4Y E A R 2 0 0 5VOL.17 NO.4

Published with the support of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences

newsletterTWASNEWSLETTER OF THE ACADEMY OF SC I ENCES FOR THE DEVELOP ING WORLD

CONTENTS 2PROLOGUE TO SUCCESS 5 KNOWLEDGE MEETS CULTURE

8 TWAS IN EGYPT 14 SCIENCE IN EGYPT 23ALEXANDRIA THE LIBRARY

29 TWAS MEDAL LECTURES 35 SOIL, SUGAR AND SINKS 40MEGA-TSUNAMI

44 EINSTEIN'S MIRACULOUS YEAR 49 PEOPLE, PLACES, EVENTS

TWAS NEWSLETTER

Published quarterly with

the support of the Kuwait Foundation

for the Advancement of Sciences

(KFAS) by the Academy of Sciences

for the Developing World (TWAS)

c/o ICTP, Strada Costiera 11

34014 Trieste, Italy

tel: +39 040 2240327

fax: +39 040 224559

email: info@twas.org

website: www.twas.org

TWAS COUNCIL

PresidentC.N.R. Rao (India)

Immediate Past PresidentJosé I. Vargas (Brazil)

Vice-PresidentsJorge E. Allende (Chile)Lu Yongxiang (China)

Lydia P. Makhubu (Swaziland)Ismail Serageldin (Egypt)

Abdul Hamid Zakri (Malaysia)

Secretary GeneralJacob Palis (Brazil)

TreasurerJosé L. Moràn Lòpez (Mexico)

Council MembersAli Al-Shamlan (Kuwait)

Frederick I.B. Kayanja (Uganda)Mohammad Ataur Rahman (Pakistan)

K. R. Sreenivasan (USA)Eugenia M. del Piño Veintimilla

(Ecuador)

TWAS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Mohamed H.A. Hassan (Sudan)

EDITOR

Daniel Schaffer

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Peter McGrath

MANAGING EDITOR

Gisela Isten

SUPPORT STAFF

Helen Grant, Sheila Khawaja,

Helen Martin, Leena Mungapen,

Sandra Ravalico

DESIGN & ART DIRECTION

Sandra Zorzetti, Rado Jagodic

www.studio-link.it

PRINTING

Stella Arti Grafiche, Trieste

Unless otherwise indicated,

the text is written by the editors

and may be reproduced freely

with due credit to the source.

ALL THOSE WHO HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT ALEXANDRIA HAVE HAD THE GOOD

FORTUNE TO STAND BOTH IN THE SHADOW OF HISTORY AND IN THE GLARE OF CURRENT

EVENTS AND TO CONSIDER, FIRSTHAND, THE ROLE THAT THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE

ENTIRE MEDITERRANEAN HAVE PLAYED – AND WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY – IN CREATING

ENLIGHTENED SOCIETIES.

F or sociologists, it is a pilgrimage to one of the world’s oldest and greatest societies, a rareopportunity to explore the ‘Florence’ of the ancient world; for political scientists, it is a

chance to examine one of antiquity’s primary centres of commerce and conflict, where Egypt-ian, Greek and Asian societies intermingled, both in war and peace; and for scientists, it is anunprecedented occasion to explore the deepest roots of their profession, a place where manyof the fundamental principles of science and mathematics were first articulated.

Much of the intellectual fer-ment that took place in thisancient city, founded by andnamed after Alexander the Great,occurred in the ancient Library ofAlexandria. It was there that the

circumference of the earth was first measured; the heavenly constellations first mapped; andthe fundamental principles of the scientific method – hypothesis, verification and replication– first put into practice. Over its 600 year history, from 300 BCE (before the common era, orBC) to 300 CE (AD), the library remained an unrivalled institution in its quest for knowledge.

Yet the library was more than a place for intellectual discourse and scientific exploration.In its fullest expression, it represented an incomparable marriage of art, music, scholarshipand science. As both an ideal and a structure, it symbolized and signified the unity of all formsof knowledge in the service of humankind.

These same forces of intellectual harmony and exchange are now taking shape in the newLibrary of Alexandria (Bibliotheca Alexandrina), creating, in the words of Ismail Serageldin(TWAS Fellow 2001), its founding director, a global institution of culture, intellect and sci-ence that forms a “window for Egypt on the world and for the world on Egypt.” In three short

Alexandria’s Past:Prologue to Success

EDITORIAL

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5years, the library has emerged as one of the world’s great centres for learning and culture, pro-viding a prologue for success in today’s world of global knowledge.

It is for these reasons that TWAS welcomed Ismail Serageldin’s invitation to have the Bib-liotheca Alexandrina host the Academy’s 16th General Meeting, which took place from 29November to 3 December 2005. Both TWAS and the library share a common goal to rekin-dle the vast yet largely untapped intellectual and scientific capacities of today’s ‘developingworld’, that same area which, some 2,000 years ago, at the time of Alexandria’s grandeur, wasthe ‘developed world’.

Today’s world, of course, is much different to the world of the distant past, not only in termsof the divide between the developing and developed world but also in terms of the unprecedentedcapacity of science and technology to drive rapid changes.

Science and technology have always been instruments of progress as well as tools ofdestruction, but never more so than today. Science and technology have always generated greatwealth and great disparities in wealth. Science and technology have also brought peoplecloser together and driven them farther apart – never more so than today.

