BIOTECHNOLOGY

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does biotechnology mean? 

• BIOTECHNOLOGY (noun)
  The noun BIOTECHNOLOGY has 2 senses:

1. the branch of molecular biology that studies the use of microorganisms to perform specific industrial processes

2. the branch of engineering science in which biological science is used to study the relation between workers and their environments

  Familiarity information: BIOTECHNOLOGY used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BIOTECHNOLOGY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The branch of molecular biology that studies the use of microorganisms to perform specific industrial processes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

biotech; biotechnology

Context example:

biotechnology produced genetically altered bacteria that solved the problem

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)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The branch of engineering science in which biological science is used to study the relation between workers and their environments

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

bioengineering; biotechnology; ergonomics

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)

 Context examples 

Additionally, this phage is used in molecular biotechnology as a cloning vector for eukaryotic DNA.

(Bacteriophage P1, NCI Thesaurus)

Science at the intersection of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and cognitive technologies.

(Converging technologies, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

EXAMPLE(S): Funding from pharmaceutical, device or biotechnology companies, the US NIH or the Gates Foundation.

(Funding, NCI Thesaurus/BRIDG)

A glycosylated form of a recombinant agent that is chemically identical to or similar to endogenous human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and is produced using transgenic biotechnology.

(Glycosylated Recombinant Human G-CSF AVI-014, NCI Thesaurus)

A scientific breakthrough has taken an emerging biotechnology a step closer to being used to treat wastewater in the developing world.

(Electricity from Sewage: Process Also Kills Germs, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Nosopharm, a biotechnology company based in Lyon, France, are part of an international team reporting on the discovery of a new class of antibiotics.

(A New Class of Antibiotics to Combat Drug Resistance, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

A multidisciplinary field comprising physics, chemistry, engineering and biotechnology that studies the behavior of fluids at volumes thousands of times smaller than a common droplet.

(Microfluidics, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

A single drop of seawater can contain a wide representation of ocean microbes from around the world — revealing new insights into the ecology, evolution and biotechnology potential of the global microbiome.

(Study analyzing cells' blueprints reveals new patterns in the global distribution and diversity of ocean microbes, National Science Foundation)

While previous studies followed microbial changes during IBD, the scientists in this study developed a unique biotechnology toolbox to understand why microbiomes change in IBD and how this provokes an unhealthy inflammatory reaction.

(New findings reveal how microbiome is disrupted during disease flare-ups, National Science Foundation)

Light mineral oil has uses in biotechnology, pharmaceutics, cosmetics, and industry.

(Light Mineral Oil, NCI Thesaurus)