Let scientists regulate DNA experiments, says Watson

CHENNAI, Jan 7: Regulation of experiments in genetic modification of plants must be left to scientists and not bureaucrats, Nobel laureat...

CHENNAI, Jan 7: Regulation of experiments in genetic modification of plants must be left to scientists and not bureaucrats, Nobel laureate James Watson said here today. Inaugurating the two-day national convention on Genetically Modified Plants: Implications for Environment, Food Security and Human Nutrition8217; organised by the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation and supported by the Hindu Media Research Centre, Watson said the question of regulation of genetic modification could be decided only after the nature of problems became fully known.

It was unfortunate that while many questions regarding genetic modification of plants had to be decided, there was a clamour in certain sections for the formulation of regulations, especially from the environmental movements.

Tracing the progress of DNA experimentation, he said that while misuse cannot be ruled out, the benefits could be many.

In his presidential address, Peter Raven, director, Missouri Botanical Gardens, United States, said the objective of allefforts have to be sustainability in agriculture.

While tremendous advances in science have been made in the last 50 years, 25 per cent of top soil had been lost during the time. It was believed that 10,000 kinds of organisms will be lost by the next century, he said and added this will mean a loss in bio-diversity on which sustainable agriculture was hoped to be built.

While the debate on the issue of right to alter living organisms raged on, he said attention had to be focussed on some of the problems 8212; the special properties of genetically altered plants, labelling of food from genetically modified organisms, spread of genes from genetically modified organisms and their consequences, loss of resistance among different strains, innovations in areas of seed germination, the problem of growing relatively uniform crops very extensively thus depressing the bio-diversity of the whole system and the social and economic context of using the modified organisms.

M S Swaminathan, giving an overview on TheChallenges of Food and Nutrition Security in India8217; emphasised the need to evolve a precautionary package and focus attention on bio-ethics, bio-safety, surveillance and food safety.

Population problem

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CHENNAI: Indian population underwent a major expansion during pre-historic times, according to a report presented at the ongoing Science Congress in Chennai.

In a lecture titled People of India: What do our genome tell us?8217; Partha Majumdar from Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta tried to answer some basic questions 8212; who were the original inhabitants of India, did a population expansion occur in pre-historic times and where did the original Indians migrate to down the centuries. His team tried to find answers by analysing variations in human chromosomes that carry the genetic material.