The 2003 Biotechnology Innovation Festival gets underway tomorrow as Charles Sturt University (CSU), Wagga Wagga City Council and Biotechnology Australia highlight the various aspects of biotechnology through talks, displays and demonstrations at Wagga Wagga Civic Centre.

Friday 9 May 2003

Official Opening at 10am by Dean of Faculty of Health Studies, CSU Professor Mark Burton and Mayor of Wagga Wagga Kevin Wales 

Sessions: 10.15am-11.15am, 12pm-1pm, 1.15pm-2pm
Session Chair: Dr Heather Cavanagh – CSU School of Biomedical Sciences

Speakers: 
Craig Cormick, Biotechnology Australia
“Public attitudes toward biotechnology”
Sharon Ding, Biotechnology Australia
“What do you know about genetically modified foods, DNA fingerprinting and cloning applications?”
Andrew Mathews, Charles Sturt University
“Pharmaceuticals and the impact of advances in biotechnology”
Murray Medway, Monsanto
“Biotechnology in agriculture: Roundup ready canola and cotton”

Questacon Show: 11.30am-12.00pm

Public forum on genetically modified crops: 6pm-9pm
Forum chair: ABC Riverina’s Anne Delaney

Saturday 10 May 2003

Session: 1                      10:30am-11.45am 
Session Chair: Dr Heather Cavanagh – CSU School of Biomedical Sciences

Speakers:
Craig Cormick, Biotechnology Australia
“Public attitudes towards biotechnology”
Sharon Ding, Biotechnology Australia
“What do you know about genetically modified foods, DNA fingerprinting and cloning applications?”
Murray Medway, Monsanto
“Biotechnology in agriculture: roundup ready canola and cotton”
Ella Whitelaw, CSIRO
“Investigation of lipid synthesis in rice by genetically modifying plants to alter the fatty acid composition of rice bran oil” 
Andrew Mathews, Charles Sturt University
“Pharmaceuticals and the impact of advances in biotechnology”

Close  1pm

Speaker abstracts

CRAIG CORMICK, Biotechnology Australia, “Public attitudes towards biotechnology”

So just what does the public think about biotechnology? Based on several surveys into public attitudes, CRAIG CORMICK from the Commonwealth Government agency Biotechnology Australia says that public attitudes towards different applications of biotechnology can often be different to what people presume them to be. This presentation provides an overview of public attitudes towards applications including Genetically Modified foods and crops, cloning and gene testing.

SHARON DING, Biotechnology Australia, “What do you know about genetically modified foods, DNA fingerprinting and cloning applications?”

Wanting to know more about biotechnology and gene technology?  SHARON DING from Biotechnology Australia demonstrates Biotechnology Online produced for schools and is accessible online at www.biotechnology.gov.au. The resource has been designed  for secondary school use, to help young Australians understand the important science of biotechnology; and to better inform them to take part in public debates on issues such as genetically modified foods, stem cells and cloning.

ANDREW MATTHEWS, Charles Sturt University, “Pharmaceuticals and the impact of advances in biotechnology”

Drugs are the most widely used therapeutic intervention available to health care practitioners. Traditionally, they were sourced from natural products, predominantly plants, although synthetic manufacture of these original natural chemicals is more common-place today. In recent years, biotechnology has emerged as an important source of new therapeutic agents. This technology allows us to manufacture different antibodies, hormones, growth factors and cytokines. It is a rapidly advancing field, with substantial investment from the pharmaceutical industry. Some examples of drugs prepared by molecular biology techniques include insulin, G-CSF, erythropoietin, and alteplase. The future will continue to see expansion of the range of biotechnology drugs, and progression to the next therapeutic domain… gene therapy.

Ella Whitelaw, CSIRO: “Investigation of lipid synthesis in rice by genetically modifying plants to alter the fatty acid composition of rice bran oil” 

Rice bran oil is made from rice bran that is removed during milling.  Increasing the amount of monounsaturated fatty acids in rice bran oil should produce healthier and more stable oil. This can be achieved by silencing (i.e. turning off) some of the genes involved in fatty acid synthesis using genetic engineering.