Steve Jobs predicted that the biggest revolution of the 21st century would be the intersection of technology and biology. Surprisingly today, biotechnology is leaping, thanks to Jobs and his colleagues such as Paul Allen and Bill Gates. Many industries are adopting and developing biotech solutions and tools to cope with the major global challenges such as food shortage, illness, and damage to the environment. Below, we will discuss the top trends of 2022 in the biotechnology industry and how things will be different in 2022.
1. Personalized Medicine
Traditionally, drug manufacturing companies used to create one-size-fits-all medicines and drugs. Furthermore, medical institutes would run trials and understand which formulation is helpful in major segments of the societies.
But, modern genomics is changing the way manufacturing companies used to formulate medicines. They can now create medicines and drugs for individuals according to their DNA. In 2003, the cost of the first human genome was about $3 billion. However today, it is possible in around $600.
Medical professionals can now understand the role of DNA in fighting against diseases and other health problems such as body growth and hormonal development. They can predict the population segments with higher chances to develop certain diseases. As a result, they can provide targeted treatment plans according to individual genetic factors.
2. Agricultural Biotech
Biotechnology also helps farmers to develop crops and fight pests and diseases. This will be helpful in the future during a global food crisis where millions will suffer from starvation. Today, biotechnology can help farmers produce food that is rich in nutrients without toxic content. The notable thing to know is they will take lesser time to cultivate such crops than traditional methods. Furthermore, they can produce food that prevents health damages to the masses.
Moreover, biotech helps the agricultural sector to produce food that is less damaging to the environment. Furthermore, they have highly advanced equipment with targeted pesticide strategies that will help reduce pollution from the earth with efficiency. These tools are also helpful to reduce pollution caused by industrial sectors. As a result, we would be able to revegetate lands and boost crop production. The process to revegetate lands is known as phytoremediation.
3. Environmental Biotechnology
We already discussed how biotechnology would help us produce efficient crops using less energy and economical damage. Biotechnology can help improve the environment in numerous other ways as well. For instance, it will improve sustainability and reduce the environmental effects of global warming. Professionals can create microorganisms that break down plastics helping us with the recycling process.
In 2021, a French company created the first plant that breaks down polyethylene terephthalate plastic. Companies that manufacture plastic bottles use PET plastic. They can use genetically modified enzymes to recycle plastic. There are other enzymes as well that help in the cleaning process and create a new form of detergent. This powerful detergent can improve the cleaning process in industrial sectors and completely biodegrade toxic waste to reduce industrial pollution.
Conclusion
Biotechnology is playing a major role to improve the global environment and change the health, food, agricultural, and industrial sectors. Since COVID-19 the development of biotech tools and solutions have boosted, and we are expecting that 2022 would be the crucial year for the development of revolutionizing technologies.
