zeiadmoussa's blog

The UK-based medical charity the Wellcome Trust announced last week (11 April) that it would give £20 million (nearly US$40 million) towards training scientists in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This funding will benefit some of the least resourced scientists on the continent, Jimmy Whitworth, the Wellcome Trust's head of international activities, told SciDev.Net.

"Sub-Saharan Africa has 11 per cent of the world's population. It has 25 per cent of the global disease burden. Yet it only has one per cent of the resources being spent on health and research. So we're doing something to try and rebalance that."

The focus will be on assisting young researchers who are completing or have recently completed their PhDs. They will receive training, for example in writing research proposals and how to structure and organise research.

"These researchers are starting to take their first steps towards actually leading and developing research. That's where they need a lot of help and support," said Whitworth.

The aim of the funding is to build up a pool of local researchers capable and sufficiently equipped to tackle critical problems in their countries, such as malaria and HIV. By funding training and support, the trust hopes to encourage talented researchers to stay and work in Africa.

"[These researchers] need mentors and sufficiently equipped institutions that allow them to do the work they want to do. They have to be treated as internationally competitive scientists and paid internationally competitive salaries," said Whitworth.

The one-off funding has been awarded to four projects. Malaria will be a critical focus, with £7 million (around US$14 million) being awarded to Brian Greenwood from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

Greenwood told SciDev.Net that the programme would support and train the next generation of African malaria scientists, in partnership with the University of Copenhagen, the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, and LSHTM.

Almost £9 million (around US$18 million) has been awarded to the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, to train researchers working with endemic diseases to run clinical trials and strengthen social science research.

Robert Wilkinson, a professor at the University of Cape Town, has received £3 million (around US$6 million) to train tuberculosis researchers, and Uganda will also receive assistance through a project led by Alison Elliot from LSHTM, who will train researchers in immunology.
More details present in this URL http://www.scidev.net/en/news/us-40-million-funding-boost-for-af...

You are invited to join the discussion on
"Biological control of brown rot disease of potato"
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/brd-potato

Please forward this invitation to your friends.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

TITLE: E-Seminar in "Biological control of brown rot disease of potato"

DATE: 15 - 30 May 2008

ONLINE VENUE: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/brd-potato

E-MAIL PARTICIPATION:
send a blank e-mail to:
brd-potato-subscribe @ yahoogroups.com

DISCUSSION PAPER: "Biological control of brown rot disease of potato" by Dr. Zeiad Moussa (Bacterial diseases Research Department, Plant Pathology Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt).
Available at: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/brd-potato/files/ (316 KB)

SUMMARY
The purpose of this seminar is to explain the biological control concept and brown rot disease of potato and different means of biological control of this disease and other diseases.

The brown rot disease of potato is worldwide disease that causes loss of potato production. This seminar shows the symptoms of this disease in above and under ground parts of potato plants. Also, it indicates the ways of infection. The causal pathogen is a gram-negative bacterium called Ralstonia solanacearum.

This seminar reveals the two strains of this bacterial pathogen, its races, biovars and its classification. The epidemiology of this disease is discussed.

The biological control of this disease is discussed in this seminar. The use of different bio agents (phages actinomycetes, essential oil, basidiomycetes, Organic amendments and plant residues) against R. solanacearum and other plant pathogens is discussed in this seminar.
The internet discussion welcomes participants to join the forum on a very wide range of methods in biological control of the disease. The background paper provides a review of methods through manipulation of the environment, host or use of antagonists, biological substances.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Major Research Experience:
1. Isolation, characterization and identification of bacteriophages.
2. Isolation and identification of bacterial plant pathogens.
3. Isolation, identification and study of actinomycetes.
4. Investigate the effect of oils and plant extracts on bacterial plant pathogens.
5. Investigate the effect of plant straw as bio-fertilizers and anti-microbial agents.
6. Use of the RAPD-PCR technique to fingerprint of bacteria.
7. Study the effect of bio-agent against plant pathogens under greenhouse and field conditions.
8. Study the effect of bio-agent against plant pathogens under greenhouse and field conditions.
9. Use of plant wastes as antimicrobial and fertilizers substances.
Author is a member in many scientific societies.

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM
INTERNATIONAL ORG FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
http://www.iobborg.net

To signoff/leave/unsubscribe this group, send email to :
iobb-news-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
View earlier announcements at
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/iobb-news

The European Commission has adopted a Recommendation on the management of intellectual property (IP) in the knowledge transfer activities of universities and other public research organisations. In doing so, the Commission reaffirms its commitment to the Lisbon Strategy: to transform the EU into the world's most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy.

The specific objectives of the Recommendation are to assist Member States in the development of policies and guidelines in the area of intellectual property management and knowledge transfer activities and to promote the exploitation of publicly-funded research results.

