Discovery of the DNA: impact on health, water quality, nutrition and food security
At a time when scientists are urged to develop high technologies, a question immediately arises – What technology can be developed/improved without the contribution of basic sciences? It is impossible to run without putting one´s feet on the ground. Likewise, it is impossible to develop new and reliable technologies without the knowledge derived from basic sciences, including the basic principles underlying the different technologies. However, the universal access to the discoveries made by basic sciences, to new and promising technologies and to the desired progress towards sustainable development, equity and well-being, is far from being achieved.
Considering the need to emphasize the role of basic sciences in technology development and it’s seminal contribution to human development and well-being, the Institute of High Studies of the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon will address the impact of the DNA double helix elucidation, one of the greatest scientific discoveries honoured by the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962. When this research was performed, no one could imagine what would be the impact on diverse scientific domains, generating the knowledge necessary for the development of technologies relevant to Human health, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Food security, Nutrition and Water quality. This meeting aims at bringing together scientists to illustrate how basic sciences contribute to emerging technologies with impact on sustainable development and human well-being.