Bioengineering and Biotechnology

In today's rapidly advancing world of science and technology, two fields are at the forefront of transforming our approach to health, sustainability, and the future of living organisms: bioengineering and biotechnology. Although these terms are often used interchangeably, they represent different branches of science, each with its unique methods, applications, and goals. But for our aspiring scientists, how do they differ? Why are both essential for the future of innovation?

To start, bioengineering is defined as the application of engineering principles towards biological systems and organisms to solve problems in medicine, healthcare, and biology. The discipline focuses on different principles of design to create different tools and technologies that might improve or repair different biological functions. Practical applications might include the development of prosthetic limbs, designing biocompatible materials, engineering tissues or organs, and more.

One of the most renowned and recent advancements in the field of bioengineering is the discovery of CRISPR-Cas9, a gene-editing technology. This gene-editing technology is derived from a naturally occurring self-defense mechanism that exists within bacterial genetics. With different techniques in bioengineering, scientists created a custom piece of RNA that directs the Cas9 enzyme found within bacteria to "cut" DNA at different precise locations. Then, the cell's own repair mechanisms get harnessed to create, delete, or alter sections of genetic material. 

On the other hand, biotechnology is the use of biological processes, organisms, or systems to develop products and technologies for 

industrial, medical, or environmental processes. This discipline, though sounding somewhat similar to bioengineering, focuses on harnessing and modifying biological processes such as genetic engineering, fermentation, or CRISPR-Cas9. They also focus on creating pharmaceuticals, biofuels, etc. Some real world applications of biotechnology include developing new drugs, genetic modification of crops, or even using microorganisms to clean environmental pollutants. 

Alongside bioengineering, the discipline of biotechnology also gets heavily involved with the usage and development of CRISPR-Cas9. The discipline studies different ways to make the process of CRISPR-Cas9 increasingly precise while also expanding their applications. We can look at it this way: with bioengineering, we discover CRISPR-Cas9. With biotechnology, we find ways to use CRISPR-Cas9. 

Seeing how overlapped these two disciplines are, many high schoolers may see them merely as the same thing. However, there IS a difference. To put it starkly, bioengineering focuses on applying engineering principles to design and create devices, systems or solutions for biological problems. On the other hand, biotechnolgoy focuses on using different biological processes and organisms to develop different products and technologies. Essentially, bioengineering allows you to build tools, while biotechnology harnesses different biological processes to serve multiple purposes. Nevertheless, students are not wrong when they assume that they are heavily similar roles. Just like many disciplines in STEM, bioengineering and biotechnology are extremely related.