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Upon meeting for the first time at a dinner at Stanford earlier this year, Fei-Fei Li and Jennifer Doudna couldnt help but note the remarkable parallels in their experiences as scientists.

Stanfords Fei-Fei Li and Jennifer Doudna of UC Berkeley will discuss the ethics of artificial intelligence and CRISPR technology. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Both women helped kickstart twin revolutions that are profoundly reshaping society in the 21st century Li in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and Doudna in the life sciences. Both revolutions can be traced back to 2012, the year that computer scientists collectively recognized the power of Lis approach to training computer vision algorithms and that Doudna drew attention to a new gene-editing tool known as CRISPR-Cas9 (CRISPR for short). Both pioneering scientists are also driven by a growing urgency to raise awareness about the ethical dangers of the technologies they helped create.

It was just incredible to hear how similar our stories were. Not just the timing of our scientific discoveries, but also our sense of responsibility for the ethics of the science are just so similar, said Li, who is a professor of computer science at Stanfords School of Engineering and co-director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI).

The ethical angle to what we were doing was not something that either of us anticipated but that we found ourselves quickly drawn to, said Doudna, who is a professor of chemistry and of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley.

The echoes between Li and Doudnas lives were also not lost on the dinner host that night, Stanford political science professor Rob Reich, who invited the pair to resume their conversation in public. Their talk, titled CRISPR, AI, and the Ethics of Scientific Discovery, will take place at Stanford on Nov. 19 and will be moderated by Stanford bioengineering professor Russ Altman(livestream will be available here).

The event is organized by the Stanford McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society and HAI and is part of the Ethics, Society & Technology Integrative Hub that arose from the universitys Long-Range Vision.

The subject of the lecture hits the sweet spot of what the Integrative Hubs work is about, which is to cultivate and support the large community of faculty and students who work at the intersection of ethics, society and technology, said Reich, who directs the Center for Ethics in Society and co-directs the Integrative Hub.

I cant think of two better people to engage in a conversation and to really take seriously these questions of how, as you discover the effects of what youve created, do you bring ethical implications and societal consequences into the discussion? said Margaret Levi, a professor of political science at Stanfords School of Humanities and Sciences. Levi is also the Sara Miller McCune Director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and co-director of the Integrative Hub.

Fei-Fei Li is a professor of computer science and co-director of Stanfords Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. (Image credit: L.A. Cicero)

In 2006, Li wondered if computers could be taught to see the same way that children do through early exposure to countless objects and scenes, from which they could deduce visual rules and relationships. Her idea ran counter to the approach taken by most AI researchers at the time, which was to create increasingly customized computer algorithms for identifying specific objects in images.

Lis insight culminated in the creation of ImageNet, a massive dataset consisting of millions of training images, and an international computer vision competition of the same name. In 2012, the winner of the ImageNet contest beat competitors by a wide margin by training a type of AI known as a deep neural network on Lis dataset.

Li immediately understood that an important milestone in her field had just been reached, and despite being on maternity leave at Stanford, flew to Florence, Italy, to attend the award ceremony in person. I bought a last-minute ticket, Li said. I was literally on the ground for about 18 hours before flying back.

Computer vision and image recognition are largely responsible for AIs rapid ascent in recent years. They enable self-driving cars to detect objects, Facebook to tag people in photos and shopping apps to identify real-world objects using a phones camera.

Within a year or so of when the ImageNet result was announced, there was an exponential growth of interest and investment into this technology from the private industry, Li said. We recognized that AI had gone through a phase shift, from being a niche scientific field to a potential transformative force of our industry.

The field of biology underwent its own phase shift in the summer of 2012 when Doudna and her colleagues published a groundbreaking paper in the journal Science that described how components of an ancient antiviral defense system in microbes could be programmed to cut and splice DNA in any living organism, including humans, with surgical precision. CRISPR made genomes as malleable as a piece of literary prose at the mercy of an editors red pen, Doudna would later write.

CRISPR could one day enable scientists to cure myriad genetic diseases, eradicate mosquito-borne illnesses, create pest-resistant plants and resurrect extinct species. But it also raises the specter of customizable designer babies and lasting changes to the human genetic code through so-called germline editing, or edits made to reproductive cells that are transmitted to future generations.

This bioethics nightmare scenario was realized last fall when a Chinese researcher declared that he had used CRISPR to edit the genomes of twin girls in order to make them resistant to HIV. Doudna decried the act but allows that her own views on germline editing are still evolving.

Ive gone from thinking never, ever to thinking that there could be circumstances that would warrant that kind of genome editing, she said. But it would have to be under circumstances where there was a clear medical need that was unmet by any other means and the technology would have to be safe.

Both Li and Doudna fervently believe in the potential of their technologies to benefit society. But they also fear CRISPR and AI could be abused to fuel discrimination and exacerbate social inequalities.

The details are different for CRISPR and AI, but I think those concerns really apply to both, Doudna said.

Rather than just leaving such concerns to others to work out, both scientists have stepped outside of the comfort of their labs and taken actions to help ensure their worst fears dont come to pass. I almost feel that at this point of history I need to do this, not that its my natural tendency, Li said. It really is about our collective future due to technology.

Both scientists have testified before Congress about the possibilities and perils of their technologies. Li also co-launched a nonprofit called AI4All to increase inclusion and diversity among computer engineers and she co-directs Stanford HAI, which aims to develop human-centered AI technologies and applications. Doudna spends significant time talking to colleagues, students and the public about CRISPR. In 2015 she organized the first conference to discuss the safety and ethics of CRISPR genome editing.

Because we were involved in the origins of CRISPR, I felt it was especially important for my colleagues and me to be part of that discussion and really help to lead it, Doudna said. I asked myself, If I dont do it, who will?

To read all stories about Stanford science, subscribe to the biweekly Stanford Science Digest.

Altman is the Kenneth Fong Professor of Bioengineering, Genetics, Medicine, Biomedical Data Science and host of the Stanford Engineering radio show The Future of Everything. Levi is a member of Stanford Bio-X, the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, and the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. Li is the Sequoia Capital Professor at Stanford and a member of Stanford Bio-X and the Wu-Tsai Neurosciences Institute.

