Using basic sciences for national development

Excerpts of the speech delivered by Eric H. Karunanayake, Chairman, National Research Council, Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry, University of Colombo at the Convocation of the University of Colombo.

As proposed in the Mahinda Chintana, and promulgated in the budget of 2007, the President has described the plan for a decade of development. I have no doubt that the President has in his mind the need for science and technology base and its indispensable role in national development.

The National Research Council of Sri Lanka functioning under the direct purview of the President is now planning to commence a national program in basic sciences to successfully train 500 PhDs in ten years.

This proposal was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in October, 2007. If all the scientists presently available in the country and some expatriates who have expressed interest on such a venture join together this target is not beyond our capabilities.

An important aspect of this project is not to only produce 500 PhDs, but these trainee young scientists will be working on scientific problems relevant to this country using the knowledge, tools and methodologies of basic sciences and molecular technologies.

It is also envisaged that even if we achieve only 75 percent success there will be, at the end an enormous capacity building in terms of highly trained manpower in basic sciences, infrastructure development and a culture of multidisciplinary scientific research.

If young Sri Lankan graduates proceeding to USA, Australia achieve excellence in their postgraduate research in an alien environment, there is absolutely no reason why they should not do even better if opportunities are provided within Sri Lanka.

This is the only way available for Sri Lanka to leap frog into global competition in industrial production. A strong science and technology base is the backbone of national development and it is indeed now or never to work towards this target.

There are also many advantages that will accrue as the program continues. Each of these PhD trainees will work on a project of Sri Lankan relevance with potential industrial, agricultural, medical, environmental application.

At the successful completion of his/her PhD program, the infrastructure already established would enable them to continue the work in progress. In contrast, when one carries out PhD training in a foreign country you are invariably working on a project relevant to their industry/agriculture/medicine/environment etc.

Furthermore, when such a trainee returns to Sri Lanka, he/she will be arriving, literally speaking, into a scientific desert with no infrastructure to continue the work.

Some enthusiastic young scientists through their national pride will work hard looking for funds, institutions to commence some work, an oasis in the desert. But soon they realize that their most productive years of life are being wasted running from pillar to post to get things done.

This frustration alone drives them abroad. This was in fact the actual situation about 20 years ago. If same situation still exists, then this country has not progressed during this period.

However, the current trends in the globalisation of every aspect of human life and ever increasing competitiveness, Sri Lanka cannot afford to delay action to commence and advance rapidly towards an effective science and technology base in the country. It is even more relevant in the light of Mahinda Chintana and a decade of national development.

Do we have universities/institutions with satisfactory infrastructure to undertake this program? Bearing in mind, the need for multi-faceted approach, and that all 500 PhDs will not start simultaneously, strengthening the existing universities and research institutions and addition of specialized and project specific facilities will suffice to commence this programme.

There are also few highly advanced Centres of Excellence custom built for postgraduate research already in the country, but under utilized due to lack of funding for recurrent expenditure and maintenance of advance equipment.

For example, at the IBMBB, the institute that I was responsible for establishing, a number of potential PhD students have to be turned away when they asked Positions due to lack of funds to support their studies. It is not due to lack research problems or willing academics to supervise these young graduates.

Rich biological diversity

Sri Lanka is blessed with a rich biological diversity including plants, animals and microbes. The vast treasures of biological diversity in the Sinharaja forest are wellknown.

The advances in basic sciences and molecular technologies provide enormously useful scientific tools for the preservation and exploration of our rich diversity for the betterment of human life. Some species of animals and plants are known to be endangered. We have a moral obligation to preserve these treasures of nature for future generations.

While taking all necessary actions and precautions to protect the endangered species, genetic material of these species can be preserved as total genetic material or gene libraries for future investigations. It is the opportune time to set up a Sri Lankan Endangered Fauna and Flora Genetic Resources Centre.

Some of these animals and plants may be extremely rich in products or potential products to be developed as drugs or for other applications. Unlike many years ago, where large quantities of material were required for scientific studies, the modern techniques do not require more than several 100 grams compared with kilogram quantities used earlier.

Marine resources

Sri Lanka being an island nation, our territorial waters extend beyond 200 nautical miles at least in certain areas around the country. Sea bed is rich with unique fauna and flora. The mineral resources are untapped. As mentioned earlier the newly established faculty of marine sciences at the University of Ruhuna, should initiate strong research programs leading to MSc/Mphil/PhD in marine sciences. I sincerely hope that this faculty also will not ultimately become another faculty producing only graduates.

It has an enormous national responsibility to make a very significant contribution to the President’s decade of development. I am confident that the academics of this new faculty will act with vision and plan to incorporate research components at basic level even into their first degree courses. This faculty also could make use of the resources and expertise available at the National Aquatic Resources Development Agency (NARA), and in fact should work in close collaboration and cooperation with each other.

