The World Health Organization has just published a 241-page report entitled Genomics and Human Health that deals with the likely impact of the genomics revolution on world health, with a primary focus on the implications for developing countries. Although dealing little with the implications of genomics for food and agriculture, many of the topics discussed in the report (such as the latest advances in genomics, the potential impact of intellectual property rights, the relative weight to be given to genomics research versus research into more conventional and well-tried areas, the lack of biotechnology and information technology development in many developing countries and, finally, biosafety and ethical considerations) are highly relevant. See a press release at http://www.who.int/inf/en/pr-2002-34.html. The report is at http://www3.who.int/whosis/genomics/genomics_report.cfm (in English, with a French or Spanish summary) or contact [email protected] for more information.

15/05/2002