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AI and gene-editing pioneers to discuss ethics - Stanford University News

In August of this year, Gail Bradbrook, a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, called for the widespread ingestion of psychedelic substances to help bring about a transformation in attitudes to the climate crisis and the living world. The proposal may sound far-fetched, but it has some science behind it. Studies show that, in the right setting, psychedelics can not only be effective against addiction and depression but can also help people feel more connected to nature. Yet the living world of tropical coral reefs surpasses in wonder and beauty anything engendered in the human mind by psychedelics. As the evolutionary biologist Leslie Orgel once said, evolution is cleverer than you are. A reef will convince you that it also has a bigger, stranger and subtler imagination.

Most damage of the last couple of decades has been from manageable stresses like pollution, overfishing and development

There are few better guides to the glories of reefs than Callum Roberts. Reef Life is a vibrant memoir of the joys, as well as the grind, of a research career beginning in the 1980s that has spanned a golden age of coral reef science. It is also a fine introduction to the ecology of reefs and the existential threats they now face. Roberts is well equipped for the task. He is chief scientific adviser to Blue Planet II, and has given us two of the best books in the last 15 years about the ecology of the sea and its fate in human hands: An Unnatural History of the Sea and Ocean of Life.

Roberts revels in the details of life on a coral reef. A mantis shrimp, for instance, has a carapace of mottled green edged with a thin red line like the piping on an iced cake. Its eyes, frosted glass balls on blue stalks, marked with a horizontal line like the slot of a helmet visor, give it an almost supernatural power to see linear and circularly polarised light. This book also addresses the major questions regarding human responsibility and possibilities for change. We live at what is probably the zenith of coral reef evolution in hundreds of millions of years in terms of their diversity and productivity, but human action might bring this all to an end within a few generations: It is an extraordinary position that I still grapple with daily to understand.

Coral reefs are, arguably, lifes greatest miracle. Hugely productive ecosystems in nutrient-poor waters, they harbour a quarter of all marine diversity in less than 0.1% of the oceans extent. On a healthy reef, top predators such as sharks are abundant, while life lower down the food chain appears to be scarce a seeming inversion of the pyramid were familiar with on land, where a vast savannah supports a herd of wildebeest, but only a few lions or leopards. (The solution to the apparent paradox is that life at the lower trophic levels on reefs provides abundant resources for predators but turns over very fast.)

Despite their intense vibrancy, reefs are also vulnerable, both to direct human impacts such as overfishing, pollution and insensitive development, and to indirect impacts of the large-scale combustion of fossil fuels, which result in global heating and changes to ocean chemistry. In the past four decades, three pulses of heat have devastated many reefs around the world, including, in 2016 and 2017, the Great Barrier Reef. The risk to their future is unlike anything they have experienced in millions of years.

There is already a rich literature, and to a lesser extent a filmography, on the threats they face and what, if anything, can best protect them. Among the highlights are John Charlie Verons sober and devastating A Reef in Time, the gripping documentary film Chasing Coral, and Coral Whisperers, Irus Bravermans fluent account of 100 or so interviews with leading scientists and conservation managers. Journalists continue to document how the destruction of reefs impacts on the mental health of researchers, who report ecological grief. Roberts is a humorous, determined expert, who has spent more than three decades trying to come to terms with such issues. As his book begins, he is a fresh-faced student assisting in some of the first detailed studies of coral reefs on the Saudi Arabian coast of the Red Sea. Working in harsh conditions, blundering into embarrassing situations and sometimes exposing himself to danger, he is carried forward by thunderclaps of wonder. A few years later, and now a respected marine biologist, he is assessing the aftermath of the huge releases of oil into the Persian Gulf by Saddam Husseins forces as they fled from Kuwait in the first Gulf war. Remarkably, some of the reefs here among the most northern in the world survive, having escaped the tide of pollution.

Further adventures, from the Caribbean to the Maldives and far beyond, follow. In 2013, Roberts is in Australia supporting scientists and environmentalists who are trying to slow and even reverse the impact on the Great Barrier Reef of the development of new port facilities for the export of coal. By this time, scientists are warning that even a relatively small increase in the global average temperature, let alone the 2 Celsius or more that now looks probable, is likely to have a devastating impact on most of the worlds reefs. Roberts finds himself deployed as part of what turns out to be an effective campaign to change minds regarding the proposed coastal development; by 2015 the opposition Labor Party come to power with a promise to protect the reef. It is poignant to read this in 2019, long after Australian voters have returned a government that does not appear to believe that the climate crisis should be a cause for concern.

I dont know a single coral expert who is not haunted by doubt, Roberts writes. It is already possible to glimpse the most dystopian of futures. But, he stresses, there are hopeful strands. It has been found, for example that some corals can survive in hotter and more acidic waters than was previously thought. Further acclimation and adaptation may be possible in some instances. Genetic engineering to make more heat-resistant corals may be feasible, though controversial. But above all, according to Roberts, there is a role for well-managed marine parks. Most coral reef damage of the last couple of decades has been from manageable stresses like pollution, overfishing and development rather than climate change. Where these pressures are reduced, corals and the endless forms of life they support have a fighting chance.

In a moving penultimate chapter, he describes a visit to Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific, the worlds most isolated reef, and currently among its most intact. Palmyra is part of a huge US conservation zone called the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. Roberts, with his irrepressible warmth and passion, concludes: Now is the time for action, not mourning. There is everything to play for.

Reef Life: An Underwater Memoir by Callum Roberts is published by Profile (16.99) To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com or call 020-3176 3837. Free UK p&p over 10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of 1.99.

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Reef Life by Callum Roberts review miraculous and threatened - The Guardian

For the first time human life changed significantly in the 20th century after several centuries of incremental progress. After hundreds of years of social, economic and political change, technology was the harbinger of a complete transformation. Commercial electricity, automobiles, aircraft, refrigeration, radar, sound recording, radio, film, television, x-rays, rayon, aspirin, antibiotics, organ transplants, transistors, microchips, nuclear power, spaceflights, genetic engineering, ATMs, credit cards, mobile phone, computers, robotics Internet and the whole gamut of digital services, around which our lives revolve all in the course of a few decades altered our human society. The speed of change has only increased. Since the turn of the millennium, we have already discarded some of the things which came into existence in our childhood. E-commerce shared services and AI are creating a new ecosystem of 24 & 7 engagement and consumption. What will come in the next 10 years will supersede a lot of what came in fifty years earlier, including some products and services we consider au courant and new age today.

