Biotech: The Third Wave (Part 1)
When you think of corn, I’m sure you don’t think about high quality clothing, but soon you will. I have a new t-shirt that is made from corn and it is one of the best feeling t-shirts I have ever owned. It feels like rayon, yet it washes like cotton but doesn’t shrink. It is great to wear when working out because it has superior wicking properties. This unique t-shirt represents a major new growth area called industrial and environmental biotechnology, which will impact every one of us in the near future.
Biotech’s Long History
Biotechnology has a long history dating back to ancient writings from around 6,000 BC that clearly indicated the Babylonians and the Sumerians were using microbial yeast to make beer. By 4,000 BC, the Egyptians were making leavened bread using yeast. In China, yogurt and vinegar production were among the first uses of biotechnology, as well as the use of molds as a topical treatment for skin infections.
Fast forward from these earlier applications to 1928 when Fleming discovered that the antibiotic penicillin could be extracted from mold. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until the 1940’s that large-scale fermentation techniques were introduced to make industrial quantities of this new wonder drug.
These are just a few of the early examples of man using microbes to solve a problem and produce a product.
Modern Biotech
In recent history, the biotechnology revolution can best be understood if you think of it in terms of revolutionary waves .Biotech’s first modern wave was genetically engineered medicine. The second wave revolved around transgenic crops. The third wave is just beginning as companies apply molecular biology to manufacturing and chemical production. This new wave is called industrial biotechnology and, like the two waves before, it will touch each of our lives in many ways.
Industrial Biotechnology
Industrial biotechnology involves the application of genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics to industrial manufacturing. By taking the advances that were developed in the healthcare and agriculture side of biotech and applying them to microbes for use in chemical synthesis, a new manufacturing revolution has been created.
As we have reported in past issues of this newsletter, Nexia Biotechnologies, a Canadian startup, has genetically engineered “dragline” spider silk that is stronger than steel, lighter than cotton, and harder to tear than Kevlar. After that description, I’m sure your imagination can begin to see the amazing opportunities for creating new products.
We have also reported on British Petroleum’s development of exotic bacterial products that can be used for a host of applications, such as clearing oil-well holes of drilling debris. Another example is the joint venture between the agriculture giant Cargill and Dow Chemical that uses engineered yeast to convert corn sugar into lactic acid that enables the manufacture of a new biodegradable polymer that can be used in everything from film packaging to fleece jackets. Their goal is to use engineered bacteria to transform corn into eco-friendly plastic. Keep in mind that today’s plastics come from toxic petrochemicals.
Industrial biotechnology is creating the potential for a new industrial revolution because it offers a wide array of innovative tools derived from nature that can reduce negative environmental impacts and costs while yielding a wide selection of new, high-quality goods and services.
Daniel Burrus, one of the world's leading technology forecasters, business strategists, and author of six books
Copyright 2004 Author retains copyright. All Rights Reserved.
