Where has all the research gone?
Over a 1000 presentations and publications on research output by our scientists are made every year. These include presentations at annual research sessions of the universities, government institutes, research institutes, publications in local and international journals and at workshops and training programmes. More than one thousand every year! Some of these presentations have won awards at the respective sessions and some even international awards.
Most, if not all, are collaborative research, both local and international. Now, what has happened to this research? Have they ended up as theses, journal articles or as proceedings of workshops, training programmes and seminars? All of this is in the public domain. Just a glance at the research output during the recent past provides a myriad of very interesting work.
In biotechnology alone, research in the area of medical biotechnology included work on species specific anti-venom against Sri Lanka snakes, therapy for kaneru poisoning, cancer biology, molecular markers for comparative genomics, diagnostic probes for detection of filariasis, rapid detection of Salmonella in coconut, molecular diagnostics for dengue and typhoid, immunodiagnostic assay for malaria, sequence variation in a gene related to breast cancer, control of Culex, genetic diversity of P. vivax, isolation of anti-cancer agents, molecular markers for P. falciparum infections, Listeria monocytogenes in milk and milk products, dengue virus serotypes, recombinant proteins as diagnostic intermediates for chickengunya, dengue and leptospirosis……………and much more.
Research in agricultural biotechnology included molecular characterization of rice, aspergillus, cinnamum, munronia, nelli and garcenia, gene isolation in rice, molecular pathology of banana, tomato and rice, micropropagation of woody and floral species, secondary metabolite production, molecular breeding of tomato, marker assisted breeding for abiotic stress tolerance, genetic differentiation of fishes and mangroves, biological control of soil-borne pathogens, phylogeny of fresh-water fish and crustaceans, starch properties of tuber crops, ex-situ conservation of medicinal plants, transgenic rice production, micropropagation of philodendron, biocontrol of tea mites, virus detection in citrus, biofertilizer for tea, in-vitro propagation of carnations, sweet orange, molecular markers for salt tolerant genes in rice, genetic diversity of chicken and jungle fowl, molecular identification of pathogens in shrimps, biomarkers for tilapia, anti-bacterial action of marine algae, analysis of milk proteins, molecular characterization of Jaffna sheep, detection of a fungus in coconut fibre, biocontrol of cabbage aphids and anthracnose in rambuttan, anti-oxidant activity of beli flower extracts, screening for GM food, in-vitro shoot multiplication of cashew, bioremediation of rubber latex, genetic purity of pineapples, detection of anthurium blight, molecular detection of herpes virus in carp. Is this all? Oh no, much more……..antimicrobial properties of bryophytes, molecular markers in papaya and jak fruit, genetic diversity of giant bamboo, in-vitro studies of leafy vegetables and medicinal plants, genetic diversity of green turtles, characterization of goat and sheep parasites and human filarial parasite, isolation of rock phosphate-solubilizing bacteria, identification of drought tolerant rice varieties, control of tomato bacterial wilt, typing of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in rice, molecular identification of exotic, domestic and wild swine meat, construction of expression vector cassettes containing genes for wheat proteins…..and many more.
This is just a glance at the treasure trove of scientific research in the area of biotechnology only. Every national problem seems to be looked at. Now we know exactly who is doing what and where. We know those who have ‘hands on’ experience in various areas of research, including the use of modern technology. We know where this technology is available. Just a glance shows that we have well accomplished scientists in this country capable of solving the nation’s problems. We do not need foreign experts/consultants but we need to encourage foreign partnerships in research. We need to support our scientists by assisting them to carry out their research with minimum bureaucratic delays, identified laboratories need to be upgraded and accredited and institutes developed into ‘Centres of Excellence’. Scientists should be given opportunities to spend short periods in advanced laboratories abroad and facilitate the exchange of scientists and students on a regular basis.
By the way, WHO should take this responsibility? Perhaps the National Science Foundation (NSF) and/or the recently established Coordinating Secretariat for Technology Innovation (COSTI) should take the lead before many more thousands of research output enters the treasure trove. Extensive coverage of research output through ‘data mining’ can establish a database that can be upgraded annually, from which small teams of experts for different areas of research of national importance can be formed and supported to carry out ‘targeted’ research such as for production of biopesticides, biofertilizer, human and animal vaccines etc. so that research output can contribute significantly to the GDP of the country and thereby provide a healthy and comfortable life for our people. Once NSF/COSTI takes the responsibility, the private sector and other funding agencies will not hesitate to support such programmes financially and/or otherwise.
Let us begin now and move on before another thousand research presentations and publications are made by the end of this year and forgotten.
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