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BIOTECHNOLOGY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The branch of engineering science in which biological science is used to study the relation between workers and their environments
Synonyms:
bioengineering; biotechnology; ergonomics
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("biotechnology" is a kind of...):
applied science; engineering; engineering science; technology (the discipline dealing with the art or science of applying scientific knowledge to practical problems)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The branch of molecular biology that studies the use of microorganisms to perform specific industrial processes
Example:
biotechnology produced genetically altered bacteria that solved the problem
Synonyms:
biotech; biotechnology
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("biotechnology" is a kind of...):
molecular biology (the branch of biology that studies the structure and activity of macromolecules essential to life (and especially with their genetic role))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "biotechnology"):
bioremediation (the branch of biotechnology that uses biological process to overcome environmental problems)
gene-splicing; genetic engineering; recombinant DNA technology (the technology of preparing recombinant DNA in vitro by cutting up DNA molecules and splicing together fragments from more than one organism)
Context examples:
B lentus is found in soil, marine waters and sediments and is resistant to nalidixic acid and streptomycin and utilized in the biotechnology industry as a sources of alkaline proteases.
(Bacillus lentus, NCI Thesaurus)
Other recent developments in crop biotechnology listed in the report include GM sugarcane that is resistant to insects and drought, GM apples that do not turn brown, GM canola and safflower that have high levels of oleic acid which has anti-cancer properties.
(GM tech expands with more crops to more countries, SciDev.Net)
