biotech and medical technology in general. A substantial wave of financial investments from the likes of Stuart Peterson of Artis Ventures is driving innovation in the sector, with lots of incredibly interesting things in the pipeline.
Humanity's relationship with the natural world is strained at best. The practices of control and dominance have driven us into an exceptionally precarious ecological position, one that might have potentially disastrous impacts for our world and ourselves. Much of this could be blamed on technological innovations such as the combustion engine which set the environment crisis in motion centuries ago. However, innovation is also a crucial means of dealing with the environment crisis, especially in the place when biology and innovation meet. Things like agricultural biotechnology is helping to make plants and crops more durable, and individuals like Hakan Goker of M Ventures and Dan Fishman of Regeneration VC are driving investment in things like cultured proteins, which could be among the most important technological innovations of the environment era.