Since its inception more than two decades ago, the main goal of TWAS has been to max-imize the positive impacts of science and technology and to minimize the negative ones. Dur-ing the first two decades of the Academy’s existence, this largely meant focusing on scientificcapacity building across the entire developing world from Chad to China and from Chile toCôte d’Ivoire. More recently TWAS has increasingly targeted its resources towards the least

developed countries (LDCs) – the world’s 50 poorest countries –where, not surprisingly, science and technology are lagging farbehind.

This is not to say North-South parity in science has beenachieved. Indeed if one adds up the scientific output of the entiredeveloping world, where 75 percent of the world’s people live, itamounts to just around 10 percent of the world’s scientific output.When considering the top 1 percent of the world’s noteworthy pub-lications (that is, publications cited most often by other scientistsin their articles, reports and books), then the developing world’s con-tribution falls to less than 5 percent (compared to 60 percent in theUnited States, where just 4 percent of the world’s population lives).In principle, if the developing world enjoyed equivalence in scien-tific output with the developed world, it would be authoring 75 per-cent of the world’s scientific publications. One measure of short-termsuccess would be for the developing world to produce 25 percent ofthe world’s peer-reviewed scientific publications within the next 10years.

These statistics remain a matter of deep concern for TWAS.But with the rise of Brazil, China, India and several other scientif-ically proficient developing countries, the Academy has every rea-

son to believe that these percentages will improve. We should all be thankful for such progressbut we should also recognize that progress thus far has been profoundly uneven, and that, whilesome developing countries have progressed rapidly, others have fallen even farther behind.

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It is for this reason that TWAS’s deepest concern lieswith the LDCs and why the Academy has launched a grantsprogramme focusing on assisting research groups that oper-ate in nations that are economically impoverished and sci-entifically lagging. To date, we have provided grants to nineresearch units in countries such as Ethiopia, Senegal, Sudanand Yemen.

At the same time, the Academy has decided to raise thetarget goal of the TWAS endowment from US$10 million toUS$15 million (the endowment fund’s balance now stands atUS$8 million). By adding US$5 million to the endowmentfund, together with the Italian government’s generous annualcontribution of US$1.5 million, we can help guarantee a sta-ble financial future for the Academy and, simultaneously,help ensure that sufficient resources are on hand to addressthe most critical issues faced in the developing world withouthaving to depend exclusively on external sources. A US$15million endowment fund, simply put, would give us thestrength and flexibility that we need to respond to the rapidlychanging landscape for science in the developing world.

The ancient Library of Alexandria served as an intellectual and scientific hub during a tur-bulent era marked by such epic events as the fall of the Roman empire and the rise of Chris-tianity. The new Library of Alexandria hopes to serve a similar role in an equally turbulentperiod marked by persistent and intense cross currents of culture that offer hope for improvedinternational understanding while simultaneously generating high-levels of tension andspasms of unspeakable violence.

In the present era, even more so than in past, science and technology are irreplaceable ele-ments propelling progress on a global scale. The Academy looks forward to standing togetherwith the Bibliotheca Alexandrina to promote strategies for science-based development that willmean so much to the Arab region and the rest of the world. Members of TWAS anticipate thatthe rigorous intellectual and scientific discussions that took place at the Academy’s 16th Gen-eral Assembly in Alexandria will mark the beginning of a long and productive relationship withthe library, as both the institutions continue to lead the way for science capacity building andsustainable development that reach into all corners of the developing world. ■

> C.N.R. RaoPresident

Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS)

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COMMENTARY

EGYPT ’S PRESIDENT MOHAMED HOSNI MUBARAK, WHOSE GOVERNMENT SERVED AS

THE PRIME SPONSOR OF THE NEW LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA, GAVE THE OPENING

ADDRESS AT TWAS’S 16TH GENERAL MEETING. IN HIS SPEECH, PRESIDENT MUBARAK

OUTLINED HIS PLANS FOR SCIENCE IN EGYPT, PLACING IT AT THE CENTRE OF THE

NATION’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS.

KNOWLEDGE MEETS CULTURE IN BIBLIOTHECAALEXANDRINA

Bibliotheca Alexandrina, thenew Library of Alexandria,which opened to the public

just three years ago, has rapidlyemerged both as a world-renownedinstitution of knowledge and anopen forum for facilitating dialoguebetween cultures. As a sterling sym-bol of humanity’s unquenchablethirst for knowledge, the libraryseeks, in the words of its lofty mis-sion, “to honour the past, celebratethe present and embrace the future”.

It should therefore come as no sur-prise to learn that the new Libraryof Alexandria has been built nearthe site of the ancient Library ofAlexandria, antiquity’s greatest cen-tre of learning and cultural ex-change. Yet it is also important tonote that the physical structure it-self – a ‘form-fitting-function’ edi-fice of steel and glass that venerateslight and free-flowing space – is anunabashed expression of modernarchitecture. Built on the founda-

tions of ancient wisdom but reach-ing both metaphorically and physi-cally towards the frontiers of knowl-edge, the new Library of Alexandriaproudly expresses its bold themes ofunderstanding and progress astimeless pursuits shared by all ofhumanity for all of humanity.

Science has always been – andnever more so than in our modernworld – a central element in thisquest. And that is why the Egyptiangovernment was proud to have the

[CONTINUED PAGE 6]

Academy of Sciences for the Devel-oping World (TWAS) meet here forits 16th General Assembly. Themore than 800 scientists from 90countries who have been electedmembers of TWAS not only re-present great individual scientificachievement but also reflect howthe pursuit of science transcendspolitical borders to foster intellec-tual creativity among all cultures aspart of the common heritage ofhumankind.

