By curtishughesman

THE BUSINESS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

(August 2004) Beer was created in 2000 B.C. when Egyptians first discovered how to ferment yeast. In 500 B.C., the Chinese invented a crude antibiotic from moldy soybeans curds and used it treat boils. These discoveries indicate an early human awareness of biology’s usefulness in creating medical and agricultural advances and for over four thousand years the industry of biotechnology has flourished, growing into a multibillion-dollar cutting edge industry over the last 30 years. The biotechnology revolution was heralded by two cornerstone discoveries: recombinant DNA and hybridomas1. Lucrative product applications had an immediate impact on industrial and agricultural developments, but…