Changing Lives BioVision Alexandria 2006 Changing Lives BioVision Alexandria 2006 Editors Ismail Serageldin Ehsan Masood with Mohamed El-Faham and Amani Massoud Bibliotheca Alexandrina Cataloging-in-Publication Data BioVision \d (2006 : Bibliotheca Alexandrina) Changing lives / \c editors, Ismail Serageldin, Ehsan Masood. – Alexandria : Bibliotheca Alexandrina, [2007] p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-977-6163-61-4 1. Biotechnology -- Congresses. 2. Life sciences -- Social aspects -- Forecasting -- Congresses. 3. Life sciences -- Government policy -- Congresses. 4. Health promotion -- Congresses. 5. Agricultural productivity -- Congresses. 6. Environmental protection -- Congresses. I. Serageldin, Ismail, 1944- II. Masood, Ehsan. III. Title. 660.6--dc21 2007325181 ISBN 978-977-6163-61-4 Dar El Kotob Depository Number 3996/2007 © 2007, Bibliotheca Alexandrina. All rights reserved. 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To obtain permission to reproduce materials in this publication for commercial purposes, please contact the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, P.O. Box 138, Chatby, Alexandria 21526, Egypt. E-mail: Contents Preface ix Acknowledgements xi Contributors xiii Acronyms and Abbreviations xix BioVision Alexandria 2006: An Overview xxiii Rafik Nakhla and Amani Massoud Part 1: First Words 1. Changing Lives with the Life Sciences 3 Philippe Desmarescaux 2. New Directions for Science Policy in Japan 7 Koji Omi 3. Connecting the Disconnected 9 Elias Zerhouni 4. Global Institutions with a Southern Flair 11 Mohamed Hassan 5. A Quantum Leap for Science and Technology in Egypt 15 Hany Helal 6. International Research Cooperation is Key to Sustainable Development 17 Janez Potočnik vi Contents Part 2: Nobel Laureates - Ideas, Perceptions and Insights 7. A Century of Nobel Prizes 21 Erling Norrby 8. A Life in Physics 23 Georges Charpak 9. The Millennium Science Initiative 25 Harold Varmus 10. Plagues, Pestilence and Influenza: The Role of Infection in Human History 27 Peter Doherty 11. A Better World for All: Dream or Reality? 29 Jean-Marie Lehn 12. Making Progress in Diseases of the Central Nervous System 31 Stanley Prusiner Part 3: Science and the Human Condition 13. Health Discoveries in Perspective 35 Peter Lachmann 14. Biotechnologies: Protecting the Environment, Promoting Human Wellbeing 41 M.S. Swaminathan 15. The Enterprise of Science 53 Ismail Serageldin 16. Prometheus and the Internet: A Science Supercourse st for the 21 Century 67 Ronald LaPorte and Ismail Serageldin Part 4: Better Healthcare for all 17. Infectious Diseases and the Disease Control Priorities Project (DCPP) 81 Joel Breman, Dean Jamison, George Alleyne, Adel Mahmoud 18. A New Age for Life Sciences: Transcriptome Analysis 95 Yoshihide Hayashizaki 19. Emerging Technologies in Developing-Country Healthcare 103 Abdallah Daar, Peter Singer and Colleagues 20. Innovative Pathways to a Healtheir World 117 Magid Abou-Gharbia Contents vii 21. North-South Collaborations in Digital Molecular Medicine 125 Rafael Rangel-Aldao 22. Cancer in the Developing World 137 Joe Harford 23. New Biotechnologies in Developing Countries: Successes and Constraints 147 Stephen Jarret 24. Social Responsibility in Healthcare Provision: The Role of the Supercourse 153 François Sauer 25. Preventing Genetic and Congenital Disorders at Birth 163 Ysbrand Portman Part 5: Diabetes in Developing Countries 26. The War on Diabetes: A View From Industry 179 Boerge Diderichsen 27. Dealing With the Burden of Diabetes in Developing Countries 189 Anil Kapur 28. India’s Diabetes Epidemic 197 Vishwanathan Mohan 29. The Growth of Diabetes in Egypt 207 Samir Assaad Khalil Part 6: Biotechnology in Agriculture, Food and the Environment 30. GM Crops, Food Security and the Environment 217 Effat Badr 31. Potential Environmental Impacts of Novel Crops 225 Brian Johnson 32. A Decade of Agricultural Biotechnology 235 Clive James 33. Protecting Livestock Through Genomics 241 Vishvanath Nene 34. Starvation, Obesity, or Optimized Diets: Which Way for Nutrition? 249 Malcolm Elliott and Colleagues viii Contents 35. Strategies for Plant Breeding: Affordable and Effective 261 Eric Huttner and Colleagues 36: Technology Transfer in Agribiotech: The Case of Asia’s Eggplant 269 Frank Shotkoski 37. Better Rice for a Growing World 277 Gurdev Khush 38. Biofortification in Brazil: The HarvestPlus Challenge Programme 289 Marília Nutti and Colleagues Part 7: Biotechnology to Relieve the Effects of Drought 39. Harnessing New Science to Meet the Challenges of Drought 299 Magdy Madkour 40. Plants, Genes and Drought Stress 311 Kazuo Shinozaki and Kazuko Yamaguchi-Shinozaki 41. The Scope of Gene Technologies in Improving Drought Tolerance in Crops 323 Vincent Vadez and Colleagues Part 8: New Directions in Science and Innovation Policy 42. Freedom to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa’s Development 337 Calestous Juma and Ismail Serageldin 43. Agricultural R&D Spending at a Crossroads 343 Philip Pardey and Colleagues 44. Lessons from the Global Environment Facility 357 David Todd and Colleagues 45. Frameworks for Action: Success Stories in European Union Research Collaboration 367 Alfredo Aguilar and Sohail Luka 46. Biotechnology Research Parks in Development, Healthcare and Technology-Transfer 381 Lewis Collens