Bioengineering Technologies Overview

Introduction

The National Institutes of Health defines bioengineering as "the application of the life sciences, mathematics and engineering principles to define and solve problems in biology, medicine, healthcare, and other fields." Some practitioners want to apply bioengineering to any engineering discipline that works with a living system. That would include humans, plants, and even microscopic organisms, in addition to some aspects of agricultural engineering and national defense.

Biomedical is bioengineering for medical and healthcare technologies. Bioengineering is the term often used for non-medical applications.

Module Lessons Preview

In this module, we will study the following topics:

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Bioethics – the study of ethical implications relating to the advances in life sciences and technology.

Bioremediation – a process that uses microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, other plants) to a waste site (oil spill, contaminated groundwater, industrial waste, etc.) to neutralize containments and pollution.

Biosensors – also called biological sensor. This is a semi organic device composed of an organic component (enzyme, antibody, proteins, etc.) and micro-transducer that converts a biological response into an electrical signal used for measurement.

DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid is the carrier of genetic information on the chromosomes.

GPS – Global Positioning System is a satellite network owned by US government for precise tracking of location.

Metabolize -a natural process used by organisms to convert a substance into a useable form such as energy.

Mixed Crops – also called “polyculture” is the agricultural practices of planting different compatible crops together in the same space to improve yield, reduce impact of drought, and improve soil fertility.

Nanoparticle -a microscopic particle generally greater than 1 nm (0.001 mm) but less than 100 nm (0. 1 mm). Because of this small size, just above the size of an atomic cluster, nanoparticles offer unique properties affecting physical, chemical and biological behavior.

Nanotechnology – engineering of nanoscale structures, devices, and systems.

Osseointegration – the natural tendency of bone cells to migrate to a metal surface. Used for implants and permanent attachment of artificial limbs.

Secondary Processing – the steps of manufacturing that turn industrial materials into finished goods.

Transgenic – a genetically mutated organism which has genetic material from another species or breed.

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