Key points:

• Biotechnology is the use of an organism, or a component of an organism or other biological system, to make a product or process.
• Many forms of modern biotechnology rely on DNA technology.
• DNA technology is the sequencing, analysis, and cutting-and-pasting of DNA.
• Common forms of DNA technology include DNA sequencing, polymerase chain reaction, DNA cloning, and gel electrophoresis.
• Biotechnology inventions can raise new practical concerns and ethical questions that must be addressed with informed input from all of society.