'Future lies in biotech'

Though the recession has cast a dark shadow over the global economy, hope lies in the form of biotech research. At least this is what Nobel laureate Richard J Roberts has to say on the matter.

The intellectual, who flew down to the city to open a plenary session at the 9th Bangalore Bio 2009 conference on Friday, said, “Opt for biotech research if you want to be a Nobel laureate because it is still an unexplored field. Recession is the right time for this because there are no competitors. The early bird always gets the worm.”

“We still know very little about biology and the mechanisms of life. So this provides us with a huge opportunity to focus on areas that humanity needs most. Far from being a negative factor, the recession has provided us with an opportunity to plan and consolidate better,” Roberts said.

For Roberts, who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovery of introns in eukaryotic DNA and the mechanism of gene-splicing in 1993, the mantra for success lay in being small in every way possible. “The advantage of being small is that you can control the show, and follow your instinct without thinking about investors,” he said.

Roberts said the key thrust areas where the biotech industry can catch up are genetically-modified food, bio-energy, stem cell research, synthetic biology and personalised medicine.

Other fields to look out for
Stem cell research has a huge potential because adult cells can  either be reprogrammed or used for transplants without the fear of the body rejecting it, Roberts said. 

Research in personalised medicine is still at an early stage, he said, but added that the model faces too many financial hurdles at this point of time.

Roberts also painted a bright picture on the future of synthetic biology. “Soon, there will be an explosion of knowledge and products in this field,” the Nobel laureate said.