Civil society has played a keyrole in the relentless reform andmodernization of society throughits pursuit, articulation and ex-change of knowledge. As a keyconstituent of civil society, the sci-entific community has helped tospur change from the time ofArchimedes in ancient Greece toour nuclear age inspired by thework of Albert Einstein.

Science, therefore, is destinedto play a fundamental role in the

reform and modernization of thedeveloping world in general andthe Arab region in particular. AbdusSalam, the great Pakistani scientistand Nobel Prize winner in physicswho also founded TWAS, under-stood science’s importance to socie-ty and viewed it as a primary rea-son for the enormous disparities inliving conditions between thedeveloped and developing worlds.

Today, the gap remains preva-lent – and indeed may be widening– in many fields of scientificendeavour, including such cutting-edge fields as biotechnology, infor-mation and communication tech-nologies, alternative and renew-able energy, medicine and thedevelopment of pharmaceuticals.Equally important, the gap alsoremains prevalent in scientific edu-cation and training, which willlargely determine a nation’s futurescientific capacity and levels ofaccomplishment.

The critical importance of sci-entific education and trainingmake the efforts of such institu-tions as the new Library of Alexan-dria and TWAS ever-more criticalto both national and internationalefforts for achieving a better futurefor the people of the developingworld.

Egypt is determined to strength-en its capacity in science by improv-ing its scientific infrastructure andtraining and by expanding itsefforts for scientific cooperationwith other nations, particularlynations in the Arab region. We willseek to advance these goals by:• Setting clear priorities and bench-

marks for measuring progress.• Fostering human resource devel-

opment by strengthening the cur-riculum for science at the primary,secondary and tertiary levels.

• Improving the status of existingresearch institutions and buildingnew institutions in geographical

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areas and fields of interest wherethey do not currently exist.

• Enhancing cooperation betweenthe public and private sectors forthe financing and promotion ofscience.

• Expanding South-North andSouth-South scientific coopera-tion.

Progress on all of these frontswill require enormous investments– both political and financial – onthe part of all developing coun-tries.

Assistance from our friends inthe developed countries is, ofcourse, welcome. But success willonly come to those who choose tohelp themselves. The greatest re-sponsibility for achieving scientificparity with the developed worldthus rests on the shoulders of thedeveloping countries which mustprove that they are capable ofshouldering such responsibility as along-term commitment that reach-es beyond immediate rewards.

That is why Egypt has workedclosely with the United Nations,the League of Arab States and theAfrican Union – most recently onactivities related to the UN spon-sored World Summit on the Infor-mation Society (WSIS), which washeld in Tunisia in November 2005– to develop the scientific capacityof our nation and region, and thatis why we will continue to stronglysupport the work of the newLibrary of Alexandria, which holds

such promise for returning theArab region to a pre-eminent posi-tion as a global centre for knowl-edge and cultural exchange.

Egypt and its flagship institu-tion for knowledge and science –the new Library of Alexandria –look forward to working closelywith TWAS on achieving theselofty goals, which will make for amore secure, peaceful and harmo-nious world. ■

> Hosni MubarakPresident

Egypt

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TWAS’s 16th General Meeting washeld at the Bibliotheca Alexand-

rina, the new Library of Alexandria,completed in 2002, and a shiningexample of a forum for cultural dia-logue and scientific exchange in one ofthe world’s most troubled regions.

Highlights of the meeting included:• An address to TWAS Fellows by the President of Egypt,Mohammad Hosni Mubarak, in which he outlinedEgypt’s efforts to expand the base of scientific researchthrough five main points: first, by developing policies forsupporting scientific research; second, by developinghuman resources and improving all levels of education;third, by building new state-of-the-art and independentresearch centres while continuing to support the exist-ing ones; fourth, by enhancing the relationship betweenthe government, private and public sectors and civilsociety organizations to help finance scientific research;

and fifth, by facilitating the transfer oftechnologies from advanced nationswhile creating North-South andSouth-South cooperation. (For the textof President Mubarak’s address, seepages 5-7).

President Mubarak also present-ed the 2005 Trieste Science Prizes,

the 2005 TWAS Medals and the 2004 TWAS Prizes tothe awardees. • A talk by Paula Dobriansky, the US Under Secretary ofState for Democracy and Global Issues, who was inAlexandria to renew a ten-year agreement between theUS and Egypt on cooperation in science and technology.“Over two thousand years ago” said Dobriansky, “Alexan-dria’s ancient library was a centre of science andmathematics and a bastion of learning unlike anythe world had ever known before. It broughttogether great minds to solve major problems –and it succeeded. Today, TWAS seeks to promote

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FEATURE

TWAS IN EGYPTLOOKING

TO THE FUTURETHE 16TH GENERAL MEETING OF TWAS TOOK PLACE IN ALEXANDRIA,

EGYPT, FROM 29 NOVEMBER TO 3 DECEMBER 2005.