In many cases this will entail public research organisations (PROs) and private enterprise working more closely together, for example in academia-industry collaborations. Further cooperation is also needed to help promote open innovation, which allows for the transfer of knowledge between organisations with the objective that it be fully exploited and brought to market.

Commenting on the recommendation, Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik said: 'We also need to become better in turning research results into commercially or socially successful innovations. Proper management by public research organisations of their intellectual property is crucial for transferring knowledge to business, for licensing new technologies or creating spin-off companies. Doing this at a European scale brings new opportunities. We cannot afford to let valuable inventions lie idle in laboratories or on bookshelves.'

The adoption of this resolution is timely as it follows the release of a number of statistical reports, such as the European Innovation Trendchart, which show that while Europe leads other countries such as the US in the number of science and engineering graduates, it still lags behind the US in terms of innovation. What is needed is a way to harness Europe's academic potential and apply it in a manner that will benefit the EU in terms of job creation and market innovation. This is precisely what this Recommendation aims to achieve.

The Commission is quick to allay fears that directing public research organisations (PROs) towards IP management and knowledge transfer will in some way conflict with their education and research missions. Instead, the Commission contends, the Recommendation will support PROs' goal of generating socio-economic benefits for society. It may even become a key element in attracting students, scientists and further research funding, in particular from the private sector and at international level.

The Recommendation also outlines a Code of Practice which Member States and academic institutions could use as a basis for introducing or adapting national guidelines and legislation concerning the management of intellectual property or knowledge transfer.

The Code of Practice consists of three main sets of principles; principles for an internal intellectual property policy; principles for a knowledge transfer policy; and principles for collaborative and contract research.

Also commenting on the recommendation was Commission Vice-President and Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry Günter Verheugen, who said: 'European universities and other public research organisations need to engage more actively in the exploitation of publicly funded research results. It's necessary in order to stimulate innovation and maximise the benefits of publicly funded research, so we can turn scientific research into new products and services, which will create new industries and jobs.'

More details indicated in the nexxt URL http://cordis.europa.eu/search/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.documen...

The European Commission has announced that it would like to make 2009 the European Year of Creativity and Innovation.

Europe is striving to become the world's leading knowledge-based economy by 2010. It is widely agreed that to reach this target will require encouraging people to develop skills in a number of areas that are key to building a knowledge-orientated society.

One of these areas is education and the specific subjects of mathematics, science, information and other technologies. The Year will therefore concentrate on helping people develop better skills in problem-solving and applying knowledge and ideas in real life situations. Activities focusing on social and entrepreneurial innovation will also be encouraged.

Because of the importance of the cultural sector to the economy, artistic creativity and flair will also be promoted in 2009, as a follow-up to the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue (2008). Other policy areas covered by the Year will include business, media, research, and social, regional and rural development.

According to Ján Figel', Commissioner responsible for education, training, culture and youth, the Year is 'an effective way of helping to meet challenges by raising public awareness, disseminating information about good practices, stimulating education and research, creativity and innovation, and promoting policy debate and change. By combining action at Community, national, regional and local levels, it can generate synergies and help to focus policy debate on specific issues.'

This Commission's proposal will be examined by the European Parliament and the Council later this year.

Member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) have endorsed several resolutions to enhance science and technology capacity in the Islamic world.

The resolutions were announced at the OIC summit held in Dakar, Senegal, this month (13–14 March). They build on recommendations made in the Makkah declaration of 2005 (see Islamic states urged to follow 10-year science plan).

The resolutions call on the 57 member states to renew their commitment to developing science and technology by dedicating one per cent of their gross domestic product to research and development.

They are asked to invest more in advanced technologies, such as nuclear and nanotechnology, and to improve their integrated information and communication technology infrastructure.

Other resolutions call for a plan of action to reform science educational institutions to promote innovation and research, and to create better networks for scientists, research institutions and technoparks. Pan-OIC technology trade fairs are proposed as a way to improve links between technology, research and industry.

The participation of women in science should also be encouraged through a specific collaborative programme with dedicated resources, the conference recommends.

Hanan Malkawi, director of the UNESCO Chair for Desert Studies and Desertification Control at Yarmouk University in Jordan, told SciDev.Net that, "Since women constitute on average half of the population in any society, then if active [female] scientists and businesswomen in the Islamic world were really supported and empowered and involved, this would lead to an increase in gross domestic product through their input in scientific and technological innovations."

A separate resolution calls for greater interaction between the Muslim media and scientific community to capitalise fully on the role of media in communicating information between policymakers and scientists, as well as raising awareness of science and technology in the general public.

Anwar Nasim, a science adviser to the OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) says it is important to focus on how to implement the resolutions, to achieve their desired goals.

Nasim expressed scepticism, pointing out that previous resolutions had still not been fully implemented (see Islamic countries dragging their feet on science plan).