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Research in biotechnology falls into 4 main areas: healthcare, agriculture, environment, and industry.
Current research in healthcare includes developing novel drugs for various diseases such as cancer, hepatitis, cardiovascular disorders, and MS. As well, there are studies into pharmacogenetics, which is developing drugs that are adapted to each person's genetic makeup, in the hopes of combating drug resistance and the current need for multiple drug regimes on patients.
Gene therapy is another big area of research. It is being investigated as a possible cure for diseases such as cancer and HIV. As well, scientists are also working to ensure the inserted genes are not rejected by the host's immune system.
Studies in agricultural biotechnology include the design of organisms that can grow in the absence (or presence) or certain chemicals. This could include corn that expresses a gene for a certain pesticide, so that artificial pesticide applications would no longer be necessary (eg. Bt corn). As well, studies into crops that can be genetically engineered to improve yield, resist drought, or spoil less quickly than non-genetically-engineered crops are being investigated. Examples include inserting genes from salt-tolerant plants into non-salt-tolerant plants to enhance their viability in saline soils.
Biotechnological research is also being done to investigate ways to remedy environments that have been previously polluted. For instance, oil spills can be cleaned up more quickly through the use of certain bacteria which metabolize hydrocarbons. There is ongoing research into these bacteria to investigate their properties and attempt to replicate their properties in other organisms.
In industry, genetically engineered organisms are being used in a variety of processes to improve production and discover new products. For instance, there are investigations into finding alternatives to fossil sources, such as bio-plastics and non-chemical fertilizers. As well, attempts to find alternative energy sources to fossil fuels are well documented, and genetically modified organisms are being used in trials (eg. ethanol from corn that has been modified to improve yield).
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