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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 RSSWe're off then: the evolution of bat migration
Not just birds, but also a few species of bats face a long journey every year. Researchers at Princeton University in the U.S. and at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell, Germany studied the migratory behaviour of the largest extant family of bats, the so-called "Vespertilionidae" with the help of mathematical models.
Insect Resistance to Bt Crops can be Predicted, Monitored, and Managed
Since 1996, crop plants genetically modified to produce bacterial proteins that are toxic to certain insects, yet safe for people, have been planted on more than 200 million hectares worldwide.
Multiple health concerns surface as winter, vitamin D deficiences arrive
A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic."
Supervolcano eruption -- in Sumatra -- deforested India 73,000 years ago
A new study provides "incontrovertible evidence" that the volcanic super-eruption of Toba on the island of Sumatra about 73,000 years ago deforested much of central India, some 3,000 miles from the epicenter, researchers report.
Is global warming unstoppable?
In a provocative new study, a University of Utah scientist argues that rising carbon dioxide emissions - the major cause of global warming - cannot be stabilized unless the world's economy collapses or society builds the equivalent of one new nuclear power plant each day.
Scientists at UA, collaborating institutions decode maize genome
Scientists from the University of Arizona led by Arizona Genomics Institute director Rod A. Wing and from collaborating institutions have deciphered the complete genetic code of the maize plant for the first time.
New Maize Map to Aid Plant Breeding Efforts
In a massive survey of genetic diversity in maize, also known as corn, researchers across the United States, have developed a gene map that should pave the way to significant improvements in a plant that is a major source of food, fuel, animal feed and fiber around the world.
'Hobbits' are a new human species -- according to the statistical analysis of fossils
Researchers from Stony Brook University Medical Center in New York have confirmed that Homo floresiensis is a genuine ancient human species and not a descendant of healthy humans dwarfed by disease.
Research challenges for understanding landscape changes identified
Nine research challenges and four research initiatives that are poised to advance the study of how Earth's landscapes change were unveiled today in a new report by the National Research Council.
Scientists Unravel Evolution of Highly Toxic Box Jellyfish
With thousands of stinging cells that can emit deadly venom from tentacles that can reach ten feet in length, the 50 or so species of box jellyfish have long been of interest to scientists and to the public. Yet little has been known about the evolution of this early branch in the animal tree of life.
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