SOME 250 SCIENTISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD ATTENDED,

THE MAJORITY OF WHOM WERE MEMBERS OF TWAS.

scientific excellence and recognize scientific accomplish-ments. It brings together great minds to solve major prob-lems. The US stands with TWAS in this very importanteffort and hopes that, together, we will succeed.”• Lectures by the two 2005 Trieste Science Prize laure-ates, Sergio H. Ferreira (TWAS Fellow1993) and T.P. Ramakrishnan (TWASFellow 1991), as well as lectures byeach of the eight 2004 TWAS Prizewinners.• TWAS Medal Lectures for 2005were presented by Eugenia del PinoVeintimilla (TWAS Fellow 1989) onthe developmental strategies of mar-supial and dendrobatid frogs; and Ragunath A.Mashelkar (TWAS Fellow 1993) on how scientists areincreasingly providing inert gels with life-like properties(see pages 29-34). In addition, special lectures were

presented by Salih J. Wakil (TWAS Associate Fel-low 1998) on mechanisms of fat metabo-

lism; Harsh Kumar Gupta (TWAS Fellow1995) on the tsunami of 26 December

2004 and India’s subsequent initiative to mitigate theimpact of future tsunamis and storm surges (see pages40-43); Peter Raven (TWAS Associate Fellow 1993) onbiodiversity, sustainability and developing countries;and Ismail Serageldin (TWAS Fellow 2001) on science

in Egypt ‘from Imotep to Zewail’,the ancient and modern libraries ofAlexandria, and women in science.• Fifty eminent scientists from 21countries were elected to TWAS. Thelist included the first TWAS Fellowfrom Rwanda as well as scientistsfrom countries under-represented inTWAS such as Ghana, Iran, Kenya,

Madagascar, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Uruguay.Successful candidates were chosen from a record 270nominations. Total TWAS membership now stands at 811.For a complete list of the new members, see www.twas.organd click on the ‘Membership’ link.• TWAS Council announced the following winners of theTWAS Prizes for 2005: Alex Enrique Bustillo Pardey,Colombia, in agricultural sciences; Huanming Yang,

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NEW INITIATIVE

TWAS and the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) have announced a jointprogramme to promote research in plant biotechnology in developing countries. The programme will support noveland innovative basic research in plant biotechnology and, in particular, on resistance to abiotic stress. Applica-tions are being invited from two to four collaborating research groups located at institutions in different countries.Principal applicants should be located in ICGEB member states. Special consideration will be given to those appli-cations that include at least one least developed country. Letters of intent to participate in the programme shouldbe received by 15 February 2006. TWAS and ICGEB will then invite selected research groups to a ‘match-making’symposium, to be held in May or June 2006, aimed at helping potential participants to develop their collabora-tive programmes. For additional information, visit www.icgeb.org/GRANTS/icgeb_twas.htm.

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Alexandria’s ancientlibrary was a bastion of learning unlike any

the world had everknown before.

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China, and Jerson Silva, Colombia, in biology; KrishnaGanesh, India, in chemistry; Rixiang Zhu, China, inearth sciences; Mauricio Terrones, Mexico, in engineer-ing sciences; Parimala Raman, India, in mathematics;Shah M. Faruque, Bangladesh, in medical sciences; andEnge Wang, China, in physics. Among these, MauricioTerrones, at age 37, is the youngest scientist ever to wina TWAS Prize, Parimala Raman is the first woman math-ematician to be honoured by TWAS in the 20-year his-tory of its awards schemes, and Shah Faruque is the firstscientist from Bangladesh to receivea TWAS Prize. For additional infor-mation on these prize winners, visitwww.twas.org and click on the ‘Activ-ities’ link.

The Council also announcedthe TWAS Medal Lecturers for2006: Eduardo Moacyr Krieger(TWAS Fellow 1995), Li Jiayang

(TWAS Fellow 2004) and Ismail Serageldin (TWASFellow 2001). The lectures will be presented atthe next TWAS General Meeting that will takeplace at Angra dos Reis, south of Rio de Janeiro,

Brazil, from 2-6 September 2006.• The announcement that TWAS had awarded 47

research grants to young scientists in early2005 and another 50 grants in October. In ad-

dition, in partnership withTWAS, 23 Prizes

to Young Scien-tists in Develop-

ing Countries wereawarded by natio-

nal science organiza-

tions in 15 countries in the South. It was also an-nounced that TWAS had received some 130 applica-tions for its various fellowship programmes and thatsuccessful candidates would be selected by the firstTWAS Fellowships Committee that would meet inTrieste in December (see box, page 11). Commentingon the fellowship programme, TWAS secretary gen-eral, Jacob Palis, said that the aim was to award 200fellowships a year. “In five years, this will amount to1,000 young scientists going to some of the world’s

best institutions. If we do thiswell,” continued Palis, “we willmake a big difference, changingthe map of science in the world inless than a decade.”• A special session on ‘New Initia-tives in Promoting Science Educa-tion and Research in DevelopingCountries’ chaired by Ismail Ser-

ageldin and featuring Sergio Rezende, Brazil’s Ministerof Science and Technology among the panelists.• A workshop on ‘Social Sciences and Economics’, con-vened by Ismail Serageldin. At the close of the work-shop, it was decided to establish a task force, in collab-oration with the Third World Organization for Womenin Science (TWOWS), to devise a strategy for increasingthe presence of women scientists in the global scientificcommunity, especially at high-level administrative andmanagement positions. The task force will be assembledby February 2006 and report back to the Academy at thenext TWAS General Meeting scheduled to take place inBrazil in September 2006.• A special session dedicated to the ‘TWAS Perspectiveon the International Year of Physics’, which celebrated

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The TWAS fellowshipsprogramme will make abig difference, changingthe face of science inless than a decade.

