Biotechnology is using living things — cells, bacteria, yeasts, plants — as tools: to make drugs, destroy waste, make food, or change crops.

Biotechnology是指 is using living things利用活的生物 — cells, bacteria, yeasts, plants細胞、細菌、酵母菌、植物 — as tools當成工具: to make drugs, destroy waste, make food, or change crops來製藥、處理廢棄物、製造食物，或改造農作物。

The old kind is everywhere and quiet: yeast in bread and beer, bacteria in yoghurt. The modern kind, which is what people usually mean, is the lab kind: putting a useful gene into bacteria so they make insulin, growing cells to make vaccines, designing crops that fight pests.

The old kind is everywhere and quiet舊式的生物科技無所不在卻不顯眼: yeast in bread and beer麵包和啤酒裡的酵母菌, bacteria in yoghurt優格裡的細菌。 The modern kind現代式的, which is what people usually mean也就是大家通常指的那種, is the lab kind是實驗室那種: putting a useful gene into bacteria so they make insulin把有用的基因放進細菌讓它們製造胰島素, growing cells to make vaccines培養細胞來製造疫苗, designing crops that fight pests設計能抵抗害蟲的農作物。

News and business talk love the short shine of the word; it can sound like science fiction. Though actually a lot of it is slow factory work, and it is not the same as “all of biology.” Biology asks how life works.

News and business talk love the short shine of the word新聞和商業用語很愛這個字閃亮的樣子; it can sound like science fiction聽起來可能像科幻小說。 Though actually不過事實上 a lot of it is slow factory work很多其實是緩慢的工廠作業, and而且 it is not the same as "all of biology."它跟「整個生物學」不是同一回事。 Biology asks how life works生物學問的是生命怎麼運作。

Biotechnology asks how we can get living things to do a job for us. Genetic engineering is one famous tool inside it, not the whole bag.

Biotechnology asks how we can get living things to do a job for us生物科技問的是我們要怎麼讓活的生物替我們做事。 Genetic engineering is one famous tool inside it基因工程是裡面一個有名的工具, not the whole bag但不是全部。