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Click for Crick - Watson and Crick portrait auctioned to support developing world geneticists
March 17, 2003Fifty years ago this week Watson and Crick announced their discovery of the double helix - the structure of DNA - and started the genetics revolution that's led to the mapping of human genome, GM crops, genetic medicine and so much more.
What will the next 50 years bring and what are the implications for the human race? The International Congress of Genetics will consider these issues in Melbourne, Australia this July.
"With eight Nobel Laureates and hundreds of eminent speakers, the debate will be full and frank," says Dr Phil Batterham, Secretary General of the Congress.
"But it won't be complete without representation from the majority of the human race who live in developing countries. They have the most to gain, and the most to lose from the genetics revolution."
James Watson and Francis Crick have agreed to sign an archive quality print of the universally recognized image of the two of them with their DNA model. The photographer, Antony Barrington Brown, has also signed the print. The print is being auctioned online with the proceeds going to assist delegates from developing nations to attend the Congress.
"One hundred scientists from developing nations have applied for support to attend the Congress," says Dr Batterham.
With this auction, and the support of our sponsors and the International Genetics Federation we plan to invest a minimum of $100,000 to bring a minimum of 50 of them to the Congress in Melbourne.
"The practical use of genetics in the green revolution of the 20th Century helped save millions of lives. In the 21st Century, genetics has an essential role in contributing to global food security, health care and social justice. But there are dangers as well. We will ensure that the global implications of the new genetics revolution are fully debated and discussed," says Phil Batterham.
"For this debate to be relevant developing nations must be well represented. Too often we stage such debates in developed nations, we somewhat condescendingly talk about their interests of people from developing nations, without having the decency to seek their inputs. The Genetics Congress will be different in this regard."
Bids for the print are open now at www.geneticscongress2003.com.
Science in Public
"But it won't be complete without representation from the majority of the human race who live in developing countries. They have the most to gain, and the most to lose from the genetics revolution."
James Watson and Francis Crick have agreed to sign an archive quality print of the universally recognized image of the two of them with their DNA model. The photographer, Antony Barrington Brown, has also signed the print. The print is being auctioned online with the proceeds going to assist delegates from developing nations to attend the Congress.
"One hundred scientists from developing nations have applied for support to attend the Congress," says Dr Batterham.
With this auction, and the support of our sponsors and the International Genetics Federation we plan to invest a minimum of $100,000 to bring a minimum of 50 of them to the Congress in Melbourne.
"The practical use of genetics in the green revolution of the 20th Century helped save millions of lives. In the 21st Century, genetics has an essential role in contributing to global food security, health care and social justice. But there are dangers as well. We will ensure that the global implications of the new genetics revolution are fully debated and discussed," says Phil Batterham.
"For this debate to be relevant developing nations must be well represented. Too often we stage such debates in developed nations, we somewhat condescendingly talk about their interests of people from developing nations, without having the decency to seek their inputs. The Genetics Congress will be different in this regard."
Bids for the print are open now at www.geneticscongress2003.com.
Science in Public
Evolution Current Events and Evolution News RSSDNA barcodes: Creative new uses span health, fraud, smuggling, history, more
The scientific ability to quickly and accurately identify species through DNA "barcoding" is being embraced and applied by a growing legion of global authorities - from medical and agricultural researchers to police and customs authorities to palaeontologists and others.
AIBS publishes Darwin articles open access
To celebrate the 150th anniversary this month of the publication of On the Origin of Species, the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is publishing open access two peer-reviewed articles about Charles Darwin and his historic insights into evolution.
Why nice guys usually get the girls
Female water striders often reject their most persistent and aggressive suitors and prefer the males who aren't so grabby, according to new research. Water striders are insects commonly seen skittering across the surface of streams.
Deciphering the regulatory code
Embryonic development is like a well-organised building project, with the embryo's DNA serving as the blueprint from which all construction details are derived.
The humble beginnings of a king
Tyrannosaurus rex and related large carnivorous dinosaurs together form the family Tyrannosauridae. A long forgotten fossil skull in the collections of the Natural History Museum in London has now provided crucial clues to the early stages of the lengthy evolutionary history of these fearsome predators.
Study sheds light on evolution of human complexity
A painstaking analysis of thousands of genes and the proteins they encode shows that human beings are biologically complex, at least in part, because of the way humans evolved to cope with redundancies arising from duplicate genes.
Electron self-injection into an evolving plasma bubble
Particle accelerators are among the largest and most expensive scientific instruments. Thirty years ago, theorists John Dawson and Toshiki Tajima proposed an idea for making them thousands of times smaller: surf the particles on plasma waves driven by short intense laser pulses.
There's a speed limit to the pace of evolution, Penn biologists say
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a theoretical model that informs the understanding of evolution and determines how quickly an organism will evolve using a catalogue of "evolutionary speed limits."
Precuneus region of human and monkey brain is divided into 4 distinct regions
A study published this week in PNAS provides a comprehensive comparative functional anatomy study in human and monkey brains which reveals highly similar brain networks preserved across evolution.
New dinosaur species from Montana
A husband and wife team of American paleontologists has discovered a new species of dinosaur that lived 112 million years ago during the early Cretaceous of central Montana.
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