The most obvious change in the next decade will still be in the digital domain. While it may seem that we are already submerged in a sea of devices and media constantly glaring at us through various screens. The next iteration of all such familiar services will be smarter, effective and personal. With faster and more powerful microchips AI (Artificial Intelligence) will be the framework of tomorrow's mindscape. What exactly is AI? Simply put AI is the use of massive amounts of data that is processed through machine learning to mimic human intelligence. A computer or any other device with a microchip to process data acquires an ability to respond to certain actions and behavior through the use of algorithms in a manner the user would have in a similar situation. We already see AI being used in several home appliances or even websites like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and online news services. Depending on your viewing pattern content is served (and suggested) for you to read, listen or watch. Newer models of cars have AI embedded in their navigation system. In the years to come most of our mundane and routine tasks will be done by machines, often very inexpensive and omnipresent. Much of the tedium and often dangerous work will be tackled by AI-assisted service providers and devices. Smart homes and cities which for example Prime Minister Modi keeps talking about are not some Utopian dreams but tomorrow's reality.

Sine 2015-16 we are using Web 3.0 as the overlay of our digital universe. This is a Semantic web that incorporates Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Data Mining, Natural Language Search and Machine Learning technologies, Social Media, Internet of Things (IoT) and other customized online services including social media and streaming services. By 2025 we should usher in Web 4.0. This next development of the Internet will create services that will be autonomous, proactive, self-learning, collaborative and safe and secure, interacting with sensors and implants, natural-language services, or virtual reality. In simple terms, it means self-driving cars, remote diagnostics, and surgery, instant accounting, virtual reality in films and gaming, curated content and commerce, voice-activated devices and services, virtual assistants, digital concierge, and smart homes and offices. Blockchain ensures flawless data analytics and transparency in every transaction. From utility bills to land records, banking to governance all enabled seamlessly. The role of JAM (Jandhan Bank Account, Aadhar, and Mobile) along with India stack is what will enable the big leap forward in India-similar initiatives at different scales elsewhere too. While most are familiar with JAM, India Stack is less known. This truly empowering technology is the creation of a unified software platform that brings a billion-plus Indians into the digital age. A set of API (application programming interface)s that allows governments, businesses, start-ups, shop keepers, merchants and traders and soon farmers to utilize a unique digital Infrastructure to solve India's hard problems. Initially championed by Nandan Nilekani India Stacks is going to be a force multiplier in our lives tomorrow. Almost any service can be used anywhere in the world using a particular API and this infrastructure is cheap and convenient. There are concerns about privacy and data theft which I will tackle later in this article.

One of the fundamental principles of anything which is shared is trust. In a networked society that is increasingly based on a transactional economy or shared information, it is imperative that this trust is not only apparent but is inbuilt in the architecture of all contracts, monetary or otherwise. Today and in future blockchain provides trust and transparency. In a way similar to how Wikipedia is built where anyone can identify herself and participate in creating a shared resource, a blockchain, too, is just an immutable of record of data that is managed by cluster (or more) of computers and every bit of this data is simultaneously visible to all who are a part of the particular blockchain. It's a shared ledger that transparently records every transaction in real-time. Since each block of data is secured and bound to each other using cryptography it is entirely trustworthy. Blockchain is now used in social networks, banking, e-commerce, governance, Industry, security, trade, taxation, storage platforms, Intellectual Property Protection (IPR), education, content production, and distribution. In the next few years, blockchain will be the digital backbone of our existence. Cryptocurrency Bitcoin was the first to popularize blockchain but even in 2019, it is a bit unconventional to find mass acceptance. In India for example blockchain in the years to come will allow instant polling in a fully transparent manner eliminating a lot of costs and political bickering. Internet of Things (IoT) is dependent on blockchain as is autonomous mobility.

In the last 50 years owing to advances in science and technology-enabled healthcare humans are living longer. Thus for the first time, the world is faced with a demographic dilemma. How to take care of an increased number of geriatrics even as it grapples to treat millions of people suffering from various small and terminal ailments. There have been substantial breakthroughs in medicine. Vaccines for diseases like smallpox, measles, rotavirus, polio, yellow fever, rabies, hepatitis, HIV to common ailments like influenza and pneumonia are saving millions of lives every year. Digital technology is now routinely used for diagnostics. CAT Scan, MRI, Ultra Sound Scan, Doppler have in the recent past changed both the speed and accuracy of curative and palliative care. In the coming years, not only smartphones but other inexpensive wearables will allow almost anyone to monitor body functions. Blockchain will allow a healthcare professionals with access to a mobile phone to access the most advanced advice. Robotic surgery will in the next decade become miniaturized and much more ubiquitous. The most pressing need for the healthcare industry is to upgrade skills. Medical education has to move beyond Gray's Anatomy and stethoscope to next-gen healthcare. 60 percent of the world's population still has little access to a doctor or a hospital. Broadband and blockchain will empower even a paramedic or midwife to be able to provide first point care to the sick and injured. New digital tools paired with AI analytics will almost certainly boost diagnosticians' accuracy and speed, improving disease detection at early stages and thus raising the odds of successful treatment or cure.

Living well and longer are two primordial human obsessions. Helping us to be healthier for longer in the next decade will be rapid advances in genetic engineering, new age diagnostics, and stem cell therapy. As more research is done in genomics, microbiome and molecular biology we can expect the beginning of a new range of pharmaceuticals. Although we have had pacemakers and other simple implantable devices like contact lenses and cochlear aids for years the next decade will see the advent of IEMDs such as phrenic nerve stimulation to restore breathing function in patients with breathing disorders, glucose sensors for diabetics, sacral nerve stimulation for patients with bladder disorders, and implantable drug delivery systems. Epilepsy, Alzheimer's and other neurological illnesses will be treated by electrochemical sensors and miniature tissue oxygenators and drug delivery systems will be introduced within the next decade. Immunology, 3 D printed organs and Cancer treatment are other areas where data analytics and web-based tools will help tomorrow's healthcare professionals a lot. For billions of people around the world, these small scientific interventions may be the difference between life and death. However, the physical presence and skill of a doctor will be the basis of all technological advancements in medicine. In fact, technology is opening up several new opportunities for employment in diagnostic centers in small towns, even villages, online supply and delivery of medicines and other medical goods. Riding on Internet schemes like Ayushman Bharat will not only provide affordable healthcare to the poorer sections of India but also provide employment to young paramedics, nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals across various touchpoints.

