Recently, Flow PR client the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA), along with the National Research Foundation and the National Science and Technology Forum, held a Critical Thinkers Forum on the human genome.
Genome research holds enormous promise for understanding and curing disease, but South Africa has been slow to enter the field. The Southern African Human Genome Project was launched in January 2011, and aims to sequence the DNA of our diverse population.
The forum covered such vital issues as the delay in promulgating legislation to govern genome research and the use of DNA as forensic evidence, as well as ethics, privacy, intellectual property rights, religious concerns and the sensitivity around genetic discrimination. Clarity and consensus on these issues is vital to enable our scientists to move forward and contribute to global research, paving the way for a disease-free future.
In order to give those unable to attend the forum a better background to the critical issues surrounding biotechnology in this country, as well as a greater understanding of the practical applications of scientific research, Flow PR worked with SAASTA to produce a series of videos outlining the burning questions around the issue.
If you would like to know more about the Human Genome Project and what it means for South Africa and her people, follow these links:
- Introduction to the Critical Thinkers Forum on the human genome
- Why is the Human Genome Project so important to South Africa?
- What is the legal framework that surrounds human genome research in South Africa?
- What are the benefits to society of the Human Genome Project?
- What are the religious and ethical opinions on human genome research?