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the centennial anniversary of AlbertEinstein’s annus mirabilis, 1905, theyear Einstein published four seminalpapers that revolutionized the studyof physics and radically altered pub-lic perception of the universe. Theworkshop featured presentationsby Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, theFrench Nobel Laureate in physics,1997, who spoke on the modernityof Einstein’s ideas; Luis Davidovich(TWAS Fellow 2002), who exploredthe subtleties of quantum mechan-ics; Govind Swarup (TWAS Fellow1991) who looked at cosmology andastrophysics “from Einstein to now”; and Lu Yongxiang,president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, whosummarized the advances in physics made during thepast 100 years (see pages 44-48). • A special session dedicated to ‘Biotechnology forDeveloping Countries’, chaired by Manju Sharma (TWAS

Fellow 1995). Workshop speakers outlined the impact ofbiotechnology in different areas of science, includingagriculture, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and the envi-ronment. At the end of the session, TWAS memberspresent agreed to establish a standing panel on biotech-nology with the aim of promoting dialogue on biotech-

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FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAMMES

The first TWAS Fellowships Committee, comprising representatives from the organizations supporting the pro-gramme, met in Trieste for the first time on 8-9 December 2005. From the 130 applications received for the fel-lowship programmes, 81 awards were made: 47 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), including 18 post-graduate students, 14 postdoctoral researchers and 15 visiting scholars; 29 by the Brazilian National Council forScientific and Technological Development (CNPq), including 17 postgraduate students and 12 postdoctoralresearchers. Among these 12 are the first two fellowships awarded by TWAS to young scientists from Iraq. In addi-tion, the Department of Biotechnology of the government of India also awarded five fellowships, including 3 post-graduate students and 2 postdoctoral researchers. The awards will be taken up in 2006.

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nology issues, organizing capacity building and aware-ness raising programmes, and holding two or threeworkshops a year in different developing countries.• The launch of a TWAS initiative to be carried out incollaboration with the International Centre for GeneticEngineering and Biotechnology(ICGEB). The initiative will encour-age research institutions to developcollaborative research programmesin the field of plant stress (see box,page 9).• An update on the TWAS RegionalOffices, which are now operating infive regions of the developing world:in Beijing under the auspices of the Chinese Academy ofSciences for the east and southeast Asia region; in Ban-galore under the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for AdvancedScientific Research for central and south Asia; in Nairobiunder the African Academy of Sciences for sub-SaharanAfrica; in Alexandria under the Bibliotheca Alexandrina

for the Arab region; and in Rio de Janeiro under theBrazilian Academy of Sciences for Central and SouthAmerica and the Caribbean. The offices have held con-ferences and symposia, launched awards programmesfor young scientists, developed websites, and publicized

and distributed information aboutTWAS programmes both to scientistsand scientific institutions through-out their regions.

Despite the increasing visibility ofthe TWAS fellowships programmeand the increasing number of nomi-nations received for new fellows

and TWAS Prizes, discussions during the TWAS Gener-al Meeting explored some of the areas where TWAScould be more effective. Once again, the main areas ofconcern were sub-Saharan Africa and the least devel-oped countries (LDCs).

Sospeter Muhongo (TWAS Fellow 2004 and direc-tor of the International Council for Science (ICSU)regional office for sub-Saharan Africa) highlighted thefact that African universities had inadequate resourcesto host visiting professors and asked whether TWAScould devise a programme that would allow ‘itinerant’lecturers to travel from one location to another, whichcould serve as another aspect of the Academy’s corestrategy for promoting scientific exchange. He alsoadded that the TWAS fellowship programme was anexcellent scheme, but that it needs to be more widelypromoted in Africa.

Yousef Sobouti (TWAS Fellow 1987) highlightedthe ongoing problem of the brain drain. “Whatever wedo seems to exacerbate the brain drain rather than

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We must create centresof excellence or we

will continue to lose our talented scientists.

IN MEMORIUM

TWAS lost seven members in 2005: Hubert Curien(Associate Fellow 2002, France); Ranjan Roy Daniel(Fellow 1995, India); Donald Efiong Udo Ekong(Fellow 1985, Nigeria); Tseng Cheng Kui (Fellow1985, China), Huang Kun (Fellow 1985, China);César Lattes (Fellow 1988, Brazil); and JalalMohammad Saleh (Fellow 1987, Iraq). We willmiss their friendship and camaraderie and extendour condolences to their families and friends.

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help it,” he said. “We must create centres of excellenceof substantial strength or we will continue to lose ourtalented young scientists as they become disillusionedand seek opportunities elsewhere.”

Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary (TWAS Fellow 2002)added that, in those countries where science and tech-nology is leading development, the driving force hasbeen political will. He then suggested lobbying theleaders of developing countries.

Vincent Titanje (TWAS Fellow 2004) added thatthe grand challenges for TWAS included not only con-tacting international donor agencies to fund large pro-grammes – a challenge also highlighted by the TWASProgrammes Committee during its discussions – butalso to encourage countries to put their own moneyinto their own national science budgets.

TWAS President, C.N.R. Rao agreed with thesecomments and added that TWAS, in collaboration withthe InterAcademy Panel (IAP) is talking to governmentministers, seeking to convince them of the importanceof building indigenous scientific capacity as a majorstep towards economic development.

Summing up, Lu Yongxiang (TWAS Fellow 1990and president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences)highlighted the fact that supplying even such basicneeds in developing countries as safe drinking waterand mitigating natural disasters are also high-techchallenges. “These issues should be considered along-side the other ‘divides’ such as thedigital divide, the nanotech divide,the space and biotechnologydivides,” he said, noting that“the challenge for TWAS is tonarrow all these gaps.”

Concluding the meeting,C.N.R. Rao confirmed that thenext TWAS General Meeting, to beheld in Brazil in September 2006,will specifically address how theLDCs can begin to tackle thesechallenges. He also thanked IsmailSerageldin, director of the Biblio-theca Alexandrina, for his hospital-ity and the staff of the library fortheir assistance and hardwork both beforeand throughoutthe meeting. ■

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MEETING NEXT

The 17th General Meeting and 10th General Confer-ence of TWAS will take place at Angra dos Reis, 150kilometres south of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 2-6September 2006. During the meeting in Alexandria, it was decidedthat the conference in Brazil will feature a specialsession for young scientists. Participants will beselected on merit through an open competition. Theyoung scientists, who will be mentored by TWASFellows, will be asked to discuss a series of issuesrevolving around how their scientific output can beused for national development.

