November 27, 2003
CAMBIA via
Life Sciences
Network
This
week Australian genetics pioneer Richard Jefferson was
recognised by Scientific American,
the prestigious international science magazine, as one of the 50
global technology leaders of 2003.
His latest inventions could unleash a new Green
Revolution, giving farmers, researchers and agriculture
businesses across the world access to the potential of modern
genetics.
And he’s calling on the global biotechnology
community to adopt open access genetics – freeing up the tools
of modern genetics and biology from the shackles of excessive
patenting.
Jefferson will
be honoured at a presentation on Thursday 11 December at the New
York Academy of Sciences along with Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple
Computers, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gro Harlem
Brundtland, and other science, engineering, commerce and public
policy leaders.
Professor Richard Jefferson and his team of
scientists and IP experts at
CAMBIA (Center for the Application of Molecular Biology to
International Agriculture) are creating a powerful and freely
available genetics and policy toolkit that will allow plant
breeders and scientists around the world to add new directions
to conventional plant and animal breeding.
China’s leading plant geneticist, Professor Zhang
Qifa, has already used the toolkit to create 20,000 unique rice
lines in his quest for more robust, high yielding rice that uses
less water and are resistant to pests and diseases.
“We don’t always need to insert foreign genes,” says
Jefferson, “as we are yet to harness the potential of the crop’s
own genome.”
“Biotechnology is being stifled by the complexity,
expense and misuse of patenting. So we are taking a different
approach with our toolkit to ensure it’s available for all to
use,” says
Jefferson.
“CAMBIA and the Rockefeller Foundation are working
together to create an ‘Open Access’ biological technology
movement – just as the computing community has created Linux and
other great Open Source innovations. Our tools will be free to
all and are crafted to unleash the creativity of researchers and
farmers. Companies will have much greater opportunities to
create wealth from new crops and products, winning much-needed
public trust in the process
Jefferson
originally founded CAMBIA in Canberra in 1991, to give
developing countries access to the tools of molecular biology.
It soon became clear, however that many of the same barriers to
the creation and adoption of new technology in developing
countries are also hindering businesses and the research
community in the developed world – in particular the confused
web of intellectual property rights which is hurting both small
and large biotechnology companies, and which has gutted the
public sector.
Today CAMBIA employs 40 scientists and is working
with the FAO, The Rockefeller Foundation, the CGIAR and many
other international groups, and is affiliated with
Charles Sturt
University. |