The discussion clarifies the relationship between biotechnology and biomedical engineering (BME), emphasizing that while both fields overlap, they are distinct. Biotechnology focuses on the interaction of biological processes with technology, exemplified by tissue engineering, whereas BME encompasses areas like prosthetics and orthotics design. Genetic engineering is categorized under genetics, a subfield of molecular biology, rather than strictly fitting into either biotechnology or BME. The classification of courses in colleges often varies, leading to confusion among students.
PREREQUISITESStudents considering careers in biotechnology or biomedical engineering, educators developing curriculum, and professionals seeking to clarify the distinctions between these two fields.
ƒ(x) said:Is BME is a sub-component of Biotech?
fasterthanjoao said:I wouldn't say so, though you could easily argue the opposite. Loosely, to me, biotechnology involves the interaction of biological processes with technology - things like tissue engineering (though, this is also biomedical engineering!). To give an example of the opposite, I feel that things like the design and development of prosthetics & orthotics would count as biomedical engineering but not biotechnology.
I'm not sure I'd say genetic engineering is either, I'd probably just call it genetics as a sub of molecular biology. This all said, I don't really think the labels are all that important, though one tends to develop preferences for ones own description. I know people in medical physics/clinical science (whom are labelled clinical scientists or medical physicists) who, nonetheless, market themselves as clinical engineers.