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A t first glance, science in Egyptappears to be in relatively good

shape. There are, after all, about170,000 scientists living and working inthe country. That translates into 2,000scientists per million population. Devel-oping countries, in contrast, have onaverage only 800 scientists per million population – lessthan half of Egypt’s percentage.

Respect for education within Egypt, moreover, hasdeep roots that date back to the time of the pharaohssome 5,000 years ago. Some 50 years ago, soon afterEgypt gained independence from the United Kingdom,the newly formed Egyptian government declared thatuniversity education would be free and embarked onan extensive programme for scientific developmentbased on the creation of publicly funded research cen-tres in a broad number of disciplines. The result hasbeen the creation of nearly 50 centres, including ninethat TWAS currently designates as centres of excel-lence. And just three years ago, in 2002, the Egyptian

government opened the doors of thenew Library of Alexandria, which hasbecome a beacon of knowledge notonly in its host nation but throughoutthe Arab region.

Yet, as we all know, looks can some-times be deceiving (or at least some-

what misleading) and that may well be the case inEgypt. Despite some favourable statistics and venerableinstitutions, Egypt faces great challenges in its efforts tobuild a scientific base that truly meets global standardsfor excellence.

Critics bitterly contend that the nation’s researchsystem suffers from bureaucratic inertia and an abid-ing sense that age trumps talent, making it difficult foryoung researchers to gain the support that they needto advance their careers. Cronyism often drives promo-tions and limited funds often fail to keep pace withinflation, leaving individual researchers underpaid andinstitutions poorly equipped and maintained. All ofthis has added up to an aging and lethargic scientificcommunity. “Research in Egypt,” as one critic recently

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FEATURE

SCIENCE IN EGYPT

HOME TO ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREAT CIVILIZATIONS

AND OFTEN VIEWED AS HAVING ONE OF THE ARAB REGION’S LARGEST

AND STRONGEST SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITIES, EGYPT NEVERTHELESS

FACES GREAT CHALLENGES IN MODERNIZING ITS SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY ENTERPRISE.

lamented, “is, as it always was, ahaphazard activity.”

But such discouraging trends may finally be experi-encing a turn-around. Several recent developments, atleast, point in that direction, providing hope for thefuture.

First, Ahmed Nazif, who holds a doctorate in com-puter engineering from McGill University in Canada,was appointed prime minister in July 2004. Less thanone year after he assumed office, in June 2005, theMinistry of Scientific Research and the Academy of Sci-entific Research and Technology published a 12-yearstrategic plan for science and technology in Egypt. Theplan – an action-oriented document that is intended toserve as one of the cornerstones of Nazif ’s reformefforts – was officially launched at a national scienceconference held in Cairo in June 2005 attended bymore than 4,000 Egyptian researchers and scienceadministrators.

Among its specific recommendations, the plan callsfor the creation of postgraduate training programmesin such cutting-edge fields as biotechnology, renewableenergy, pharmaceuticals and information and commu-nication technologies. It also emphasises the need todevelop a comprehensive strategy for the promotion ofwomen in science; for the creation of better trainingprogrammes for science policy advisors; and for devis-ing more effective ways of enhancing the public’sappreciation and understanding of science.

These broad-based initiatives will be funded byraising the percentage of the government’s budget

devoted to science and technology from 0.9 percentto 1 percent. If this commitment is fulfilled, the annu-al level of funding available for science and technolo-gy initiatives will rise to an estimated US$8.5 billionby 2012.

As part of this larger effort, in late 2004, Egyptopened a 146,000 square metre complex in the shad-ow of the pyramids of Giza, which it dubbed a ‘scienceand technology city’. The complex will have a continu-al series of interactive exhibits on display. It will alsobe responsible for producing and distributing print,broadcast and electronic material designed to bringscience and technology closer to the people, not just inCairo but throughout the nation. In a related effort,Egypt’s science and technology city plans to hold con-ferences, symposia and training workshops to strength-en science communication.

In January 2006, again in line with its 12-yearstrategic plan for science and technology, the Egyptian

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[CONTINUED PAGE 16]

At first glance, science in Egypt appears to be in

relatively good shape.

government announced that itwould launch a fellowship pro-gramme for 50 African students ayear, over the next 10 years, to studyin Egyptian universities and researchcentres. The twin goals of the fellowship programme areto promote scientific capacity building in Africa and toencourage cooperation across the continent.

During the same month, Nazif appointed HanyMahfouz Helal, professor of mineralogy at Cairo Uni-versity, as both the Minister of Higher Education andthe Minister of State for Scientific Research. Helal hasbeen asked to strengthen public-private sector partner-ships in science and technology, especially in the fieldsof nanotechnology, biotechnology and information andcommunication technologies.

Whether these recent steps lead to sustained invest-ments in science and technology remains to be seen.

The existing foundation on which the nation willseek to build a more dynamic scientific enterprise wasclearly visible at a session held at the TWAS 16th Gen-eral Meeting in Alexandria, devoted to science andtechnology in Egypt. At the session, scientists fromfour of the nation’s most esteemed scientific institu-tions described the range of activities currently beingpursued by their institutions. Summaries of their pre-sentations follow.

