Preface

Abstract

This book is a part of the comprehensive series Current Developments in Biotechnology and Bioengineering (Editor-in-chief: Ashok Pandey), comprising nine volumes, and presents a collection of chapters dealing with the foundations of biotechnology and bioengineering. Biotechnology has been part of human activities for more than 10,000 years and its importance has been increasing with human development. Nowadays, biotechnology has an enormous impact on our everyday life and is a key technology for industry, health, environment, food, and other areas of activity. Biotechnology, according to the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development, is defined as the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing of materials by biological agents. In biotechnology, intact organisms, such as yeast, bacteria, or microalgae, or their components, such as enzymes, are used to manufacture useful products and provide services. This makes clear the multidisciplinary character of biotechnology and the importance of professionals from different areas of knowledge interacting and understanding one another so that the full potential of biotechnology can be exploited.