Cracking Unsolved Problems in the World by New Biology
Dr. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson, and Founder - Biocon Limited, and Chairperson of Vision Group on Biotechnology- Government of Karnataka , 0
I'm excited about the technology-driven biology. We previously could never do anything like what we can do today with biology. Thanks to the computational power that we have today to understand, sort, and infer from what we see and analyze. Let’s take the example of the human body itself, which is the most complex data lake you can ever imagine. In nano-seconds, you can look at all the data out there, sort, segregate, analyze, and annotate it. This is the marvel of biological systems. If you understand how biology works, you can crack many of the unsolved problems in the world.
The Challenge for Human Beings
There are many unsolved problems in the world. One is energy storage. In nature, plants have been storing solar energy through photosynthesis from the start. Solar power today is one of the biggest renewable energy sources we are looking at, combined with wind energy, but the biggest challenge is storage. The storage problem can be solved by converting energy into big biotechnology. For this, we need a modern understanding of technology. Currently, AI is playing a big role. AI is an iterative, large language. It's based on existing knowledge and data. But living systems don't just rely on existing, iterative information. They have genetic data and genetic memory. That's how birds know where to migrate and how to migrate.
AI for Better Living
We have two types of intelligence that make work and living better. One is AI, and the other is connected to human and intuitive intelligence. In this case, biology has a lot more work. As we are in the digital age today, we will be in the bio-engineering age tomorrow because that's what the future is heading to. We are all excited about the biometric policy since biomanufacturing will help us solve many of the problems we face today, whether in the areas of food, energy, or biomaterials. Biomanufacturing has a lot to offer. Synthetic biology, cell-based fermentations, and microbial or mammalian cells have changed our perspective on disease. Besides, our understanding of nutrition and sustainability has changed drastically. The viability policy is currently focused on the environment, economy, and employment. For this, Karnataka needs to focus on using technology-driven approaches to biology and biomanufacturing. This is where we have the strength to combine AI and the power of biology.
Precision Medicine and Drug Design
This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry was won by three researchers who developed predictive technologies at Google Deep Mind
and the University of Chicago. Besides, MIT has also allowed an open-source Alpha fold, software that is very close to Google Deep Mind. It will be available for searchers around the world. This makes us excited about the predictive aspects of drug design. We are looking forward to seeing precision medicine based on this in Karnataka. For this, we need the convergence of technology and biology. We have many such academic research institutions, not just in Karnataka, but across the country. In Bengaluru, we can see some very cool research going on in various research institutes. If we look at IRC (Imaging Research Center), there's a group working on brain research and neuroscience alongside the longevity lab. A significant amount of research is being conducted in gene editing, CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) technologies with distinct models, and various advanced technologies.
Many fascinating research studies have been conducted at the Institute of Theoretical Sciences. Besides, the National Center for Biological Sciences and the work that they're doing on mRNA and RNA in genetics is intriguing. The government is also doing its bit by encouraging industry to support some of these initiatives. We need to focus on three or four Moon shops and get RFPs jointly from industrial research and academic research to pursue some of these goals. Alternatively, we need to encourage an exchange program by getting professors from research institutes to take a sabbatical in industry and vice versa, industry-academia as adjunct faculty that will bring them much-needed connections, because science may be great, but it needs to be translated. The business of science is very poorly understood by scientists, and business leaders do not understand science very well. I think marrying the two is extremely important.
Innovate and Productize in Manufacturing
We are currently focused on innovating and creating products in the manufacturing sector that stem from new developments. I wanted to remind everyone in this city that the world's first handheld computer device, Simputer, was developed right here in 2002. It was set to become the most affordable handheld device in the world, intended for educational use. The government across the country failed to procure these devices. By the time that initiative was acquired by a private enterprise and launched in the market, the world had moved ahead. We lost a golden moment. So, the government procurement of new products is very important. If we come up with a new configuration, we can replace bioplastics. We should take it upon ourselves to make sure that the government is the first user of that biomaterial.
However, the beauty of India is its skill. We can produce things on a global scale. We have many young startups coming up with new ideas that they can take to the market and scale. As these are very cool ideas, the young minds somehow have the passion to drive those ideas and make them successful.
Many fascinating research studies have been conducted at the Institute of Theoretical Sciences. Besides, the National Center for Biological Sciences and the work that they're doing on mRNA and RNA in genetics is intriguing. The government is also doing its bit by encouraging industry to support some of these initiatives. We need to focus on three or four Moon shops and get RFPs jointly from industrial research and academic research to pursue some of these goals. Alternatively, we need to encourage an exchange program by getting professors from research institutes to take a sabbatical in industry and vice versa, industry-academia as adjunct faculty that will bring them much-needed connections, because science may be great, but it needs to be translated. The business of science is very poorly understood by scientists, and business leaders do not understand science very well. I think marrying the two is extremely important.
We have many young startups coming up with new ideas that they can take to the market and scale
Innovate and Productize in Manufacturing
We are currently focused on innovating and creating products in the manufacturing sector that stem from new developments. I wanted to remind everyone in this city that the world's first handheld computer device, Simputer, was developed right here in 2002. It was set to become the most affordable handheld device in the world, intended for educational use. The government across the country failed to procure these devices. By the time that initiative was acquired by a private enterprise and launched in the market, the world had moved ahead. We lost a golden moment. So, the government procurement of new products is very important. If we come up with a new configuration, we can replace bioplastics. We should take it upon ourselves to make sure that the government is the first user of that biomaterial.
However, the beauty of India is its skill. We can produce things on a global scale. We have many young startups coming up with new ideas that they can take to the market and scale. As these are very cool ideas, the young minds somehow have the passion to drive those ideas and make them successful.