There are other changes in the offing. Most of these too are web-based technologies like cloud computing, AI, VR, Blockchain, Robotics, and Machine learning. According to a McKinsey report released in 2017, 800 million people around the world will lose their jobs in ten years due to automation. I believe while the actual job losses will exceed a billion, several hundred million will get redeployed in other jobs that the digital value chain creates. We have seen while e-commerce has displaced traditional merchants and shopkeepers, it has created perhaps a larger number of jobs in logistics, customer experience, and transportation. In India hundreds of thousands of artisans, craftspeople and small merchants were getting bogged down by a shortage of capital or changing of customer preferences. I recently bought a handcrafted lace table cloth from Amazon. After that, I got a message from an artisan based in South India who was the actual supplier. He messaged me a list of other items he could custom make for me and I did place a small order with him directly. When I called him up he said Amazon has changed his life by enlarging his customer base manifold that he now employs 12 people in his new workshop. In the last decade, we have seen how mobile phones empowered our neighborhood vegetable seller or fisherwoman. I spend regular periods in a village in Himachal. I am surprised at the speed which phones and the Internet are transforming the lives of these simple hill folk especially youngsters. This non-formal economy is where the growth will happen in the next decade. So expect more services like home improvement, repair & maintenance and sundry other service providers riding the digital infrastructure. So more Urban Claps, Zomatos, Just Dials, Swiggys, Groffers, Country Delight, Home Advisors, Prato, 1mg, etc all offering convenience to consumers and employment to others.

Transport is another area that will see a radical change. In 10 years more than half the automobiles in the world will switch to non-fossil fuel engines, largely electric. Of course, solar-powered vehicles, hydrogen cell cars will also appear on the road before the end of the next decade. Autonomous mobility should be a reality in the next five years. A switch to shared self-driving vehicles is already exciting for the large automakers to innovate and customize their product portfolio. The self-driving car market should start coming into its own in 10 years. In India, the Metro network will grow exponentially even as shared mobility expands. Maglev trains and vehicles and Hyperloop should be visible in some countries. Traffic management will be entirely managed by computers and GPS will sit on the AI engine. However, there is a limit to how many more vehicles the existing infrastructure even after upgradation can support. Obviously by the end of decade reverse migration from large metropolises will begin as newer towns and cities emerge. More airports and intra-city helicopter services will necessary. Smaller air ambulances will make an appearance. Drones will be a common form of delivery for various kinds of packages besides being used for security and surveillance.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are strictly those of the author.

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From self-drive cars to IoT, these next-wave techs will rule 2020s decade - Business Standard

KAMPALA The views expressed by both Hon Nsaba Buturo (NRM Bufumbira CountyEast) and Hon Silas Aogon (Kumi Municipality) in the PML Daily article Titled: MPs support Presidents rejection of GMO Bill dated November 6 2019 indicated a serious lack of understanding by the parliamentarians why, in the first place, Uganda should enact a law on Biotechnology and Bio-safety. As was revealed in the article, the two MPs were speaking on behalf of the Parliamentary Forum on Ethics and Integrity.

They really believe that GMO or Modern Biotechnology is about profits and interests of multinational companies and superpowers. What misconception! Modern Biotechnology or GMO is actually about Ugandas survival and economic development interests.

We have to remember that Uganda already has a National Biotechnology and Bio-safety Policy (2008) and that for nearly two decades Uganda, under the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), has been conducting research on crop plants produced through modern biotechnology aimed at overcoming our countrys persistent crop production and food insecurity problems which include pest infestation, incurable crop diseases, drought stress, and malnutrition, among others issues. (Dr Wilberforce Tushemeirwe, head of NARO, Daily Monitor 9 October 2015) NARO which is mainly manned by well trained agricultural research scientists is mandated to find solutions to our countrys farming technical issues such as crop and animal diseases, yield and breed improvement, increasing nutrient content of crops, soil health, among many others.

We should also remember that Modern biotechnology is not only about Genetic Modification (GMO) or Genetic Engineering (GE) which the Parliamentary Forum for Ethics and Integrity seems to be vehemently opposed to. Nor is it, really, about ethics and integrity.

Biotechnology is described by scientists as a technology which uses living things or parts of living things to make useful products that benefit mankind and the environment. In agriculture it is used to produce improved plant varieties. It is also used in medicine to produce antibodies and vaccines.

Many countries across the world are using the technology for industrial and economic development. Uganda wants to use modern biotechnology for national development and over the years it has invested heavily in training scientists and construction of state of the art biotechnology laboratories as well as funding research and development of improved crop varieties.

A visit to Kawanda Agricultural Research Institute by any doubting Thomas will reveal a modern biotechnology laboratory whose foundation stone was laid by His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni who is now hesitating to sign the bill. Modern biotechnology research is going on in quite a number of our NARO stations across the country under the funding of both the Uganda government and development partners. Modern biotechnology includes tissue culture, cloning, grafting, and genetic engineering (GE or GM) and a whole range of other innovations aimed at improving crop varieties with regard to their resistance to disease, yield enhancement, test improvement, pest infestation, drought, and nutrition. Modern Biotechnology is taught at Makerere University, UNIK (University of Kisubi), and other institutions of higher learning, not to mention its recent introduction in Ugandas secondary school curriculum.

(http://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=17626)

However, all countries engaged in modern biotechnology activities are required to have a regulatory law such as the National Biotechnology and Bio-safety Bill, which Uganda is trying to put in place. We are, in fact, trying to comply with an international agreement known as the Cartagena Protocol to which Uganda is a signatory. What the Parliamentary Forum for Ethics and Integrity are opposing is a protocol requiring all countries engaging in biotechnology to take appropriate legal, administrative and other measures at national level to implement their obligations under that protocol.

