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'RGCB should focus on genetic literacy'

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM NOV. 22. The Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) should focus on genetic literacy for the farming community, social sustainability of new technologies and their economic significance, the Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Manju Sharma, has said.

Delivering the first M. R. Das Memorial Oration on `Realising the potential of biotechnology - a mission', at the centre here this evening, Ms. Sharma said that in a region, which is one of the hotspots of biodiversity in the world, environmental and ecological research should get high priority.

``Scientists of the centre have to work for the people of this region, especially when it comes to sustainable utilisation of bio-resources of the region as a feedstock of the industrial and economic process'', she said.

"The confluence of classical and modern technologies enables the creation of new products and highly competitive process in many industrial and agricultural activities and in the health sector. Organs from species like pigs are believed to be promising sources of donor organs for humans," she said.

The latest biotechnological feat of organ transplantation had proved to be a cost-effective treatment for renal, heart and lung ailments, she said.

Using biotechnology, scientists were fast developing accurate diagnostic tests for many common livestock diseases. Recombinant DNA technology had made it possible to breed animals with great precision, she said.

"Animal scientists are using biotechnology to develop vaccines to prevent disease. A major advantage of recombinant vaccines is the speed with which they can be developed," she said.

Ms. Sharma released the annual report of the centre and also launched the Web site.

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