A blog about genetics, a blog about life science, a blog about biotech, a blog about how living organisms are used for our own good and for our own wealth.

Also a blog about the decision making process: policies and regulations that underlie, control and foster the application of those technologies in our society.

What do I want to do with this blog? I want to explore how biotechnologies are used in Europe: who applies them, how are they regulated and by whom. Who is part of the decision making process and who has been left out? What are the European policies and plans about those technologies? How biotechnologies have impacted our society in the past? What can we learn for the future?

Life science and genetic technologies

Also known as biotechnologies. And when I talk about them, I mean it in the broad sense. I would place in this category any process that uses living organism as a technology for production goods or for profit.

From beer and wine fermented by yeasts, to plants that have been bred first by chance and then methodically to feed us and to cure us, to animals that have been also bred with similar purposes, starting from traditional methods, all the way to modern molecular precision breeding.

From the use of microorganism to produce antibiotics, to their genetic engineering to produce more molecules, to plan and construction of a fully synthetic organism. That can be used to fertilize fields, as a source of nutraceutics, for waste disposal.

From randomly mutagenized crops to genome editing of animals to genome editing in humans to cure genetic diseases and (maybe?) more.

All of this, to me constitutes a life science or a genetic technology.

An impact on society?

Essential resources come from biotechnological and genetic processes:

• The food that we eat comes form plants and animals that are bred on extensive genetic basis, and it is grown and treated and processed based on extensive biological knowledge.
• Industrial processing and transformations of common consumer goods employs often enzymes, and biotechnological products.
• Our pharmaceutical industry depends on many levels knowledge of the life science and on biotechnological processes for diagnostics, development, testing and mass production of pharmaceuticals.

And much more, our knowledge of genetics and our capability to manipulate it is growing fast. And so are the goods that depend by it.

Meaning that biotechnological processes are common resources, and access to their products can influence the well being and the health of our society.

Also, the work and the independence of many people depend on it. This is why everybody should be granted full access to these technologies. This is also why everybody should be welcome to participate to the public debate about them and about the politics and the regulations that control them.

My position

I try to stay neutral. Technologies are powerful, and as the wise Stan Lee says (^_~), with a great power, comes a great responsibility. Biotechnologies can bring great good, but also cause great harm, especially to the most vulnerable parts of society, if someone is excluded from the decision making process, if someone excluded from the benefits, if this technology is forced by someone in charged upon others.

Even in the best cases, technologies that have been applied with the best intentions might have caused great harm to groups of people and parts of societies.

To gain from technological research and development, we need need proper policies and we need dialogue. More then ever in a complicated confederation such as Europe, with the intrinsic diversity of member states and its stratified decision and policy making process.

Feedback

I have background. I have degrees in biotech, I have a PhD, I worked on genetics, genomics and genetic engineering. But regarding what I want to do with this blog, everything is new to me. When it comes to exploring policies, exploring the work of regulatory bodies, exploring the impact of technologies on people and on societies - and how policy making controls that impact, when it comes to this, it’s all new to me. I’ll learn by doing, while trying to provide you always the best quality information and resources.

In the first posts, in the first year, I will adjust my target, my main topics and my style. I’ll learn how to communicate effectively, clearly and consistently, It will take me some time and some “trial and error”, you can partner me in this process.

You can give me feedback, send me your opinions, your corrections, your questions and your critics. Anything is welcome. For now you can write to me publicly on Twitter or also by private message if you prefer.

Sunday blues

One post every Sunday, to tend to your blues, to tend to our blues.