Genetic Engineering
A recent off-shoot of biotechnology research is genetic engineering which involves gene splicing, recombinant DNA cloning and tissue culture technology.
Genetic engineering, which transfers genes from one species to another has greatly enhanced the power of biotechnology. In principle genes can be transferred between any organism from a bacterium to a plant, for example or even from humans to other animals although the techniques for products from fermentation can be used in conjunction with genetic engineering.
Most importantly, genetic engineering allows the manufacture of products particularly drugs that could not be obtained in any other way. And second, it can be used to create organisms, such as plant resistant to attack by insects, which do not occur in nature. The first biotechnology product from genetic engineering was human insulin used in the treatment of diabetes.