The First Rounders podcast with Jeff can be found here. A Boston Globe article on Leiden taking the CEO position at Vertex is here and one from Xconomy is here. Read the Forbes piece on Vertex’s success in cystic fibrosis. A profile on Jeff in STAT can be found here. Click here for a video on Vertex’s learning lab.
The need to feed growing populations in developing countries, especially countries in Africa, must be met by increasing the yields of crops. Also, climate-change related problem such as drought continue to worsen hunger problem and humanitarian crisis in the continent. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) could greatly help with these issues, yet resistance persists in Europe and Africa both.
For several years, I have been thinking about what should be done to address the negative sentiment about GMOs. As an African scientist who has the vast knowledge of biotechnology and understands the potential of the new technology, I took the task upon myself to gather evidence with experts around the world and publish a book and a Correspondence on how to address GMO regulation problems at the international level.
While this was a difficult task, I am proud to be the first African scholar to mobilize experts from around the world to review or abandon current regulatory framework for GMOs. It is uncommon but I have taken this bold step and made an initial attempt to challenge the current status quo of GMO regulation.
Europe is overly cautious about the use of GMOs. But Europeans are well fed, and are not experiencing the type of hunger and malnutrition that affects people in other parts of the world. Europeans must stop playing fear-based politics on technologies that can benefit millions of people dying from micronutrient deficiency and hunger in Africa.
But the problem exists here in Africa, too. Some years ago I travelled to several countries across different regions in Africa to discuss the benefits of GMOs with policymakers. These talks spurred the largest study in the history of GM agriculture in Africa, but the debating continues, with policymakers asking for more evidence to prove GMOs are safe. In my own country, Nigeria, I was threatened in the local news for promoting the use of GMOs. Media reported that eating food made from GMOs is bad for your health and could cause cancer.
We need to stop media bias towards the use of GMOs, and educate the individuals and organizations that are influencing policies against GMOs. There is overwhelming evidence that GMOs are safe for human consumption. If the world is to achieve the United Nations sustainable-development goals, GMOs will need to play a part.
Adenle Ademola
In a previous contribution to this blog, I said that science and technology is not a priority in less developed countries, including Brazil. I recently described why this is in Scientia & Ricerca. Brazil’s government claims it cannot treat science and technology different from other areas. If it cannot double the investments in other areas, it cannot double the investment in science and technology. Since the Gross National Product (GNP) of Brazil cannot double in one year we are stuck with investments in science and technology at 1% of GNP historically.
Yet we can still support this strategy. Consider that we multiplied our publishing output in science and technology by six over the last four decades through the work of returning Brazilians who had studied abroad, and through fellowship and scholarships supplied by the Ministry of Education. Still, Brazilian bureaucrats do not see the importance of translational work. When Fernando Cardoso was the President of Brazil, a ministry member said technology development is not for less developed countries and that we should buy technologies abroad.
As a National Secretary in Research and Development in Brazil at the Ministry of Science and Technology for thirteen years, I’ve heard four Presidents and six Ministries of Science and Technology say they would double the investments in science and technology in Brazil up from the 1% of GNP. In 2017 the investment was again at 1%.
In my experience, all Presidents and Ministries believed that science and technology is essential. So how to actually get increased investment? It is best to start small. First, presidents must accept that in order for science and technology to become a priority in the country, investment must increase. The second step is to negotiate an actual increase with the federal planning bureaucrats. I postulate that we should double the investment over five years, but we must be prepared to accept a different proposal.
Is that the end of the story? Of course not. In all developed countries the private sector invests up to 2% of the GNP in science and technology. This will only be possible if the economic and financial context in Brazil changes for the better and corruption comes under control.
Luiz Antonio Barreto de Castro