3. Snapshot of the biosciences

The scope of the biosciences is very wide, encompassing the basic sciences, technologies, and methods used in research, as well as the industries that apply and commercialize the novel findings of bioscientists.¹ Basic bioscience includes all disciplines in the natural sciences that relate to living organisms, such as cell biology, genetics, zoology, and botany. Applied bioscience includes such disciplines as biotechnology, medicine, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and energy, as well as related software and information systems developed for biological applications.

Numerous industries are or will be affected by the biosciences, such as insurance (genetic screening), personal security (biometrics such as DNA identification), family counseling (genetic testing for hereditary conditions), and, of course, healthcare (gene therapies). Given the wide footprint of the biosciences, we examine here the main bioscience technologies that are important in medicine. Table 3.1 focuses on cellular and subcellular technologies; Table 3.2, later in the chapter, lists technologies based more on chemistry, engineering, materials, and information technology. Chapter 4, “Bio-driven Convergence,” covers these latter technologies in more detail.