Bioengineering: The Fusion of Biology and Engineering

On the other hand, biological engineering or bioengineering can be explained as the combination of the concepts of biology and the instruments of engineering with the aim of producing easy-to-use, solid, and independent supplies. Bioengineering includes physical, chemical, and mathematical sciences while making use of engineering principles in an engineering approach in biology. Engineers of the biochemistry field concentrate on organisms and microscopic systems with the aim of bioremediation, biological waste treatment, and etc. In addition, the history of biological engineering dates back to the years around World War II, getting recognized before the war and growing swiftly after the catastrophe. In 1954, British scientist and broadcaster Heinz Wolff brought the term “bioengineering” into existence at the National Institute for Medical Research. The University of California, San Diego was the first university that started the biological engineering program in 1966. Bioengineering has multiple sub-sections and some controversy about the ethicality of its practices. 

Biological engineering has a vast research area including mass, heat transfer, kinetics, biocatalysts, which is an enzyme, that accelerates the rate of biochemical reaction, biomechanics, bioinformatics, separation and purification processes, bioreactor design, surface science, which is the study of physical and chemical phenomena that happen at the interface of two phases, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and polymer science, in addition to bacteria, state-of-the-art medical imaging technology, contagious disease, prosthetics, biopharmaceuticals, and tissue-engineered organs. Overlapping with biotechnology and biomedical science in diverse ways, biological engineers aim to imitate biological systems to construct products, to alter and control them. The individuals in this job field, work with doctors, clinicians, and researchers. Even though bioengineering has multiple sub-categories, biomedical engineering has the most subdivisions. Biomedical engineering can be explained as the practice that combines medicine and engineering, amalgamating the ability to problem-solve of engineering and the advancement of health care treatment, with the higher aim of trying to close the gap between these two fields. Biomedical engineering includes tissue engineering, genetic engineering, neural engineering, pharmaceutical engineering, and clinical engineering. Tissue engineering combines the cells, engineering, materials methods, and suitable biochemical and physicochemical factors to repair, sustain, enhance, or supersede dissimilar types of biological tissues. The history of the practice dates back to the Neolithic period, around 2500 BC in Ancient India skin grafts were developed, while Ancient Egyptians do the same onto living humans and utilize honey as a remedy to prevent infections. Another type of engineering is genetic engineering. Genetic engineers manipulate an organism’s genes using biotechnology, altering the genetic makeup of cells that includes gene transfer across species to manufacture enhanced organisms. In 1972, Paul Berg recombined a DNA molecule for the first time ever, by fusing the virus SV40, which is a virus that can be found both in both monkeys and humans with the potential of creating tumors on animals, and the Lambda virus. On the other hand, neural engineering utilizes engineering methods to comprehend, restore, substitute, or intensify sensory systems. All neural engineers are trained to solve problems related to the design and interface of nervous system tissues. Moreover, pharmaceutical engineering is the branch that is concentrated on unearthing, preparing, and forming medication, in addition to checking the quality, designing, building, and improving locations that mass-produce the medications. Although human beings started utilizing natural sources, such as plants, as medications, it was not until the 19th century that technological advancements were integrated with a medical examination to construct new medicines and techniques of production. Lastly, clinical engineering is the subdivision that is responsible for optimizing healthcare delivery while engaging with medical technology. The main job description of clinical engineers is educating and supervising technicians, working with legal regulators at the hospitals, and consulting other staff while maintaining the supply chain. 

In general, engineering is a profession that was recognized in the 18th century with the establishment of the first engineering societies. Along with the societies, the ethical codes were formulated in the early 1900s, sampled from more “traditional” job fields like physics and law. The dilemma came to light when the clients of engineers were usually employers, or companies regarded the main duty of the engineer was loyalty to the company. For the duration of the 70s, the concept of ethics changed massively. Considering the startling engineering failures such as the 1972 Bay Area Rapid Transit case, the 1974 Paris DC-10 crash, and the meltdown of the Three-Mile Island nuclear power plant in 1979, and with the impact of the consumer and environmental movements, the engineers reconstructed their ethics to be responsible to public welfare (Mitcham, 228). 

Taking everything into consideration, bioengineering has multiple subdivisions and some ethical dilemmas around it. Biological engineering is the field that combines biology and engineering, utilizing the concepts of biology and the problem-solving aspect of engineering. Bioengineering deals with numerous different subjects and has various sub-categories. In my opinion, the ethical dilemma around the profession is insignificant, considering the positive influence bioengineers have on an uncountable amount of people.