Textos a considerar como marco conceptual.

Reuniones de trabajo de los miembros de la red de Biotecnología.

Bioengineering
Biological engineering (also biosystems engineering and bioengineering) deals with engineering biological processes in general. It is a broad-based engineering discipline that also may involve product design, sustainability and analysis of biological systems. Generally, bioengineering may deal with either the medical or the agricultural fields.
Because other engineering disciplines overlap bioengineering living organisms (e.g., prosthetics in mechanical engineering), the term can be applied more broadly to include food engineering and biotechnology. Biological engineering is called Bioengineering by some colleges and Biomedical engineering is called Bioengineering by others, and is a rapidly developing field with fluid categorization.
Biological engineers are similar to biologists in that they study living organisms. They are engineers because they have a practical design aim in mind - they use research to create usable tangible products. In general, biological engineers attempt to 1) mimic biological systems in order to create products or 2) modify and control biological systems so that they can replace, augment, or sustain chemical and mechanical.

Biomedicine
Biomedicine, also known as theoretical medicine, is a term that comprises the knowledge and research which is more or less in common to the fields of medicine, veterinary medicine, odontology and fundamental biosciences such as biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, zoology, botanics and microbiology. Biomedicine is usually not concerned with the practice of medicine as much as it is with the theory and knowledge of it.

Bioprocess
A bioprocess is any process that uses complete living cells or their components (e.g., bacteria, enzymes, chloroplasts) to effect desired physical or chemical changes.
Transport of energy and mass is fundamental to many biological and environmental processes. Areas, from food processing to thermal design of building to biomedical devices to pollution control and global warming, require knowledge of how energy and mass can be transported through materials.

Biotechnology
Biological technology is technology based on biology, especially when used in agriculture, food science, and medicine. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity has come up with one of many definitions of biotechnology:
"Biotechnology means any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use."
Before the 1970s, the term, biotechnology, was primarily used in the food processing and agriculture industries. Since the 1970s, it began to be used by the Western scientific establishment to refer to laboratory-based techniques being developed in biological research, such as recombinant DNA or tissue culture-based processes. In fact, the term should be used in a much broader sense to describe the whole range of methods, both ancient and modern, used to manipulate organic matter to meet human needs. So the term can be defined as, "The application of indigenous and/or scientific knowledge to the management of (parts of) microorganisms, or of cells and tissues of higher organisms, so that these supply goods and services of use to human beings. There has been a great deal of talk - and money - poured into biotechnology with the hope that miracle drugs will appear. While there do seem to be a small number of efficacious drugs, in general the biotech revolution has not happened in the pharmaceutical sector. However, recent progress with monoclonal antibody based drugs, such as Genentech's Avastin suggest that biotech may finally have found a role in pharmaceutical sales. Biotechnology combines disciplines like genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, embryology and cell biology, which are in turn linked to practical disciplines like chemical engineering, information technology, and robotics.

Engineering
Engineering is the design, analysis, and/or construction of works for practical purposes. The Engineers' Council for Professional Development, also known as ECPD, defines Engineering as:
The creative application of scientific principles to design or develop structures, machines, apparatus, or manufacturing processes, or works utilizing them singly or in combination; or to construct or operate the same with full cognizance of their design; or to forecast their behavior under specific operating conditions; all as respects an intended function, economics of operation and safety to life and property.

Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification (GM) and gene splicing are terms that are applied to the manipulation of genes, generally implying that the process is outside the organism's natural reproductive process. It involves the isolation, manipulation and reintroduction of DNA into cells or model organisms, usually to express a protein. The aim is to introduce new characteristics or attributes physiologically or physically, such as making a crop resistant to herbicide, introducing a novel trait or enhancing existing ones, or producing a new protein or enzyme. Successful endeavours include the manufacture of human insulin by bacteria, the manufacture of erythropoietin in Chinese hamster ovary cells, and the production of new types of experimental mice such as the OncoMouse (cancer mouse) for research.

Molecular biology
Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecular level. The field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry. Molecular biology chiefly concerns itself with understanding the interactions between the various systems of a cell, including the interrelationship of DNA, RNA and protein synthesis and learning how these interactions are regulated.

Science
In the broadest sense, science (from the Latin scientia, 'knowledge') refers to any systematic methodology which attempts to collect accurate information about reality and to model this in a way which can be used to make reliable, concrete and quantitative predictions about future events and observations. In a more restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on the scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research. Science as defined above is sometimes termed pure science to differentiate it from applied science, which is the application of scientific research to specific human needs.

Synthetic biology
Synthetic biology has long been used to describe an approach to biology that attempts to integrate different areas of research in order to create a more holistic understanding of life. More recently the term has been used in a different way, signaling a new area of research that combines science and engineering in order to design and build novel biological functions and systems.

Technique
Technique refers to anything that can be done employing tools or algorithms.

