Includes bibliographical references and index

Chapter 1 Introduction -- Chapter 2 Genetic engineering and biotechnology -- Chapter 3 Biotechnology in food and agriculture -- Chapter 4 Fermentation in biotechnology -- Chapter 5 Fungus biotechnology -- Chapter 6 DNA recombination -- Chapter 7 Animal biotechnology and vaccines -- Chapter 8 Plant biotechnology in agriculture -- Chapter 9 Gene biotechnology.

Biotechnology has numerous applications, particularly in medicine and agriculture. Examples include the use of biotechnology in merging biological information with computer technology (bioinformatics), exploring the use of microscopic equipment that can enter the human body (nanotechnology), and possibly applying techniques of stem cell research and cloning to replace dead or defective cells and tissues (regenerative medicine). Companies and academic laboratories integrate these disparate technologies in an effort to analyze downward into molecules and also to synthesize upward from molecular biology towards chemical pathways, tissues, and organs.