How is Biotechnology Used in Everyday Life?生物技术如何用于日常生活？

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Biotechnology plays a huge role in our everyday lives—from the clothes we wear to how we wash them,the food we eat to how we source them,the medicine we take to treat our bodies, and even the fuel we use to move our vehicles. The following are how biotechnology applies to our everyday lives.

1. Biofuel

Biofuel is obtained by fermenting sugars extracted from plants to ethanol,using a similar process like the one used in beer and wine-making. Biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel are blended with petrol and diesel to meet the legislation on greenhouse gas emissions.

When the blended biofuels are used in road transportation, the fuel can reduce their carbon impact.

2. Vaccines

生物技术在我们的日常生活中扮演着极为重要的角色——从我们穿的衣服到我们洗衣方式，从我们吃的食物到我们的食物获取方式，我们治病用的药甚至交通工具使用的燃料，这些都会用到生物技术。 以下是生物技术在日常生活中的具体应用：

1. 生物燃料

生物燃料可以通过将植物中提取的糖发酵为乙醇来获得，这一过程类似于酿造啤酒和葡萄酒。将乙醇和生物柴油等生物燃料与汽油和柴油混合，可以满足温室气体排放相关法规的要求。

混合生物燃料用于道路运输，可以减少碳排放。

2. 疫苗

将疫苗引入人体的免疫系统以对抗病原体的攻击，这要通过将减毒病原体引入血流来实现。

Vaccines are introduced into the body’s immune system to fight pathogens when they attack. It is achieved by introducing weakened versions of the disease into the bloodstream.

The weakened disease pathogens are extracted using biotechnological techniques like growing the antigenic proteins in genetically engineered crops.

3. Bioremediation

Bioremediation has to do with utilizing biotechnical applications to develop an enzyme that goes beyond pretreating some industrial and food waste components to allow for efficient removal of sewage systems.

4. Pest resistant crops

Biotechnology has offered various techniques for the creation of crops that naturally display anti-pest characteristics.

So, instead of dusting and spraying the plants with pesticides, the plants become naturally resistant to pests. An example is the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis genes being transferred to crops.

5. Environmental engineers

Environmental engineers have discovered a clean and safe way to dispose of waste. They do this by introducing nutrients to stimulate the activity of bacteria in the soil at the waste site. The bacteria digest the waste, thereby turning it into harmless byproducts.

After consuming the waste, the bacteria either die or return to their normal population levels. There are situations where the byproducts of the bacteria are useful and can be used for other valuable purposes.

弱化的病原体是通过生物技术制取的，比如利用转基因作物培育抗原蛋白。

3. 生物修复

生物修复就是利用生物技术合成一种酶，这种酶不仅可以对工业和餐厨垃圾进行预处理，还可以有效清理污水系统。

4. 抗虫害作物

生物技术为培植具有天然抗虫害能力的作物提供了多种技术手段。

这样一来就无须喷洒杀虫剂，植物天然就能抗虫害，比如将苏云金芽孢杆菌的基因转移到农作物中。

5. 环境工程师

环境工程师发现了一种安全无污染的废弃物处理方法。他们施用营养素来提高垃圾处理场土壤中细菌的活性。细菌分解废弃物，将其转化为无害的副产品。

废弃物被分解后，细菌要么死亡，要么恢复正常种群水平。有时细菌带来的副产品也有用处，可用于其他重要用途。

6. Cheese production

For over 20 years, the cheese we eat is created with a biotech enzyme, chymosin—the natural enzyme found in calves and used to curdle milk during cheese production.

Using biotechnology to produce the enzyme makes it abundant and purer while removing the need to use animals to make cheese. Approximately 60% of all hard cheese products are now made with a biotech enzyme.

7. Alcoholic drinks

One of the most basic uses of biotechnology is in the area of alcohol production. Every day, people across the world would drink a glass or two.Beer, for example, is made from water,barley, brewer’s yeast, and flavouring.

During production, the starch contained in the barley is converted to sugar by enzymes then fermented. Then, the brewer’s yeast metabolises the sugars to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide.The enzymes and microbes are standard tools used in industrial biotechnology.

8. Electricity

6. 奶酪生产

20多年来，我们吃的奶酪都是用一种生物技术酶——凝乳酶制作出来的。天然的凝乳酶存在于小牛体内，在奶酪生产过程中起到凝结牛奶的作用。

利用生物技术获取的凝乳酶产量更高、质地更纯，且生产过程中不需要用到动物。目前60%左右的硬质奶酪产品使用的都是生物技术酶。

7. 酒精饮料

生物技术最基本的用途之一是酿酒。世界各地的人们每天都会喝上一两杯。比如啤酒就是由水、大麦、啤酒酵母和香料制成的。

生产过程中，大麦中的淀粉被酶转化为糖，之后发酵，接着酿酒酵母代谢糖，产生酒精和二氧化碳。酶和微生物是工业生物技术的标准配置。

8. 电力

生物炼制厂产生的气体燃烧时能够释放能量和热，一间生物炼制厂生成的热量和能量足够作为生物燃料使用。随着石油价格的波动，世界范围对农业化学品和化石燃料的依赖激发了人们对藻类养殖的兴趣。

The gas generated from bio-refineries when combusted produces power and heat. A bio-refinery can generate adequate heat and energy to be used as a bio-fuel. With the fluctuation of oil prices, worldwide dependency on agricultural chemicals and fossil fuels has sparked an interest in algae cultivation.

Biomass obtained from recycling an algae can be used in the production of a broad range of products like biopharmaceuticals, bio-ethanol, compost for production of crop and bio-gas.

9. Biodefense and public safety

Military weapons have gone biological. Therefore, military units and disaster responders are now faced with threats from biological and chemical substances.

10. Forensic science—DNA fingerprinting

Every living organism has chromosomes which are made up of DNA sequence. The DNA sequence is unique for every individual.

Identifying the pattern of DNA sequences is done in forensic DNA analysis using biotechnological tools. DNA fingerprinting is a useful tool in identifying a suspect in a criminal investigation, in paternity cases or identifying unrecognizable victims in a catastrophe. ■

从藻类再利用中得到的生物物质可用于生产多种产品，比如生物药物、生物乙醇、农作物堆肥和沼气。

9. 生物防御和公共安全

军事武器已用上了生物技术，因此军事单位和救灾人员现在都需要面对来自生物和化学物质的威胁。

10. 法医学——DNA指纹

每个生物体都有由DNA序列组成的染色体，每个人的DNA序列都是独一无二的。

DNA司法鉴定利用生物技术手段确认DNA序列模式。无论是刑事调查中识别嫌犯还是亲子鉴定，或确认重大灾难中无法辨认的遇难者遗体，DNA指纹识别都是一个有用的工具。 □