WATER MATTERSOf all the resources needed for sustainable economicdevelopment, one may be more vital than all others:access to safe drinking water. This is especially true in

the arid and semi-arid environments that dominateEgypt and the entire Arab region. That is why, in 1975,the Egyptian government created the National WaterResearch Centre (NWRC). It has since become one ofthe nation’s pre-eminent centres of excellence.

Access to water has always been a vital concern toEgypt. Indeed it is no surprise that the ancient civiliza-tions of Egypt embraced the Nile River both as a life-line to their very existence and as an enduring sourceof their culture and spirituality. Water resources havebecome even more precious in recent years, not only inarid nations such as Egypt but throughout the entireworld, as relentless population growth and increasedlevels of pollution add to the scarcity of water andraise the spectre of widespread shortages in the future.

To meet the increasing demand for water, even asadditional stresses place current supplies at risk, Egyptmust optimise the use of conventional resources whilesimultaneously exploring ways of accessing noncon-ventional sources. The government has taken thisresponsibility seriously. In 1981, it issued a water mas-

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Critics contend that the nation’s researchsystem suffers from

bureaucratic inertia andan abiding sense that

age trumps talent.

ter plan; in 1993, a water security plan; and in 2003, awater resources plan.

For the past three decades, NWRC, operating underthe auspices of the Ministry of Irrigation and WaterResources, has been the nation’s primary waterresources research centre. The centre oversees 12research units with mandates that range from suchspecific issues as coastal and ground water supplies tosuch cross-cutting challenges as engineering, construc-tion and climate change.

NWRC’s primary goal is to ensure that the researchunits functioning under its administrative umbrella areconducting strong and effective research programmes.NWRC has also established strong links both to inter-national water organizations and water agencies inother countries. In addition, it acts as the coordinatingunit for the African Water Resources Network and is amember of the water resources network in the MiddleEast and North Africa region.

Egypt’s population currently stands at some 75 mil-lion and is increasing at a rate of more than one milliona year. Historically, it is one of the few nations in theArab region that has enjoyed adequate water supplies,thanks in large measure to the bounty of the Nile River.

Yet it now faces the prospect of water scarcities.That’s due not only to population growth but also torising levels of pollution caused primarily by uncon-trolled municipal and industrial discharges into waterways, rising levels of water salinity related to irriga-tion, and natural saltwater intrusions emanating fromsilt in the Nile Delta.

Combatting these ominous trends requires bothgood science and good management. That’s whyNWRC and its research units focus not only on basicresearch but also on analysing, for example, effectivestrategies for the development of integrated resourcemanagement programmes and on examining howenvironmental laws and regulations at all governmen-tal levels can be more effectively enforced.

Experience has shown that recent advances inremote sensing and computer modelling can help cre-ate a framework for dramatic improvements in waterresource use and conservation. At the same time,experience has shown that the most effective pro-grammes, without exception, are demand-driven andclient-based.

Providing the technical underpinnings to ensureadequate water supplies remains a primary responsi-bility of the NWRC. But, over the past decade, moreand more attention has been paid to questions ofwater quality and the long-term environmental im-pacts associated with such water management issuesas irrigation.

As a consequence of these trends, NWRC hasevolved from largely technical, apolitical organizationto an organization that devotes an increasing amountof its budget and attention to examining the policy rel-evance – and effectiveness – of its research.

Along with embracing new scientific tools andmethodologies, NWRC has also adopted such newmanagement approaches as ‘logical framework analy-ses’ and ‘results-based management’. Indeed theseinstitutional reforms, based on openness, transparencyand accountability in decision making, are designed tostrengthen the research management process. Specifi-cally, the NWRC’s reform measures provide decisionmakers with relevant and understandable informationthat help them devise science-based solutions toEgypt’s critical water challenges.

About 90 percent of Egypt’s overall budget for waterresearch and development comes from the governmentand 10 percent from the private sector. That’s exactlythe opposite of the breakdown in developed countries,where on average 90 percent of all revenues for waterresearch and development comes from the private sec-tor and just 10 percent from the government.

As NWRC has shifted its agenda towards appliedresearch, the research that it conducts has become moreexpensive. That’s because its effectiveness depends onrigorous career-long training of personnel; continual

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upgrading of research tools; and the need to field testresearch findings – all of which isn’t cheap. At the sametime, competing demands on government and highpublic debt have made it increasingly difficult forNWRC to secure the funds that it needs.

As a result, NWRC has embarked on a strategydesigned to secure funds from external sources thatinclude, for example, international organizations andfoundations, government agencies in the Arab region,and even private corporations. It does this by offeringconsultancy and project management services andorganizing fee-based workshops and seminars. The

goal is not to wean NWRC from its close and fruitfulrelationship with its prime benefactor, the Egyptiangovernment, but to generate sufficient external fundsto upgrade and sustain its research capabilities. Theinitiative, if successful, should prove advantageous toNWRC, Egypt and the entire Arab region. ■

For additional information about Egypt’s water policies and the role that science

and technology play in national efforts to maintainadequate water supplies, contact:

> Shaden Abdel-GawadChair

National Water Research CentreMinistry of Water Resources and Irrigation

Cairo, Egyptshaden@nwrc-eg.org

SPACE OBJECTIVESRemote sensing and space science may seem like tech-nological luxuries that developing nations cannotafford given their pressing problems and limited finan-cial resources.

But the fact is that Egypt and other developingnations must invest in these ‘enabling’ technologies ifthey hope to successfully address the critical environ-mental and economic challenges that they face – bothnow and in the future.