The Parliamentary Forum for Ethics and Integrity is also blind to the fact that Uganda whose population is among the fastest growing in the world is facing acute food production decline thanks to incurable crop diseases, declining soil fertility, land fragmentation, and negative

climatic conditions. In this country every woman produces 5.6 children and our population increase rate is only next to that of Gambia and Mayotte globally, according to the Washington based Population Reference Bureau. (www.prb.org) Banana which is a staple crop in Uganda is under threat of disappearing due to the incurable Banana Bacterial Wilt (BBW). Dr Jerome Kubiriba who heads the Banana Research Project at Kawanda under NARO has revealed that Ugandas annual $500 million worth production of banana has reduced to $350 million due to the disease. Using modern biotechnology (Genetic Engineering) the researchers have developed banana plants that are resistant to BBW which however remain in enclosed fields at the research centre because they cannot be passed on to Ugandan farmers to grow since Uganda has not yet passed the Uganda Biotechnology and Bio-safety Bill into law. Banana is also under attack by nematodes and weevils for which biotechnology research has found a solution but the farmers continue to spend heavily on pesticides because government is taking too long debating the adoption or non-adoption of modern biotechnology.

Uganda, where ten out of every ten farmers grow bananas, is the leading banana producing country in Africa but we will soon lose that position because, according to the Uganda Biotechnology Information Centre (UBIC) production of the crop is declining at the rate of seven out of ten expected bunches due to BBW. Maize which is a staple food and an important livestock feed component is under attack by the fall army worm and stem borer. Its production is further proving harder due to frequent long droughts. Modern biotechnology research under NARO has developed drought tolerant and pest resistant maize varieties but they cannot be given to farmers to plant because the likes of Nsaba Buturo and Silas Aogon are against passing of the Biotechnology and Bio-safety Bill. Eighty percent of Ugandan farmers grow maize which in the past generated an estimated $51 million annually to the country but yields have been reduced to about 40 percent in the recent years due pest infestation and drought. (UBIC) Uganda suffers from what Harvest-Plus, an international anti-hunger organization, refers to as hidden hunger which is a form of malnutrition caused by filling the tummy with non-nutritious food.

Most poor households eat banana and sweet potato without other crops to gain such nutrients as vitamins etc. Using biotechnology scientists under NARO have produced pro-Vitamin A bananas which would improve nutrition in poor households. The country suffers an annual loss of $899 million according to the Cost of Hunger Report 2013 in addition to millions of working hours lost every year by people abandoning work because of malnutrition illnesses and burials of people killed by malnutrition illnesses.

Irish potato farmers in Uganda allocate nearly 50 percent of their in-puts to pesticides fighting the late blight disease. Consumers of the crop face the health risk associated with pesticides and the producers lose money and suffer reduced profits. Yet researchers in NARO through GMO research or Modern Biotechnology have developed pest resistant Irish potato which farmers can grow without using the costly pesticides. There must be a regulatory law in place for the farmers to be allowed to grow the pest resistant varieties but our government is delaying its formation and passing. Consumption of Irish potatoes is known to reduce malnutrition since in vitamin B6, minerals, and fiber.

(UBIC) Uganda is the leading producer of sweet potato in Africa. Sweet potato is a major food crop for both humans and livestock. Harvest-plus is B promoting the production and consumption of bio-fortified sweet potatoes enhanced with such nutrients as iron, zinc, and vitamin A which are highly recommended by the WHO as crucial for healthy living. Sweet potato production is declining due to virus diseases and weevil infestation. NARO is working to develop GM sweet potato that can resist virus and weevil attack.

We have issues with rice production related to poor soils and long droughts which according to UBIC is causing an annual loss of US$6.2 million as opposed to an estimated annual gain of US$19.9 million that would be possible if we grow GM rice. (UBIC) We also have problems with cotton production yet our cloth production industries are in need of revamping. It is GM cotton that has boosted the apparel industries in such countries as India and it is the reason our neighbour Kenya is soon adopting GM cotton production. Clearly Biotechnology is being used to address our national agricultural problems and not to promote foreign interests as Nsaba Buturo and Silas Aogon seem to think. It is even false to assert that we would not any foreign market for our products. Ask Brazil for example where it sells its Biotech products. Brazil our coffee competitor is the biggest exporter of GM crops to Europe.

There must be economic benefits to gain and it must be the main reason why such nations as the USA, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, India, Paraguay, Pakistan, China, Uruguay, Bolivia, Australia, Philippines, Myanmar, Spain, Mexico, Columbia, Vietnam, Honduras, Chile, Portugal, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Slovakia, and Czech Republic are growing Biotech crops. (International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Application ISAAA) Here in Africa, South Africa, Sudan, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Egypt are already growing Biotech crops, while Kenya, Ethiopia, and Zambia are just about to go into commercialization of Biotech crops.

Eating GM food is not harmful in any way to human health or the environment. Tobacco smoke, red meat, salt, and alcohol cause death every year and figures to that effect are available in nearly all countries. But not one death, not a single death, caused by eating GM food has been reported by the WHO or the FAO. No country has any credible research findings to prove that a death has been caused by GMO food. In May 2016 the US National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine released its twenty-year-research report into possible harmful effects of GMO crops and declared them entirely safe.

It was a comprehensive review of some nine hundred researches on GMO crops since 1996 and it revealed that GMO crops and ordinarily bred crops are have no difference with regard to possible risks to human health livestock health and the environment.

Irrigation which Hon Nsaba Buturo recommends will not stop BBW from reducing banana production, nor will it stop the fall armyworm. Yet planting of improved seeds which he is talking about comes with some exercise of Biotechnology.

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MICHEAL J. SSALI is a veteran Journalist.

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MICHEAL J. SSALI: GMO technology is in Uganda's interests - pmldaily.com

We expect to have more than one variety of apple to choose from. Even at the most modestly stocked produce stand, youre likely to see mounds of Galas, McIntoshes and Honeycrisps. When it comes to the banana, though no matter where you shop theres only ever one: The Cavendish.

As far removed as we are from tropical growing regions, youd be forgiven for assuming the fruit we recognize as a cheap and reliable staple is the one true banana. In reality, however, there are over a thousand types, each exhibiting a different flavour profile, texture, shape, colour, ripening pattern and durability. And for the second time in recent history, the very existence of the sole breed we rely on which represents the single most exported fresh fruit on the planet is under threat.

Researchers, seeking a solution, are looking towards a new form of genetic modification. Could specific alterations of the genetic makeup of the Cavendish help stave off the disappearance of such a critical commodity?

