ABSTRACT
The use of biological processes or systems, such as the use of biological organisms, for the benefit of improving human life is biotechnology. This benefit can be in the broadest of senses. Biotechnology can clearly be the use of organisms to create or produce medicines, but it can also be to clean up our environment so that we have a healthier planet on which to live. Biotechnology can also be applied to the creation of novel cosmetic products that enrich our lives and make us happier, thereby bringing us joy, or which improve efficiency in industry that enables processes to be safer for human workers or for workers to be more productive, perhaps improving work–life balance. The use of microorganisms, especially bacteria, is a major part of the field of biotechnology. While many biological systems are used in biotechnology, this chapter, in keeping with the theme of this book as a whole, will focus only on those that use bacteria in some way to achieve their end result.
