engineering. Genetic engineering in biotechnology stimulated hopes for both therapeutic proteins, drugs and biological organisms themselves, such as seeds, pesticides, engineered yeasts, and modified human cells for treating genetic diseases. From the perspective of its commercial promoters, scientific breakthroughs, industrial commitment, and official support were finally coming together, and biotechnology became a normal part of business. No longer were the proponents for the economic and technological significance of biotechnology the iconoclasts. Their message had finally become accepted and incorporated into the policies of governments and industry. Global trends According to Burrill and Company, an industry investment bank, over $350 billion has been invested in biotech since the emergence of the industry, and global revenues rose from $23 billion in 2000 to more than $50 billion in 2005. The greatest growth has been in Latin America but all regions of the world have shown strong growth trends. By 2007 and into 2008, though, a downturn in the fortunes of biotech emerged, at least in the United Kingdom, as the result of declining investment in the face of failure of biotech pipelines to deliver and a consequent downturn in return on investment. See also Timeline of biotechnology Genetically modified organism Green Revolution References Further reading Bud, Robert. "Biotechnology in the Twentieth Century." Social Studies of Science 21.3 (1991), 415–457 . Dronamraju, Krishna R. Biological and Social Issues in Biotechnology Sharing. Brookfield: Ashgate Publishing Company, 1998. . Rasmussen, Nicolas, Gene Jockeys: Life Science and the rise of Biotech Enterprise, Johns Hopkins University Press, (Baltimore), 2014. . External links The Life Sciences Foundation Biotechnology, history of Biotechnology, history of Life sciences industry