| MadSci Network: Agricultural Sciences |
> What is biotechnology relating to agriculture?
That is a REALLY broad question!
Basically agricultural biotechnology is the use of genetic engineering techniques to produce plants and animals with desirable traits.
Conventional agriculture has been doing this for thousands of years using selective breeding (i.e. crossing two red apples to make a really red apple) of plants and animals.
Ag-biotech speeds up the improvement process by letting us tinker with the genetics of the organisms directly.
A web site covering "everything you want to know about biotechnology" can be found at: http://www.nbiap.vt.edu. This site called "Information Systems for Biotechnology (ISB)" covers documents and searchable databases pertaining to the development, testing and regulatory review of genetically modified palnts, animals, and microorganisms within the United States. There are links to news reports, databases, risk assesment, special documents and access to a wide range of other academic, government, and international sites dealing with agricutlural and environmental biotechnology research and product development.
Happy browsing!
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Agricultural Sciences.