Entering the Brave New World of gene technology

Some observers say biotechnology will be to the early 21st century what quantum physics was to the early 20th century.

It holds the potential of fixing human maladies, making farming more productive and fighting pests and disease across the world.

But it involves humans interfering with the basic building blocks of life raising ethical issues.

Already debates and protests are raging around the world over genetically-modified food. We've seen a sheep cloned. And we've identified genes related to a variety of congenital human conditions. What next?

Biotechnology opens up the great conversation about science and society, involving issues of ethics, economics, patent ownership, potential benefit versus potential harm, public information, legislative control and whether scientists have social responsibilities.

Some of these issues are discussed in articles in this feature section on biotechnology research at Murdoch University.

Murdoch is home to the State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre, which carries out research in collaboration with WA's primary industry sector. It is the home of the world's gene mapping centre for the ubiquitous crop, lupins. It has state-of-the-art facilities to identify quickly the genetic components of animals and plants.

It is also WA's hive of activity for national and international research projects that require the most sophisticated techniques in biotechnology.

Researchers in other disciplines at Murdoch are finding out what the public thinks of gene technology and how governments should respond to global patents and powerful corporations in the field.

If you want to see what's going on at the sharp end of biotechnology, and to confront some of the issues it raises, read on . . .

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International law to tackle gene giants