In August, Colombia declared a state of emergency when scientists confirmed a banana-killing fungus had reached the Americas for the first time. Known by its common name, Panama disease, the strain of fungus Fusarium oxysporum cubense Tropical Race 4 (TR4) has been a known issue since the early 1990s, but until this year, it was largely contained to Asia. Immune to pesticides, the lethal soil-borne organism, for which there is no known cure, obliterates yields by choking banana trees of essential water and nutrients.

The Cavendishs predecessor as worlds presiding banana was the Gros Michel, a variety that dominated fruit stands in temperate regions until it was decimated by fungal strain Tropical Race 1 in the 1950s. That the extreme monoculture approach replicated with the Cavendish would result in a similar fate should have seemed inevitable.

Cavendish bananas are sterile and breeding them requires a cloning process that creates genetically identical plants. Because of their inherent lack of biodiversity, monocultures such as this banana are especially vulnerable to diseases and pests; when theres a weakness, such as little or no resistance against TR4, it can have sweeping and ruinous effects.

Given the bananas immense importance to producers and consumers, researchers have been attempting a variety of methods to create a resistance to the deadly fungus. According to Nature, James Dale, a biotechnologist at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, is currently field testing genetically modified bananas in Northern Australia with some success. Dale has added a gene from a wild banana into the Cavendish variety that makes it more resistant to the TR4.

However, even if scientists are able to breed a TR4-immune Cavendish, they wouldnt be permitted to grow or sell them in a significant portion of the world. In Europe, for example, GM crops are restricted. And in Canada, although GMOs have been on the market since the late 1990s, nearly 90 per cent of Canadians believe they should be subject to mandatory labelling.

As a result, researchers like Dale and Leena Tripathi, from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Kenya, have begun experimenting with CRISPR technology. Where GMOs have a foreign gene inserted into the organism, CRISPR allows for the organisms genes to be edited. In the case of Dale, hes discovered a dormant gene in the Cavendish he hopes to activate.

The technique is perhaps best described by Jennifer Kuzma, co-director of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center at North Carolina State University. In an interview with Gastropod, she likened DNA to a book and CRISPR to a pen: You can go in and you can edit the letters in a word, or you can change different phrases, or you can edit whole paragraphs at very specific locations.

CRISPR and GMO are further differentiatedin terms of consumer perception. As a December 2018 study published in Global Food Security found, 47 per cent of Canadian respondents were willing to eat both GM and CRISPR foods, but participants across the board (in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France and the U.S.) were more apt to eat CRISPR than GM food.

Nevertheless, editing the genes of the banana is still in the early stages. Dale told Nature that itll be a couple of years before these get into the field for trials. Can the Cavendish banana wait that long?

In a recent interview with KCRW, Dan Koeppel, author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World, said I think the time has come to stop looking at bananas as just one kind of fruit when there are thousands. Just as the range of apples at our fingertips is rich and getting richer, perhaps all the different varieties of bananas will prove ripe for discovery.

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The world's banana crops are under threat from a deadly fungus. Is gene editing the answer? - National Post

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Poseida Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging proprietary non-viral gene engineering technologies to create life-saving therapeutics, today announced it will present preclinical research findings during the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC)34th Annual Meeting on its lead allogeneic product candidate, P-BMCA-ALLO1, in multiple myeloma.

At SITC 2019, preclinical results will highlight the potential of Poseida's gene engineering technologies in addressing current challenges with earlier generation autologous CAR-T therapies. Poseida leverages its proprietary piggyBac DNA Modification System in combination with Cas-CLOVER gene editing technology to create P-BCMA-ALLO1, an off-the-shelf allogeneic CAR-T cell product candidate. These technologies enable the development of allogeneic CAR-T therapies with a variety of benefits to patients and the medical community including greater safety and duration of response, as well as manufacturing and patient cost savings.

Poseida will present the following research at SITC 2019:

"Broad adoption of earlier generation CAR-T therapies have been curtailed by serious safety concerns, limited duration of response and difficulty supporting access within the current healthcare system," said Eric Ostertag, M.D., Ph.D., chief executive officer of Poseida. "We are actively problem-solving to address these challenges and our new findings indicate that we are making progress with our allogeneic approach powered by our piggyBac DNA Modification System and Cas-CLOVER gene editing technology."

About P-BCMA-ALLO1P-BCMA-ALLO1 is an allogeneic CAR-T therapy being developed by Poseida for multiple myeloma. It is designed to have the benefits of scale and administration efficiency that come from an allogeneic product. Poseida expects to file an IND for P-BCMA-ALLO1 in 2020. Approximately 32,110 people were diagnosed with multiple myeloma and 12,960 died from the condition in the United States in 2019.

Click to Tweet: Poseida Therapeutics to Present Update on Approach in Allogeneic CAR-T at Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 34th Annual Meeting #celltherapy #genetherapy

About Poseida Therapeutics, Inc.Poseida Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company translating best-in-class technology into lifesaving cell and gene therapies for patients with high unmet medical need. The company is developing a wholly-owned pipeline of non-viral, allogeneic and autologous CAR-T product candidates and in vivo gene therapies for orphan genetic diseases. Poseida has assembled a suite of industry-leading gene editing technologies, including the piggyBacDNA Modification System and Cas-CLOVER and TAL-CLOVER site-specific nucleases. For more information, visitwww.poseida.com.

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SOURCE Poseida Therapeutics, Inc.

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Poseida Therapeutics to Present Update on Approach in Allogeneic CAR-T at Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 34th Annual Meeting - BioSpace

Running short: Neurons from mice missing SCN2A (right) have signal-receiving branches that are less mature than those in controls (left).

Injecting the gene-editing tool CRISPR into the brains of adolescent mice counteracts the effects of a mutation in a top autism gene. The finding suggests that mutations in this gene, SCN2A, may be treatable at any age.

This gives us hope that this is something thats not just a developmental deficit, and that once all the changes are there that youre stuck with them, says Perry Spratt, a graduate student in Kevin Benders lab at the University of California, San Francisco. Spratt presented the unpublished findings today at the 2019 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois.

SCN2A encodes a sodium channel that helps neurons propagate electrical signals. The mice have a harmful mutation in one copy of the gene, causing their neurons to fire sluggishly and make immature connections. The treatment reverses the problem by ramping up expression of the intact copy.