Traditional rice varieties

Sri Lanka has a large number of traditional rice varieties, some wild and some unique to the country. There is an increase in the international demand for these varieties for various reasons including nutritive and health protective values. The Plant Genetic Resources Centre (PGRC) at Peradeniya has an excellent collection of seeds of all these varieties.

Although some work is in progress at the PGRC, the basic and fundamental research component needs to be strengthened with additional funding and initiation of PhD training programs in collaboration with university academic departments. Basic research on traditional rice varieties is even more relevant today in view of the availability of the rice genome sequence in the public domain. This in fact is a gold mine for Sri Lankan researchers interested in molecular approaches to rice research.

Mosquito-borne diseases

Malaria, filariasis, dengue, and now chikangunya are the major mosquito transmitted diseases affecting the Sri Lankan population. A healthy nation is a primary requirement for national development. When the population is afflicted with these fatal or debilitating diseases, it invariably reduces the productivity and is an added burden on resources available for development.

The role of basic sciences in solving many of the problems associated with these diseases needs no emphasis. Parasitology, Zoology, Entomology, Immunology, Molecular Biology, Genetics, Biochemistry, Health Education, are some of the basic sciences closely linked with scientific research of these diseases. Research in these disciplines on projects planned as PhD training programs are essential for approaches to solve many a problem associated with these diseases.

These studies will serve several goals. It will solve problems with scientific validity, train manpower at PhD level which will sustain research capacity, develop methodologies for vector control programs, understand at basic and molecular level the disease process, vector biology, natural defence mechanisms of the human host, explore our natural resources for discovering potential drug agents and strengthen nation’s capacity both in terms of human resource and infrastructure to meet with sudden epidemics and disasters. In other words these research projects leading to PhD level, will strengthen and develop novel diagnostics, prevention methodologies, vector control methods and identify potential new drug candidates.

It should also be stressed that vast data now available at international data bases on the genetics of these parasites and mosquitoes represent a gold mine for researchers in the developing countries. These data bases are freely accessible via the internet. However, what is required is internet accessibility via broad band since down loading data and other information should not be interrupted.

Plantation sector

Tea, rubber and coconut are still our main foreign exchange earning commodities. Over the last fifty years or so the scientists at Tea Research Institute (TRI), the Rubber Research Institute (RRI) and the Coconut Research Institute (CRI) have carried out excellent research which have been used and applied in the development of these three sectors. One might say that these research and development activities were carried out using conventional methodologies some of which were tedious and time consuming.

The novel technologies in plant molecular sciences provide rapid, more reliable and efficient methodologies for breeding for elite characters such as enhance productivity, enhance resistance to plant pathogens, improvement of flavour and other characters which will increase the value of the finish product in the international market.

In view of ever increasing competition in the world market and globalisation of trade, a developing country like Sri Lanka cannot afford to stay back with conventional technologies while the rest of the world is moving fast with novel techniques.

Although there has been some collaborative research between TRI, RRI and CRI and the universities in the past, there is a need to strengthen and expand these collaborations by undertaking joint PhD training programs.

For example, TRI may set up a formal link with the relevant faculty or the academic department at the University of Peradeniya or with any other university to carry out joint research programs as part of joint PhD training scheme.

Geological sciences

The recent natural disasters, the country has been experiencing demands a concerted effort to undertake research in geological sciences. Here again initiation of research programs in all sciences related to geology, such basic geology, soil sciences, geophysics, geochemistry need not be over emphasised.

The Department of Geology at the University of Peradeniya has several internationally recognised academics. Their expertise will be invaluable to initiate several PhD programmes.

Disaster management also requires highly trained scientists in addition to other resource persons. Experts in geological sciences are also valuable to explore our mineral resources. Sri Lanka Mineral Sands Corporation established several decades ago have been exporting ilmanite to developed countries from which one of the most expensive metals, Titanium is extracted and purified.

Titanium is a component of many parts of aircraft. One may explore the possibility of value addition to ilmanite at least by partial purification locally and this may also reduce the cost of shipping bulk quantities of crude ilmanite. These are areas again requiring research involving PhD training programmes.

The Eppawala rock phosphate deposits, one of the largest in the world, would have been sold some years back if not for strongest objections by the scientific community of Sri Lanka.

Here again is an enormous national asset requiring highly trained scientists to explore the potential of this deposit for further development and fertiliser manufacture at a higher productivity and capacity.

Several scientists working on both at basic science and applied science level of Eppawala Phosphate deposits have already developed very useful technologies which require further refinement and scaling up approaches. This is an area where private sector should make a significant investment.

Incentives, recognition,

Singapore, with absolutely no natural resource, reached its present state of development through investment on high quality scientific research and human resource development in frontier technologies. The scientists who reached international recognition on research conducted in Singapore received substantive cash incentives in terms of quantum jumps in their salaries.

