Abstracts of the presentations

Science and Society: EC strategy and actions
Rainer Gerold, Director of Science and Society, DG Research, European Commission

The “Science and Society” theme within the European Research Area supports activities that bring together policy-makers, researchers and citizens.
The Council asked the Member States and the Commission in its Resolution of 26 June 2001 to cooperate in the promotion of science in society, and invited the Commission to submit its action plan on science and society issues by the end of 2001.
The Science and Society Action Plan was adopted by the Commission on 4 December 2001. It covers 38 actions in three domains to be implemented by the European Commission in close cooperation with the Member States:
• to promote scientific education and culture,
• to bring science policy closer to the citizens,
• to put responsible science at the heart of policy making.
The Science and Society action plan is an integral part of the activities to achieve in the European Research Area (ERA). It can be visualised in “three pillars”, which represent three levels, namely specific actions on science and society, the implementation of science and society aspects across FP6 (“embedding”), and the co-operation among Member States and with the EU Commission.
In March 2005 an event will be organised on the achievements, needs and future orientations related to Science and Society in the EU. This event, called the Science and Society Forum 2005, will be at the same time an assessment exercise to see how far the Science and Society activities contribute to the Lisbon and Göteborg objectives.

Life Sciences and Biotechnology: Strategy of the Union and the significance of projects similar to ’Science Generation’
Christian Patermann, Director of Biotechnology, Agriculture and Food, DG Research, European Commission

A European Strategy for Life Sciences and Biotechnology was proposed by the European Commission in 2002 to develop sustainable and responsible policies on biotechnology applications in healthcare, agriculture, food production and environmental protection. With strong support by the European Parliament and the Heads of State and Government the strategy’s action plan aims at strengthening the resource base, generating and exploiting knowledge, facilitating innovation, improving consumer confidence and societal participation, and governing Life Sciences and Biotech in harmony with societal goals, including the environment, and in full compliance with ethical values.
Europe is faced with a major policy choice: either to accept a passive and reactive role and bear the implications of the development of biotechnology elsewhere, or develop proactive policies to exploit them in a responsible manner, consistent with European values and standards. The European Commission proposes to be proactive and to apply the highest standards of governance through inclusive, informed and structured dialogue, balancing benefits against disadvantages guided by fundamental values, giving consumers and economics operators informed choice, fostering public confidence in science and regulation, and reconciling policy objectives in the regulation of life science and biotechnology.
Projects such as ‘Science Generation’ are important because they provide an essential link between science and the citizens. Introducing the skills and resources of practising research scientists to the European Union’s biology teachers at international level helps the population to understand science already at young age.

Genetics to change nutritional composition – the golden rice
Ingo Potrykus, Professor emeritus, ETH Zentrum, Switzerland

Vitamin A-malnutrition is a severe medical problem: to date 500 000 children per year become blind and 6 000 per day die from vitamin A-deficiency, despite massive investment into traditional interventions. Biofortification (genetic improvement of the nutritional quality) would offer a sustainable, cost-effective, and alternative contribution. For rice and provitamin A this requires use of genetic engineering technology. Transgenic provitamin A-rice, with the potential to reduce vitamin A-malnutrition substantially, is a scientific reality since 1999. It is available to developing countries, free of charge and limitations, via a humanitarian project. Despite continuous efforts of a Humanitarian Golden Rice Board and Network, to make available to subsistence farmers in developing countries, locally adapted Golden Rice varieties, the project may take further five years until the first seeds will be in the hands of the farmers. Why?
GMO-regulations have reached a state far beyond the capacity of humanitarian or public goods R&D. Despite the fact e.g. that no ecologist has been able to construct any hypothetical ecological risk from Golden Rice to any environment, the project is still awaiting the first permission for field testing in a developing country. Considering the history of any crop variety in use in agriculture (including organic agriculture) it is difficult not to recognize that all these plants - and consequently all our food - is most extensively “genetically modified”, with most severe and “unpredictable genome alterations”. GMO’s are, in comparison, precisely and predictably “genetically engineered”. Despite the fact that it is common scientific knowledge, that there are no unusual inherent risks connected to GMO’s , their use to the benefit of the poor is withheld for ideological reasons and because of “unpredictable genome alterations!”. The example of humanitarian Golden Rice exemplifies that this European attitude is immoral because it leads to unnecessary suffering and death of millions of children.

