There are developing trends in innovation that are shaping the future of biotechnology. These trends are measured both in the small steps that happen every day and the occasional big breakthrough.
The big breakthroughs are advances like opto-genetics and CRISPR. Not so obvious are the small advances. A new reagent that improves fluorescent images, a new technique that produces more useful results in a standard experiment are just a few examples. But sometimes the innovation can be even simpler. A recent paper in science was simply about comparing isotope ratios which had not been done before. Another was about collecting samples for studying a broader population of birds on a Hawaiian island.
Even with the big breakthroughs, there is also a continuing process of modification and improvement for subsequent applications. Researchers, for example, continue to modify molecular components of the CRISPR process. Also, a well-established technology such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) continues to go through new adaptations and improvements for different end uses.
A broader study of how innovation happens in different areas of biotechnology would have to invoke a range of concepts such as rate, intensity, impact, and density. Also, how these innovations diffuse and get adapted both within and outside of biotechnology R&D need to be understood.
An article of faith is that conscious focusing on the nature and process of innovation in biotechnology sets the stage for yet other advances.
