I am Nissi Emma Adamah born to missionary parents who have dedicated their lives to the christian service across french-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa for over two decades. I have experienced first hand the true definition of a life of sacrifice and altruistic service, which is the basis for my commitment to. . . . .
I am Nissi Emma Adamah born to missionary parents who have dedicated their lives to the christian service across french-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa for over two decades. I have experienced first hand the true definition of a life of sacrifice and altruistic service, which is the basis for my commitment to enhance biotechnology research in view of improving the health and living conditions of humanity. I am burdened with the need to develop improved varieties of plants and animals to meet up with the demands of the growing population as well as make available genetically modified plant and animal produce to less privileged societies at reduced costs. The purpose of this campaign is to raise support in order to begin undergraduate studies in Biotechnology in China.
Vision: Following the economic boom brought about by the discovery of energy from fossil fuels, our environment has enormously been degraded. Human activities over a long period have damaged the ecosystem and as a result have had negative effects on general health and wellbeing.
My interest in the field of Biotechnology, in a general sense, aims at preserving life as we know it, including species which are dying out rapidly. Techniques employed in Biotechnology will be used to develop clean and eco-friendly energy sources as well as provide improved health care at reduced costs to less privileged communities.
Together we can drive the "BIOTECHNOLOGY CAN IMPROVE LIFE" initiative.
I am Nissi Emma Adamah born to missionary parents who have dedicated their lives to the christian service across french-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa for over two decades. I have experienced first hand the true definition of a life of sacrifice and altruistic service, which is the basis for my commitment to enhance biotechnology research in view of improving the health and living conditions of humanity. I am burdened with the need to develop improved varieties of plants and animals to meet up with the demands of the growing population as well as make available genetically modified plant and animal produce to less privileged societies at reduced costs. The purpose of this campaign is to raise support in order to begin undergraduate studies in Biotechnology in China.
Vision: Following the economic boom brought about by the discovery of energy from fossil fuels, our environment has enormously been degraded. Human activities over a long period have damaged the ecosystem and as a result have had negative effects on general health and wellbeing.
My interest in the field of Biotechnology, in a general sense, aims at preserving life as we know it, including species which are dying out rapidly. Techniques employed in Biotechnology will be used to develop clean and eco-friendly energy sources as well as provide improved health care at reduced costs to less privileged communities.
Together we can drive the "BIOTECHNOLOGY CAN IMPROVE LIFE" initiative.
Our environment is rapidly changing as human activities have gradually degraded the ecosystem, a fact a large number of people are still oblivious to. The impact of this unreasonable and ill thought out activities, no matter how much of economic importance are sabotaging the cumulative efforts of health specialists around the world to improve the health conditions of several communities.
I believe Biotechnology techniques will meet the ever increasing energy demands of societies while respecting ecological rules. I know there are unexplored renewable energy initiatives embeded in the study of Biotechnology.
The future breakthroughs in drug development and therapeutics are largely linked to Biotechnology research and genetic engineering.
We can restore purity to the ecosystem, improve health standards of communities and boost economic diversity around the world.
More updates coming on how human activities are affecting adversely our ecosystem and efforts to mitigate the negative effects of these activities.
Experts on the World
Economic Forum’s Council on Biotechnology have selected 10 developments
which they believe could help not only meet the rapidly growing demand
for energy, food and healthcare, but also increase productivity and
create new jobs, should issues such as regulatory certainty, public
perception and investment be tackled successfully. In this blog post,
the council members make their case for each of these technologies and
highlight their potential benefits:
1. Bioproduction of sustainable chemicals, energy and other materials
Over the past 100 years, humans have depleted about half the world’s
known reserves of fossil fuels. These reserves, which took more than 600
million years to accumulate, are non-renewable, and their extraction,
refining and burning are a major cause of greenhouse gases and the
warming of the planet. One of the most promising hopes in the
sustainability field is artificial biosynthesis, a process whereby
living organisms, such as bacteria, fungus or plants, are used to create
fuels, chemicals and other materials.
2. Genetically modified crops to increase sustainable food production
The continuing increase in our numbers and affluence are posing
growing challenges to the ability of humanity to produce adequate food
and animal feed, as well as meet the new demands for biofuel. Although
controversial, genetic modification of crops can help to solve this
problem. The evidence shows that, in places where they are allowed,
modern GM crops are contributing to the growth of agricultural
productivity. In 2011, for instance, 16.7 million farmers grew biotech
crops on almost 400 million acres in 29 countries, including 19
developing countries. Existing GM commodity crops also contribute to
crop sustainability by permitting the use of less pesticide and
decreasing the need for erosion-promoting tillage. Such crops also
contribute to human and animal welfare by increasing farm productivity
and reducing fungal contamination of grain.