Technology
Technology is a broad concept that deals with a species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment. In human society, it is a consequence of science and engineering, although several technological advances predate the two concepts. Technology is a term with origins in the Greek "technologia", "τεχνολογία" — "techne", "τέχνη" ("craft") and "logia", "λογία" ("saying"). However, a strict definition is elusive; "technology" can refer to material objects of use to humanity, such as machines, hardware or utensils, but can also encompass broader themes, including systems, methods of organization, and techniques. The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include "construction technology", "medical technology", or "state-of-the-art technology".

NOTA: textos de apoyo para las reuniones de trabajo de los miembros de la red, aportaciones del Dr. Edgar Salgado Manjarrez. de UPIBI y Dra. Maria del Carmen Villegas Hernández de CIBA.

NOTA:
textos de apoyo para las reuniones de trabajo de los miembros de la red, aportaciones de la Dra. Sevilla ESM y Dr. Miguel Ángel Reyes CBG.

Bioinformática.
La palabra bioinformática es frecuentemente utilizada como un sinónimo para biocomputación o biología computacional. Esta disciplina utiliza computadoras para estudiar sistemas vivos y aplica los algoritmos y las tecnologías de la información para resolver los problemas biológicos. Muchos de los datos analizados son de naturaleza molecular, las secuencias tanto de ácidos nucleicos (ADN y ARN) como de aminoácidos (Proteínas). Todo lo anterior se realiza mediante la implementación de algoritmos que facilitan la comprensión de los procesos biológicos a través de la aplicación de diferentes ramas de las matemáticas, física, y química, además sistemas con técnicas de aprendizaje implementadas en algoritmos “inteligentes”, muy frecuentemente estos métodos involucran el cómputo intensivo (término asociado a supercómputo o a computadoras con alto desempeño).
El conocimiento de las técnicas bioinformáticas en las diferentes áreas de aplicación es fundamental para el análisis de datos moleculares tanto de plantas como de animales. Recientemente la aplicación de la bioinformática en las áreas médica, agronómica y pecuaria ha demostrado el por qué está ganando importancia, sobre todo en los estudios poblacionales de las frecuencias alélicas presentes en los individuos de la comunidad por otro lado la caracterización de los genes que tienen los individuos y cuales los diferencian del resto de sus congéneres de la misma población. Conceptos fundamentales de la biología como diversidad, poblaciones o comunidades pueden ser estudiados por esta área, ya sea a nivel genético o genómico y más allá a través de proteomas y metabolomas. Incluso se ha llegado al diseño de procesadores combinando células y chips.
Aplicaciones en bioinformática: Bioinformática tridimensional, Bioinformática genómica, Bioinformática proteómica y Diseño de drogas.

Ingeniería de bioprocesos y bioconversiones.
La ingeniería de bioprocesos (IB) tiene relevancia especial por ser la disciplina en la que la ingeniería y la biotecnología se unifican bajo el propósito común de buscar que los beneficios de ésta última se conviertan realmente en productos y servicios.
La investigación en IB, en el objetivo de desarrollar sistemas capaces de integrar la biología con la ingeniería para obtener productos y procesos factibles, se complementa con el análisis riguroso de los aspectos económicos y posible impacto en el ambiente, resultando frecuentemente en la identificación de nuevas tendencias y alternativas estratégicas para la transformación de recursos renovables en bioprocesos y bioproductos, utilizando los avances y las herramientas de la biotecnología.
Con base en el conocimiento derivado de las diversas áreas de la biotecnología, la IB combina el uso de organismos completos o enzimas con los nutrientes adecuados, bajo condiciones específicas, para obtener un determinado bioproducto. Así, la IB se constituye como el medio que proporciona los sistemas de bioconversión o manufactura, traduciendo la información básica generada en el laboratorio en procesos y técnicas, para la generación de bioproductos en grandes volúmenes, a bajo costo y con la pureza más aceptable. Entre los más importantes:
las biomoléculas que tienen valor medicinal o biofarmaceúticos; por ejemplo, los que tienen aplicación en el tratamiento del cáncer, de enfermedades cardiovasculares y del sistema autoinmune, etc.;
los bioproductos de interés industrial, como el etanol, los monómeros para la fabricación de plásticos biodegradables, etc.;
los biocatalizadores que se utilizan en el procesamiento de alimentos, la modificación de macromoléculas biológicas, la producción de principios activos, en la formulación de detergentes, etc.);
otros bioproductos de aplicación diversa y demanda creciente: los alimentos funcionales para mejorar la nutrición, los que contienen vacunas, los biomateriales, etc.
La investigación en la IB abarca las siguientes líneas: Biocatálisis; Ingeniería metabólica; Ingeniería de tejidos; Biosensores; Materiales biocompatibles; Bioseparaciones; Diseño de procesos; Diseño y operación de biorreactores; y, Simulación y modelamiento de procesos.