A comprehensive treatise on biotechnology, this volume starts with an overall review of early applications that scientists employed long before the field was defined. It then moves on to examine the emergence of current methods and specialized tools in the field, as well as cell culture and nucleic acid based technologies. It devotes individual chapters to biotechnology in the areas of health, agriculture, environment, aquaculture, and food. These are followed by chapters on the status of biotechnology in developing countries with special reference to India. It also discusses debated ethical considerations and explores ongoing issues regarding intellectual property rights and patents.

About the Authors :-
Dr. R.C. Sobti, M.Sc. Ph.D is Professor in the Department of Biotechnology, and Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University. He is recipient of many national and international awards and recognitions. He is Fellow of prestigious National Academy of Medical Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, Zoological Associations of India and International Union against Cancer, Geneva.

He has published more than 180 papers in the journals of international repute. He has also published 20 books, four of which have been published by the international publishers. He has worked in many laboratories in USA, Germany, England, Netherlands and Japan. His area of interest is molecular biology, cancer biology in particular, environmental biology and biotechnology in general. He has been on the visiting faculty of Comprehensive Cancer Centre for the State of Florida Miami, USA and has also visited Germany, Japan and UK a number of times. He has delivered a number of prestigious orations.

Dr. Suparna S. Pachouri (b 1965) obtained her Masters in Zoology from the University of Rohilkhand, UP. She has obtained her doctoral degree in Biotechnology at the Panjab University, Chandigarh in 2006. She has published articles in international journals. She has obtained another Masters degree in Health Policy, Planning and Financing at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and London School of Economics and Political Science. She is a civil servant by profession (1992). She has worked in the Ministries of Finance, Personnel, Health, and Science and Technology (Department of Biotechnology). Currently, she is working as Consultant to the WHO project in the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi.