biotechnology /-teknol″əjē/ [Gk, bios + techne, art, logos, science] , 1. the study of the relationships between humans or other living organisms and machinery, such as the health effects of computer equipment on office workers or the ability of airplane pilots to perform tasks when traveling at supersonic speeds. 2. the industrial application of the results of biological research, particularly in fields such as recombinant deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) or gene splicing, which permits the production of synthetic hormones or enzymes by combining genetic material from different species. See also recombinant DNA.
