Gene: Hidden Treasury or Pandora's Box

In 2002, scientists from around the world have succeeded in mapping the genomes of mouse, rice, malaria parasite and the mosquito Anopheles gambiae.

The map of the mouse genome will help scientists study human health and disease because human beings and mice have similar-sized genomes and many of the same genes.

The deciphering of rice genes is expected to facilitate the production of higher-yielding varieties to alleviate world hunger. It will also provide researchers with a road map for other crops with more complex genomes, such as corn and wheat.

The gene mapping of malaria parasite and Anopheles gambiae, a mosquito that spreads malaria to millions of people with its bloodsucking bite, gives medical science new weapons to eliminate the deadly disease that kills almost 3 million people a year.

With these achievements, scientists will proceed their studies from genome to the functions of gene and protein.

However, the rapid progress in the study of life sciences has aroused serious concerns and heated debates over possible risks and the ethical dilemma that come up with the technological breakthroughs.

The Edinburgh-based Roslin Institute announced in January that Dolly, the world's first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult cell, has developed arthritis at the relatively early age of five and a half.

Dolly's problem raised new doubts about cloning animals for use in human transplantation and cloning human beings themselves. Some experts have warned that cloning bears unexpected risks and should be immediately suspended.

Gene therapy studies also ran into some problems. French scientists announced in October that a French boy, who has received gene therapy to treat the rare immune disorder dubbed "bubble boy disease" has developed a leukemia-like side effect.

Although it is unclear if the gene therapy actually caused the side effect, researchers in France, the United States and Japan have suspended the practice.

The much-hyped stem cell research is the most controversial issue of life sciences this year. Stem cells are created in the first days of pregnancy and will grow into the human body. Scientists hope that they can use stem cells to produce replacement organs and tissues to treat a wide range of diseases.

However, researchers can only obtain stem cells by destroying days-old embryos, which is strongly condemned by religious groups, anti-abortion activists and other organizations. Many people also fear that stem cells will be used to clone human beings.

Although US President George W. Bush has banned federal funding of new embryonic stem cell programs, some American researchers insist on continuing the research with private funding.

Nanotechnology and Basic Science Research Make Big Strides Forward

Nanotechnology, the fast-advancing science of manipulating materials at the molecular scale, has been listed by many countries as one of the top science initiatives, and some remarkable achievements have been made in this field.

Researchers have successfully used carbon nanotube molecules as a substitute for silicon in transistors, and they have also developed tiny transistors the size of a single molecule.

Japan is a world leader in nanotechnology researches. It is reported that some 271 Japanese enterprises are devoted to developing nanotechnology and 99 of them -- all big companies -- have a combined investment of US$270 million in the field in 2002, up about 50 percent from the previous year and expected to rise by 24 percent in 2003.

The United States also attaches great importance to the development of nanotechnology. Its budget for developing nanotechnology in next fiscal year has increased 14 percent compared with the current one.

Some breakthroughs have also been made in basic science research. By using laser light, physicists are now able to take pictures in times measured in attoseconds -- billionths of a billionth of a second. This new technology can be exploited to study the inner workings of the atom.

European scientists have for the first time succeeded in producing antihydrogen, which consists of a positron orbiting an antiproton. Such an achievement is hailed as a milestone in antimatter science.

Antimatter is the mirror image of conventional matter with opposite properties, and it will be destroyed whenever it collides with matter, turning both into bursts of electromagnetic radiation. Scientists believe this process was crucial to the creation of the universe billions of years ago.

US scientists have detected tiny variations in the cosmic microwave background, the radiation that has traveled to Earth over almost 14 billion years. This significant discovery will shed new light on the birth of the universe.

The cosmic microwave background is a record of the first photons that escaped from the rapidly cooling and coalescing universe about 300,000 years after the explosion known as the Big Bang, which is commonly believed to have given birth to the universe.

Japan and India Reap Dividends in Various Fields

Japan and India's efforts to advance scientific and technological researches have borne abundant fruits in various fields in 2002.

Japanese scientists have developed the Earth Simulator, the fastest supercomputer in the world. It runs 35.6 trillion calculations per second and is almost five times faster than the next best one.

Researches on quantum cryptography and quantum computer are also developing rapidly in Japan. Japanese researchers announced in November that they have transmitted keys encrypted by quantum cryptography over a record distance of 87 kilometers.

The quantum cryptography can significantly improve the security of communication because the encrypted keys are transmitted as photons of light along optical fibers. If a key has been intercepted and read, the state of the photon will change and the recipient will know that it has been intercepted.

Japan have also demonstrated its outstanding strength in basic science studies with the winning of two Nobel prizes.

Koichi Tanaka of Japan, with John Fenn of the United States and Switzerland’s Kurt Wuethrich, won the Chemistry Nobel Prize for developing analytical tools to study large molecules such as proteins, which could lead to drugs to treat diseases.

The physics prize went to Raymond Davis and Riccardo Giacconi of the United States and Masatoshi Koshiba of Japan for the detection of cosmic neutrinos and the discovery of cosmic X-ray sources.

Although the global IT industry is mired in recession, India's software industry has developed rapidly in fiscal year 2001 with a total output value of US$10.1 billion, an increase of 22 percent compared with the previous fiscal year.

India's software exports also went up 29 percent to US$7.68 billion in fiscal year 2001. India's National Association of Software Service Companies predicted that the software export in fiscal year 2002 would surge about 30 percent to US$10 billion.

Government Support: Driving Force Behind Advances in Science and Technology

While some of the setbacks in scientific and technological researches in 2002 were consequent upon the limitations of human knowledge, the lack of dynamism for the world economy and the aftershocks of last year's Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States have in some way slowed down the development of science and technology.

Many countries' space programs have been impeded for lack of funds. Japan cut its budget for space programs, and the European Space Agency canceled some of its space probe programs.

Funding shortages have also hampered the construction of the 16-nation International Space Station (ISS).

After dumping its Mir space station in March 2001, the Russian space agency concentrated its meager resources on the ISS, but the money was still far from enough. Russian space officials warned that they just got less than half of the funding needed to meet Russia's commitments under the ISS project next year.

Japan and Brazil also said they would postpone or even drop some of their commitments to the construction of the ISS.

In spite of the setbacks and difficulties, many governments remain steadfast in offering support for the development of science and technology, convinced of the benefit that will provide impetus to economic revival, sustainable development and improvement of overall national strength.

Germany adopted a national strategy of sustainable development, which was considered crucial for the country in keeping its competitive edge in the future.

Under sustainable energy programs, Germany's electricity generated by wind power accounted for 3.5 percent of its total electric power production in 2002.

The South Korean government sees the information industry as a major pillar for boosting its economic development. The government has spent US$9 billion on developing broadband Internet since 1998. By October 2002, more than 10 million South Koreans, about one fifth of the total population, had got access to the information highway.

Learning from some Western countries, Russia has tried to make the best use of risk investment to achieve technological advances.

Russia's Ministry of Industry, Science and Technology has decided to establish the first venture fund for technological innovation in cooperation with some private investors. It is planned that nine venture funds for technological innovation will be set up in Russia in two years.

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2002)