3. Seawater bioprocesses to produce fuel and chemicals
More than 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by seawater, and it
is the most abundant water source available on the planet, but we are
only starting to tap its potential. For instance, new bioprocesses can
turn some types of seaweed grown in the oceans into biofuels,
potentially providing an energy solution to countries that lack arable
land and access to freshwater. Additionally, bacteria and microalgae
that live and grow in seawater can be engineered to grow more
efficiently and be used to produce chemicals, fuels and polymeric
materials.
4. Zero-waste bio-processing
Environmentalists have long dreamed of a zero-waste society and new
bio-processing techniques could help to make this a reality.
Biorefineries – facilities that integrate biomass conversion processes
and equipment to produce fuel, power, heat and value-added chemicals
from biomass – can turn industrial waste streams into chemicals and
fuels, thereby closing the production loop. Recent advances include
using less-costly inputs in the bio-process, such as carbon dioxide,
methane and waste heat. Other advances are also simplifying the waste
streams, reducing their toxicity and moving society closer to the goal
of zero waste.
5. Carbon dioxide as a raw material
Carbon dioxide and other carbon molecules are seen as a culprit in
global warming, and the environmental consequences of more of these
compounds entering the atmosphere is becoming increasingly clear. Recent
advances are rapidly increasing our understanding of how living
organisms consume and use carbon dioxide. By harnessing the power of
these natural biological systems, scientists are engineering a new wave
of approaches to convert waste carbon dioxide and other molecules into
energy, fuel, chemicals, and materials that may help the world meet its
needs.
6. Regenerative medicine to create new organs
Many societies that are grappling with the challenge of a rapidly
ageing population are increasing the demand for regenerative medicine,
which holds the promise of growing tissue and organs in the laboratory
and allows surgeons to safely implant them when the body is unable to
heal itself. Traffic accidents and war amputations are also spurring
interest in the field. Scientists are already able to engineer tissue
using various biomaterials, and believe that stem cells, especially ones
called induced pluripotent stem cells (adult cells that have been
genetically reprogrammed to an embryonic stem cell-like state) provide
another significant opportunity in this field.
7. Rapid and precise development and manufacturing of medicine and vaccines
The ability of therapeutics and vaccines to treat and prevent
diseases has been well documented. Biotechnology has been central to
these advances, progressively offering the ability to make more
complicated medicines and vaccines, opening up the treatment and
prevention of a broader set of diseases. The leading edge of
biotechnology is now offering the potential to rapidly produce
therapeutics and vaccines against virtually any target. These
technologies – including messenger therapeutics to stimulate the body’s
natural ability to produce therapeutic proteins; targeted
immunotherapies to boost or restore the ability of the immune system to
fight diseases by targeting specific cells; conjugated nanoparticles,
which combine antibodies and nanoparticles – have already produced
potential treatments with substantial promise to improve human health
globally.
8. Accurate, fast, cheap, and personalized diagnostics and prognostics
One of the most real and serious threats to the human race is a
potential global pandemic. Biotechnology has the potential to provide
the platforms needed for rapid identification of biological threats,
development of potential cures and global manufacturing of the
solutions. Identification of better targets and combined use of
nanotechnology and information technology are making it possible to
develop rapid, accurate, personalized and inexpensive diagnostics and
prognostics systems.
9. Biotech improvements to soil and water
Arable land and fresh water are two of our most important, yet
limited, resources. Sustained abuse and misappropriation have threatened
these resources, much as the demand on them has increased. Advances in
biotechnology have already yielded technologies that are beginning to
restore the vitality and viability of these resources. A new generation
of developing technologies, such as bioremediation to use microbial
metabolism to remove pollutants, bioregeneration to renew or restore
life-supporting resources using biological processes, and
bioaugmentation to introduce a group of natural microbial strains or a
genetically engineered variant to treat contaminated soil or water,
offers great promise to not only further restore these resources but
also to augment their potential.
10. Advanced healthcare through genome sequencing
It took more than 13 years and US$1.5 billion to sequence the first
human genome and determine the precise order of the building blocks in
our genetic information. Today, we can sequence a complete human genome
in a single day for less than US$1,000. When we analyse in such a
sequence the roughly 3 billion base pairs, which are the building blocks
of the genome, we find that we differ from each other in several
million of these base pairs. In the vast majority of cases these
differences do not cause any issues, but in rare cases they cause
disease or susceptibility to disease. New research and medicine will
increasingly be driven by our understanding of such genetic variations
and their consequences.
Our environment is rapidly changing as human activities have gradually degraded the ecosystem, a fact a large number of people are still oblivious to. The impact of this unreasonable and ill thought out activities, no matter how much of economic impo…
How could biotechnology improve your life?
25 Feb 2013Experts on the World
Economic Forum’s Council on Biotechnology have selected 10 developments
which they believe could help not only meet the rapidly growing demand
f…