In contrast, in Sri Lanka, there has been no mechanism to reward productive scientists. Even in the universities, the one doing good research and the one doing no research at all gets the same annual increment!.

Few years back, the National Research Council of Sri Lanka initiated a programme of Presidential Cash awards for Sri Lankan scientists who published research papers in the Science Citation Index cited journals.

This scheme was in practice for two years, 2000 and 2001, and with the change government in 2002, this scheme was also halted with no valid reasons. The NRC is hopeful that, with Mahinda Chintana and Decade of Development vision, this scheme of Presidential awards could be renewed.

The earlier mentioned fact that a productive researcher and a non productive researcher receiving the same annual increment needs to be addressed as well.

A university is considered a repository of knowledge and is required to create and disseminate new knowledge. It is therefore incumbent upon all academics to undertake at least some research as part of their academic activities.

In most countries both developed and developing there are various mechanisms employed to ensure this requirement is carried out. One approach is that not more than 50 percent of academic cadre posts are filled at permanent level. The balance 50 percent is on contract basis or hire and fire basis. Almost all academic positions are filled by those having a PhD and publications in refereed journals.

Challenges

The last five decades of the 20th century, witnessed an unprecedented advances in sciences, both in physical and biological sciences. Some of the landmark discoveries/developments included the laser technology, advances in communication technology, computer science, information technology, elucidation of the structure of DNA, the cracking of the genetic code, the development of

gene technology, the polymerase chain reaction and culmination with the deciphering of 3.2 billion chemical characters of the human genome, the blueprint of life. These advances undoubtedly will have unpredictable, unimaginable and unprecedented impact on the quality of human life.

The completion of the human genome project provided strong scientific evidence that all human beings, are 99.9. percent identical, and that we all originated from Africa.

Rapid progress in genome science and a glimpse into its potential applications have spurred observers to predict that biology will be the foremost science of the 21st century.

Technology and resources generated by the Human Genome Project and other genomic research already are having major impacts across the life sciences. If one examines the current scientific literature you will come across a gamet of terminologies such as Molecular Medicine, Microbial Genomics, DNA identification, Bioarchaeology, Anthropology, Bioprocessing, Biotechnology, Nanomedicine to mention a few. At the same time the scientists have not overlooked their social responsibilities. The study of Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) of the human genome project is one classic example how scientists consider their social responsibilities.

In fact 10% of the estimated budget for the human genome project was allocated for the ELSI project by Jim Watson. It is now predicted that by the 2020, the technology will be available to sequence the genome of any individual at a cost of about US$ 1000. This will be in a small chip which your physician will plug on to his computer during diagnosis of disease. This will enable the physician to resort to, what is now predicted as individualised treatment.

This development is a direct outcome of the deciphering the blueprint of life, a mega basic science project. As mentioned earlier although all human beings are 99.9 percent identical in terms of the blueprint, yet there are differences, and these differences are becoming useful both in the diagnosis and treatment. These are the challenges of the 21st century.

The availability of the sequence of individual blueprints also raises ethical issues. For example it can predict that an individual is more likely to get diabetes or heart diseases later on in life. This information might be used by the insurance companies to charge higher premium for life insurance policies. Should this information be made available to them?

Despite these unprecedented science and technological advances, according to Ismail Serageldin, a former Vice President of the World Bank, currently, 1.2 billion people live on less than a dollar a day, 1 billion people do not have access to clean water, more than 2 billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation, more than 700 million people, mostly women and children suffer from air pollution due to bio-mass stoves equivalent to smoking three packets of cigarettes per day, some 40, 000 people die from hunger-related causes every day, 2500 million (40% of the global population) people are at risk of Malaria and 1100 million people are at risk of cutaneous and lymphatic filariasis.

In stark contrast to this human suffering, top 20% of the world’s population consumes 85% of the world’s income, the remaining 80% live on 15% with the bottom 20% living on 1.3% of the world’s income. More alarming, the three richest persons on the planet have more wealth than the combined GDP of the 47 poorest countries. Where are the human rights, respect for human dignity, global social justice and equitable sharing of the resources of the planet.

These are the challenges of science and technology in the 21st century.

They are our challenges. Challenges that have to be met with determination, commitment and dedication. The knowledge we have gathered must be first put to the development of our land of birth.

We have the potential. Let us not run away from national challenges seeking greener pastures.

Winston Churchill, the Second World War time Prime Minister of Britain addressing the nation had said “ask not what England can do for you, but ask what you can do for England.”

We have to answer the same question today, only replace the word England with Sri Lanka, for If we are to build this nation with prosperity and peace and meet with technological challenges of the 21st century, ours will indeed be a paradise on earth.