Definition
Biotechnology is the engineering of living systems — genes, cells, tissues, whole organisms — to perform tasks chosen by their designers. Where earlier biology described nature, modern biotechnology rewrites it: editing DNA, growing organs, synthesising proteins, and increasingly designing biological functions from scratch.
For Harari, biotechnology is one of three converging paths by which Sapiens may end its own evolutionary epoch. The other two — cyborg engineering and the design of inorganic life — are joined by genetic engineering as a deliberate redesign of what it means to be human.
Why it matters
How it works
Modern biotechnology rests on three pillars: reading DNA (sequencing), writing DNA (synthesis and editing tools like CRISPR-Cas9), and growing biological materials in controlled environments (tissue culture, stem cells, synthetic biology). Together they enable interventions ranging from curing single-gene diseases to engineering microbes that produce fuels, drugs, or food.
The same toolkit applied to Sapiens raises Harari's central question: once we can choose our children's height, immune profile, or memory capacity, the line between healing and enhancement dissolves. Evolution becomes a design decision.