GMO and risk assessment
Philip J Dale, Professor, John Innes Centre, United Kingdom

Methods of improving crops have been developed over the past century. A range of approaches is now used for different purposes. Over the last 20 years scientists have learned how to isolate genes and gene switches (DNA) from different organisms (microbes, plants and animals). They have also managed to introduce those genes into a range of crop plants. Genetic modification of various kinds has been practiced over many decades, but with this latest development in genetic modification, there is widespread scientific agreement that there should be a more comprehensive risk assessment than has been carried out in earlier, more traditional approaches to crop improvement.
A wide range of questions must be answered in assessing the risks of growing genetically modified crops and other organisms, including: the effect of the introduced gene on the modified organism (GMO), whether it is safe for the GMO or its products to be eaten by people or animals, and whether there are any undesirable effects on the environment etc. It is not possible to make any general judgements about the safety of GMOs compared with similar non-GMOs. Each organism needs to be assessed individually and independent judgements made on the safety of each.

Vision of future biotech applications
Mathias Uhlén, Professor, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

The modern era of biotechnology started in the 70:ies with several technical break-throughs, such as gene cloning, hybridoma technology, DNA sequencing and synthesis. These inventions, of which many were awarded the Nobel prize, led to powerful technologies to develop new products and applications based on biotechnology. The 80:ies saw the first generation of such products on the market and the birth of many biotech companies. In the 90:ies and up to today, a vast amount of applications in many fields have been developed and this has been complemented with an overwhelming expansion of our knowledge-base in bioscience, including the deciphering of the human genome as well as genomes from many other species. At present, approximately 200 genes in average are being published in the public domain every day.
In addition, new technical improvements has been made, for example in fields such as stem cell research, transgenetic research, nanotechnology, microfluidics, systems biology and high-throughput protein research (proteomics) . The challenge for the future of biotechnology is to use the increased knowledge-base and the new technologies to develop useful new products both in medicine and in other areas such as agriculture, forestry and environment. Some possible visions for new applications and future developments will be discussed.

The use of DNA analysis in crime scene investigations
Marie Allen, Associate Professor, Department of Genetics and Pathology, Medical Genetics, Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University, Sweden

DNA analysis has become a widespread and useful tool in criminal investigations during the past decades. Forensic DNA analysis is commonly used to link suspects to a crime scene but it can also be very valuable in individual identification in mass disasters, terrorist attacks, war or missing person cases. Furthermore, familial relationships, as paternity, maternity or relationships over several generations can be investigated.
Although the development in DNA typing technology has been very rapid, further developments are needed to enhance the sensitivity and the throughput in the analysis. Routine forensic DNA analysis is performed using markers varying in length between individuals in the nuclear genome. However, when the DNA amounts are very limited or highly degraded, a DNA analysis might only be possible using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Mitochondrial DNA is maternally inherited and exists in approximately 1000 copies per cell. The multi copy feature of mtDNA makes it particularly useful in forensic investigations when nuclear DNA analysis fails. In this presentation an overview over routine forensic DNA analysis, future technology developments and future perspectives will be given.

Genetic integrity – Introduction to the round table discussion
KG Hammar, Archbishop in the Church of Sweden

My Christian faith gives me a basically positive view on research and technical development. Within God’s creation, the main driving force towards progress is of course God-created human curiosity and the desire to know what lies behind everything. From a Christian perspective the knowledge achieved can be seen as an insight in God’s creation. Science can lead to the development of cures or new treatments of different illnesses and has the possibility to make way for a more effective food production. Our main approach should, I think, be to consider it as an aspect of God’s creation, or as a process within creation.
At the same time the new knowledge also means that we have to accept the responsibility concerning how we allow this information to be used. It can of course be misused, for instance if employers chose their employees based on genetic information or if insurance companies refuse to insure a person based on genetics. It is therefore vital that we assure the integrity of the creation and the dignity of man. This means a demand for an ethical reflection on how the new information should be used. For this reason we need to stimulate a public discussion regarding these issues.