The first inkling that the reversal might work even after infancy came in June: The team reported then that introducing an SCN2A mutation into adolescent mice has many of the same effects on neurons as a mutation present from conception.

At the cellular level we see a lot of the same deficits as we see when the genes been gone throughout life, Spratt says.

The team engineered mice in which the mutation in SCN2A can be corrected by injecting an enzyme called Cre recombinase.

Injecting the Cre enzyme into the brains of 4- to 5-week-old mutant mice restored normal expression of SCN2A. It also reversed the problems in the mices neurons.

But this strategy cannot be applied to people because it would require genetic engineering of embryos. So the researchers created a virus that ferries a modified version of CRISPR into cells. This version of the editing tool does not snip DNA but can instead activate any gene.

The researchers injected the virus into the brains of 4-week-old mutant mice, along with synthetic RNA snippets designed to guide CRISPR to SCN2A. The treatment boosted SCN2A expression and reversed the problems in the mices neurons.

The team also tested one important control: They found that the treatment does not cause neurons to become hyperactive and so does not run the risk of triggering seizures.

The remarkable thing about this is that it can go gangbusters without making the cells hyperexcitable, says Bender.

The team is testing ways to deliver the virus to the whole brain. They also plan to test whether CRISPR reverses learning and memory problems in the mutant mice.

For more reports from the 2019 Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, please click here.

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CRISPR therapy may reverse autism mutation's effects well past infancy - Spectrum

The ability to read genomes has transformed our understanding of biology. Being able to write them would give us unprecedented control over the fabric of life.

Rapid advances in DNA sequencing and gene editing technology mean we are now truly in the age of genomics. For a few hundred dollars, genetic testing companies will give you a detailed rundown of your ancestry and susceptibility to a host of diseases. The first genetically modified humans are about to turn one.

The advent of CRISPR in particular has given us the ability to tweak DNA with incredible precision, but were still largely restricted to switching specific genes on and off or swapping one gene for another. The field of synthetic biology wants to change that by bringing engineering principles to biology.

But theres a long way to go, and a group of leading geneticists have now laid out the technology roadmap required to get there, published last week in a policy paper in Science. Here are the four areas where we need to step up our game.

The ultimate goal of genetic modification is to produce a change in the phenotypethe outward characteristicsin the target organism. But most complex traits are the result of a complicated interplay between multiple genes and an organisms environment, so mapping how DNA tweaks will translate into desired attributes is challenging.

Large-scale genome design will require computer programs that can do this accurately and efficiently. While projects like Synthetic Yeast 2.0 have made the first steps in this direction, the field needs to build complex new models that can predict the results of changes to the genome sequence.

These could still be decades away, but using machine learning to mine the wealth of biology data in public databases could accelerate them. Programs that can automate the design of experiments to cut down the number of rounds of design will also be required, as will the adoption of common data standards to enable collaboration.

Weve been able to synthesize DNA for decades, but the most common approach is restricted to short sections of DNA just a few hundred base pairs long. Building entire genomes requires long sequences of several thousand base pairs, so currently scientists rely on a laborious and error-prone process of stitching many smaller DNA sections together.

Large-scale genome engineering will require much faster, cheaper, and more efficient methods for DNA assembly. One nearer-term possibility is designing new enzymes that can reduce the number of errors and therefore boost the yield of the process. But in the long run, new technologies that can produce long and accurate sequences offer far more potential, and there are some promising enzyme-based approaches that may fit the bill.

While our gene-editing prowess has come a long way, we still struggle to make widespread changes to a genome simultaneously. If we could develop this capability, it could significantly decrease the amount of time it takes to modify organisms and even sidestep the need to build genomes from scratch.

This will mean finding ways to prevent the multitude of guide RNAs (the homing devices that tell CRISPR where in the genome to make changes) required for simultaneous edits to multiple genes from interfering with each other.

It will also be necessary to create libraries of tools for making changes across the genome and accessibility maps that highlight how efficiently different targets can be altered. These will make it easier for scientists to plan where to make changes to achieve their desired results and form the basis of predictive computer models that can streamline the process.

DNA is more than just a string of genes; its packaged into chromosomes, whose number and shape vary across species. Our ability to assemble and manipulate these chromosomes is still rudimentary.

Most efforts so far have relied on yeast to do this for us, and it has been able to deal with viral, bacterial, yeast, and algal chromosomes, as well as fragments of mice and human genomes. But engineering more specialized artificial chromosomes looks to be beyond yeast, so we need to find newer, more flexible organisms that can do this.

Transplanting these chromosomes into the target organism is also a major bottleneck. Techniques like cell fusion and microinjection show promise, but require funding for multidisciplinary work to bridge the gap between microfluidics research and molecular biology. Theres also a need for greater understanding of the fundamental forces that govern the architecture of chromosomes and how they interact.

Achieving all this could take decades, and will require the same kind of massive cross-disciplinary effort seen in the Human Genome Project. It will also require concerted government funding and close involvement of the private sector if its going to become a reality. But the benefits of harnessing the ability to write genetic code from scratch could be enormous for the biomedical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and chemical industriesand for humanity as a whole.

Image Credit: Zita/Shutterstock.com

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With These 4 Breakthroughs, We'll Be Able to Write Whole Genomes From Scratch - Singularity Hub

With everything youve been hearing about genetic engineering over the years, starting with the idea of genetically-modified fruits and vegetables all the way through gene editing in humans, youve heard a lot about why itshouldnt be done. But what are the positives? And what might happen if gene editing goes mainstream and available to (gulp) everyone? A new Netflix docuseries examines that issue.

Opening Shot: At night, we see a large cage full of barking dogs, likely pit bulls. The location is Mendenhall, Mississippi.

The Gist: The dogs are owned by Paul Ishee, an oil field tech who breeds dogs on the side. He collects sperm from the dogs (in just the way youd expect) because he wants to genetically engineer a better dog. How does he do that? Via CRISPR, a small protein that can be injected via a bacteria into an organism to edit its DNA. One of the big features with CRISPR, which was perfected only a few years ago, is that the protein is easily obtainable. So genetic modifications can be done in expensive labs by trained scientists or by biohackers in their garages.

