Biotechnology is technology based on biology: biotechnology harnesses cellular and biomolecular processes to develop technologies and products that help improve our lives and the health of our planet. Modern biotechnology provides breakthrough products and technologies to combat debilitating and rare diseases, reduce our environmental footprint, feed the hungry, use less and cleaner energy, and have safer, cleaner and more efficient industrial manufacturing processes. Recent advances in biotechnology are helping us prepare for and meet society with the most pressing challenges. Biotech is helping to heal the world by harnessing nature’s own toolbox and using our own genetic makeup to heal and guide lines of research by reducing rates of infectious disease, saving millions of children’s lives, changing the odds of serious, lifethreatening conditions affecting millions around the world, tailoring treatments to individuals to minimize health risks and side effects, creating more precise tools for disease detection; and combating serious illnesses and everyday threats confronting the developing world. Biotech improves crop insect resistance, enhances crop herbicide tolerance and facilitates the use of more environmentally sustainable farming practices. Biotech is helping to feed the world by generating higher crop yields with fewer inputs, lowering volumes of agricultural chemicals required by crops, limiting the run-off of these products into the environment, using biotech crops that need fewer applications of pesticides and that allow farmers to reduce tilling farmland, developing crops with enhanced nutrition profiles that solve vitamin and nutrient deficiencies, producing foods free of allergens and toxins such as mycotoxin; and improving the food and crop oil content to help improve cardiovascular health. Biotech uses biological processes such as fermentation and harnesses biocatalysts such as enzymes, yeast, and other microbes to become microscopic manufacturing plants. Biotech is helping to fuel the world by streamlining the steps in chemical manufacturing processes by 80% or more, lowering the temperature for cleaning clothes and potentially saving $4.1 billion annually, improving manufacturing process efficiency to save 50% or more on operating costs, reducing use of and reliance on petrochemicals, using biofuels to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 52% or more decreasing water usage and waste generation; and tapping into the full potential of traditional biomass waste products. Biotechnology is also being used to engineer and adapt organisms especially microorganisms W. Shi (&) State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resources and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, 150090 Harbin, China e-mail: swx@hit.edu.cn