Not surprisingly, not everyone agrees with this rosy picture. Today's new biotechnologies, however, are based on a much more deterministic manipulation of DNA and the regulatory processes that guide genetic functions. The techniques that are bundled under this one simplistic term are quite varied. Recombinant DNA is known more popularly as genetic engineering. This involves the transfer of genes from one organism to another, such as from bacteria to plants or from humans to cows.
Enzyme technologies are new forms of fermentation to produce new substances.
All these tools are being used to develop, among other things, crops with novel characteristics, new vaccines and new sources of industrial components. Biotechnology, in effect, breaks down the barriers between species. A conspicuous feature of the new biotechnologies is that they are predominantly developed in the North. Canada and Australia were responsible for most of the rest. The Third World emerges as a complete outsider in the bio-revolution.