ABSTRACT
Biotechnology has become an increasingly volatile factor in society since it has been based on science— conceptual and methodological. Some forms of biotechnology have been around for millenia. The growth of science-based biotechnology has required simultaneous advances in chemistry, physics, instrumentation, and engineering. Biotechnology provides a growing range of options and has made possible new science-based industries. Opportunities opened by biotechnology provide pathways to benefits otherwise largely unattainable. The benefits of biotechnology cannot be obtained without the payment of some costs, but all costs may not be apparent at the time that benefits are obtained. Costs are incurred to provide the conditions for biotechnological innovation; other costs may follow as consequences. Economic development alone can never begin to meet the needs for all of the people especially in technologically backward countries of the so-called Third World. The diversity of biotechnical applications precludes a general policy for either promotion or control.