Unnatural Selection, a docuseries produced and directed by Leeor Kaufman and Joe Egender, examines the new frontier of genetic engineering, and what ethical stumbling blocks there are to adapting gene editing on a wider basis.

The filmmakers interview a mixture of scientists and biohackers, some of whom are both. Dr. Jennifer Doudna, widely regarded as the inventor of the CRISPR method, seems to be in the middle of the debate; she knows how powerful using CRISPR can be when it comes to curing genetic-based diseases and other conditions, but is wary of people who want to use it to engineer superior organisms. Biohackers like Dr. Josiah Zayner, a biophysicist who used to work for NASA, is in favor of the democratization of genetic engineering, sending $140 CRISPR kits to people via Priority Mail. One of those people is Ishee, who wants to make a glowing dog as his first experiment, just to prove that the engineering worked.

Others, such as Dr. Kevin Esvelt, an evolutionary engineer at MIT, want to put genetic engineering into practice by modifying mice to be immune to the bite of Lyme-carrying ticks and then releasing them to breed on a small island in Marthas Vineyard. What will the consequences of that be? Even Esvelt really doesnt know for sure. And thats the problem, and where the ethical issues take hold. Sending genetically modified mice, dogs, or humans into the world may introduce unintended consequences, or might be deadly in the wrong hands. But are people who think its dangerous just being alarmist?

Our Take: Genetic engineering and all of its advantages and ethical quandaries is a complex topic to cover, and in the first part of their four-part docuseries, Kaufman and Egender try to lay out the issue in as balanced a way as possible. But what we got during the feature-length (70-minute) first episode was more of a sense of fear than one of wonder.

Why? Because, while the filmmakers are giving biohackers like Ishee and Dr. Zayner as much time as the more legit scientists, it doesnt help matters when you see Dr. Zayner concocting CRISPR samples in his kitchen or see Ishee looking at YouTube videos of glowing mice and luminescent monkeys for inspiration.

But then we see Jackson Kennedy, a boy from New Jersey who is autistic and was born with poor vision, and we become hopeful again. His parents got genetic testing for him that showed that hes missing a gene that would help him see. And hes going to go for treatment that fixes that gene, which should restore his sight if it works. This is where genetic engineering could make a huge positive impact on the world. But, whether the filmmakers intended it this way or not, there seems to be a whole lot scarier ways the use of CRISPR could go haywire, which makes us as cautious as the anti-engineering activists they interview for the first episode.

Parting Shot: We see Jason right before he goes in for the procedure, excited at the prospect that he might see more than just shapes for the first time.

Sleeper Star: When Jasons mother talked about how he wanted to be an astronaut and how heartbroken he was when he heard that astronauts need 20-20 vision, it almost broke our hearts. While his story will be a through-line through the limited series, were disappointed that there isnt a documentary just about him.

Most Pilot-y Line: There are actually two scenes of Ishee collecting sperm from his dogs. Yuck.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Were wondering how much of what were going to see during the rest ofUnnatural Selection will be more crackpots and less of the positive stuff like Jasons treatment. If its the former, wed likely end up skipping it.

Joel Keller(@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesnt kid himself: hes a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon,VanityFair.com,Playboy.com, FastCompany.com,RollingStone.com, Billboard and elsewhere.

StreamUnnatural Selection On Netflix

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Stream It Or Skip It: 'Unnatural Selection' On Netflix, A Docuseries About The Ethics And Ease Of Editing DNA - Decider

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The rise and emergence of technology has truly seen the birth of a completely new and exciting digital age, which has transformed the globe as a result. Innovation and advancements has seen technology grow not only across industries and a variety of businesses but also our personal lives, as we all interact with new devices without even realizing how much we use them on a daily basis.

With technology becoming intertwined and cemented into the 21st century way of living, we have seen the birth of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is significantly different from the first revolution back in the 18th century. This new and leading way of production is rapidly changing the manufacturing process across the globe, with the rise of complicated and impressive technologies, such as robotics, 3D printing, genetic engineering, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence. These innovations are being increasingly implemented into all industries, businesses and processes to improve production and boost efficiency.

As a result of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, production levels have improved drastically, with technologies greatly enhancing the speed and accuracy of processes that were often considered tedious and slow, with more room for human error. But in this new production revolution, who is leading the way in embracing these new innovations?

RS Components have produced a graphic analyzing data from the World Economic Forums Readiness for the Future of Production report, to reveal the countries adopting these technologies and leading the way in the future of production as a result. With each country analysed by a series of metrics including global trade and investment, institutional framework, sustainable resources, demand environment and emerging technologies, the countries leading production levels forward have been scored out of 10 to reveal who has come out on top.

The top 10 countries driving the future of production include:

US 8.16

Singapore 7.96

Switzerland 7.92

UK 7.84

Netherlands 7.75

Germany 7.56

Canada 7.56

Hong Kong 7.45

Sweden 7.40

Denmark 7.20

At the top of the leaderboard is the US with an impressive score of 8.16 out of 10. The US dominates the top of each metric excluding Sustainable Resources and Institutional Framework.

With the country holding enormous opportunity and access to digital technologies, it is important for manufacturers to capitalize on this and ensure their employees are prepared for the exciting future of production ahead. The US is known for its innovation and it is its advances, stable and connected technological platform it has built up over the years that allows it to lead the world in the future of production, from research to the manufacturing stage.

Singapore ranks as the second country driving the future of production with a score of 7.96 and Switzerland in third at 7.92. With around 20 percent of its GDP deriving from manufacturing, it is unsurprising that Singapore sits as the worlds fifth largest refinery export hub and among the top 10 global chemical hubs by export volume. Singapore, manufacturers are capitalizing on robots, artificial intelligence and predictive analytics.

Preparing employees for the future of production

With many countries making significant efforts to increase their technological innovations in their production processes, it is important for businesses and industries to address the need to prepare its employees for the change. Educating employees on new technologies and also incorporating information on these advancements into school curriculum will be greatly beneficial in preparing a technologically innovative nation.

With this preparation combined with the technological opportunity for industries and nations to explore, the world of production and manufacturing is set to change astronomically.

What country will be leading the way in the future of production in 10 years time?

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INFOGRAPHIC: The Countries Leading the Way in the Future of Production - BOSS Magazine