What is BIOTECHNOLOGY?

Consciously manipulating and using processes of life for the benefit of mankind is what biotechnology is all about. For example, we can introduce the human insulin into bacteria thereby producing huge quantities of human insulin at a fraction of the cost. This is of great help to diabetics world over who, till some years back, had to purchase cattle insulin which was both costly and less potent. Similarly, we have introduced the Bt gene into cotton making cotton crops less susceptible to pests.
Biotechnology touches virtually all aspects of human life. Through biotechnology we get new and improved medicines at a fraction of the cost, higher quantity of food, improved varieties of food, insect resistant plants, plants making their own fertilizers, fruits that have longer shelf life…. and so on. Gene therapy, which is supposed to be the answer to incurable diseases, is also a variant of biotechnology.
So then, biotechnology is a field that has a say in virtually every field of human endeavor.


When you make an omelet and throw away the eggshell ……

Worldwide millions of eggs are consumed daily and it is a big problem to dispose off the shells. Our aim was only to design a simple method to obtain pure calcium carbonate from the shells. But we woke up to the possibility that the membrane that adheres to the shell can also be exploited for value added products. We have made possible the development of a technique that gives you pure calcium carbonate, and such high value products as collagen, hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate. The last three come in a mixture. Currently we are developing methods to separate the three.