Bioengineering

From ArticleWorld

Bioengineering is a broad-based engineering discipline. It deals with various biological processes at a molecular level, and the analysis of biological systems from an engineering point of view.

Bioengineering is a term with a wide range of connotations and it is rarely used to name a certain discipline by itself. Instead, it is used when referring to the various engineering disciplines that involves operations at a biological level.

History

The idea of bioengineering appeared as a consequence of the progresses in genetics and the perspectives of genetic engineering. However, bioengineering does not merely study the genetics of a biological system, but tries to study all the aspects that can be characterized from an engineering point of view.

Bioengineering gathered a serious interest soon after the term itself became more broadly used. The perspective of understanding a biological system from an engineering point of view offered the possibility of expanding not just the knowledge, but also the ability to repair or improve its various components.

Bioengineering also caused some wild debates that are still ongoing. From an ethical point of view, the adepts of many religions criticized bioengineering for interfering with the Creation. However, many researchers decided to ignore these critics, maybe more bluntly than in other disciplines, and, while the debates are far from having stopped, bioengineered products are widely used.

Bioengineering in present

Despite being a relatively new discipline, its various areas of research have already produced remarkable results. Research in biomedical and orthopedic engineering gave us artificial hips and knees, bioinformaticians managed to implement complex computer-controlled life-support machinery and bioengineered food is widely used.

Many of the ethical debates are still being carried. However, as bioengineered products are becoming more broadly used without side effects for their users, more and more debates become futile. In fact, some adepts of various religions decided to accept some bioengineered products, like food.

Perspectives

Bioengineering is a discipline with great perspectives. Since it is a fairly new discipline, new discoveries are not rare. While the research is progressing greatly, the appliance itself is progressing slower than one would normally expect. This is because bioengineering also involves serious risks and responsibilities. For example, any kind of bioengineered food must be carefully tested before making it available to public, and medical technologies must undergo very strict quality and safety tests. Still, bioengineering remains a science with great future ahead.