The field of biotechnology has been extensively studied and applied to many aspects of everyday life. Biotechnology is defined as the process of modifying an organism or biological system for its intended purpose. Biotechnology applications range from the selection of crops to pharmaceutical and genetic processes. However, the definition is evolving with recent scientific advances. Until World War II, biotechnology was fundamentally isolated from agricultural biology and chemical engineering. The achievements of this era include crops, pesticides, and other pest control tools. After World War II, biotechnology began to change its domain with the beginning of advanced research in human genetics and DNA. In 1984, the Human Genome Project (HGP) was proposed, starting research on the decoding of the human genome by the private and academic sectors. The project’s legacy has led to new advances in data sharing and open-source software and reinforced the importance of “big science”; strengthen large-scale public-private intensive capital
While biotechnology has been praised for its expected positive impact on society, new public health challenges are likely to emerge from scientific and technological advances in areas such as bioengineering and non-processing (Trump et al. 2020a). The misuse of powerful biotechnology is a major concern, both intentional and accidental. For example, the 1979 anthrax outbreak in Sverdlovsk occurred when Soviet scientists accidentally released genetically modified microorganisms from their biological weapons structures. The accident resulted in more than 100 deaths in neighboring populations (Sahl et al. 2016). This case not only demonstrates the tragic consequences of the misuse of biotechnology but also highlights the willful neglect and gross unreliability of international agreements, in this case, the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) 1972. The BWC was an agreement signed by 183 countries that Ban biological weapons through a countries’ self-regulatory agreement to prohibit the development, production, and storage of biological agents or related equipment capable of carrying out a biological attack (UNODA 2017). Since the 1970s, threats to biotech tools have likely spread as production costs have fallen and access to processing aids has increased.