That is why the Egyptian government established aNational Centre for Remote Sensing in 1971. Sixteenyears later, in 1997, the government expanded theresponsibilities of the centre to include space science.To more accurately reflect this new broader mandate,the organization’s name was also changed to theNational Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sci-ences (NARSS).

The long-standing goal of NARSS has been todevelop and maintain state-of-the-art laboratories foradvanced image processing and applications. Since1997, NARSS has also served as the primary govern-ment agency for building research and technologicalcapacity in the fields of space science and for acquiringand operating ground stations able to receive andprocess a steady stream of space images. Throughoutits history, NARSS has also focused on high-level train-

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ing for its staff and forging broad-ranging collabora-tions with space agencies in other nations.

The remote sensing activities of NARSS are basedon downloading images generated by satellites and onutilizing digital mapping systems capable of transform-ing these images into usable data on the ground. Theorganization’s work has provided invaluable tools forinvestigations into the state of Egypt’s natural resourcebase – most notably, its air, soil and water.

The nation’s remote sensing capabilities have alsoplayed a vital role in devising strategies for urban andrural development and coastal and desert manage-ment. Most recently, remote sensing has been used tostudy trends in the nation’s groundwater supplies andthe potential impact of global warming on the nation’sfragile ecosystems.

NARSS’ space science activities, on the other hand,have largely focused on building thescientific know-how and technicalinfrastructure – in terms of engineer-ing, materials, sensors and instru-ments – that are necessary for Egyptto develop ‘self-standing’ capabilitiesin space. The strategy calls for thedevelopment of 100-kilogrammemicro-satellites – EGYPTSAT-1 formulti-spectral earth observation andDESERTSAT for desert exploration.

To ensure the successful launchof these satellites, NARSS is cur-rently building a series of laborato-ries required for satellite design,assembly and testing. These labo-ratories are expected to be opera-tional within the next three to fouryears, enabling Egypt to move fromthe purchasing to the manufactur-ing of satellites. In a sense, NARSShas been charged with the respon-sibility of transforming an off-the-shelf technology, acquired fromothers, into an indigenous technol-ogy based on home-grown scientif-ic knowledge and technical skills.

While the success of the NARSSspace science programme can only

be judged in the future, the work of NARSS’ remotesensing division is already bearing fruit. NARSS’remote sensing activities have proven instrumental inefforts to improve the nation’s soil and water manage-ment programmes. The authority’s information-gath-ering initiatives, which it hopes to expand substantial-ly in the years ahead, have also provided an extensivedatabase for government programmes to protect thenation’s vast desert environment and to utilize wiselythe bountiful yet largely untapped resources con-tained within this arid environment. Fisheries andagriculture have also benefited from NARSS, as haveemergency measures to minimize the destructiveimpact of oil spills.

So, while sceptics may claim that Egypt’s limitedfinancial resources should be devoted to immediatesocial and economic problems, NARSS, over its three

decades of operation, has proventhat remote sensing is not soremote and that satellite technolo-gy is not so pie-in-the-sky when itcomes to addressing the criticalconcerns of people. ■

For additional information aboutEgypt’s remote sensing and space

science activities, contact:> Omar Cherif

HeadGeological Applications Division

National Agency for RemoteSensing and Space

Cairo, Egyptcherifomar@hotmail.com

LANDFALLNature has bestowed on Egyptabout 2.2 million hectares of arableland. Virtually all of it is confined tothe Nile basin and delta and virtual-ly all is dependent on irrigationwater drawn from the Nile. Another1 million hectares has been reclai-med from the Nile basin and deltathanks to sophisticated drainage

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[CONTINUED PAGE 20]

The annual level offunding available

in Egypt for science andtechnology initiatives

will rise to an estimatedUS$8.5 billion by 2012.

and hydrologic engineering efforts that have been inplace for decades. Then there are small scattered patch-es of rain-fed land – about 800,000 hectares – lying onthe Mediterranean coast and nestled alongside ground-water-fed oases sprinkled across the vast arid regionsthat dominate the Egyptian landscape.

Adding all of this together, Egypt has about 3.3 mil-lion hectares of arable land. That represents less than4 percent of the nation’s total land area, which standsat about 100 million hectares. In contrast, Turkey,which covers an area of about 80 million hectares, hasmore than 23 million hectares of arable land. Thatmeans nearly 30 percent of Turkey’s total land mass isavailable for agricultural use. Both countries are hometo about 70 million people and both are experiencingrapid population growth.

All of these statistics mean that if we examine thechallenges confronting Egyptian agriculture, weinvariably wind up focusing, first of all, on its limitedarable land base; secondly, on its large population thatis growing at the rate of more than 1.2 million peoplea year; and, thirdly, on the Nile River, which is thenation’s only significant source of fresh water.

Simply put, Egypt has a lot of mouths to feed andnot a lot of land on which to grow food. That’s why theEgyptian government decided to invest in biotechnolo-gy, establishing an Agricultural Genetic EngineeringResearch Institute (AGERI) in Giza in 1990.

The institute’s mission is to develop biotechnologyproducts and services that will not only help foster asustainable agricultural system within Egypt but ulti-mately create agricultural products and services thatfind their way into the global market place. In brief,AGERI has been asked to help build a scientific foun-dation for feeding Egypt’s growing population while,at the same time, serving as a source of agriculturalexports. As Anaya Itribi, director of the institute, not-ed at the TWAS General Meeting in Alexandria,AGERI “applies genetic engineering with one eye onthe market.”

Specifically, the institute focuses its research strate-gy on issues of prime importance to Egyptian agricul-ture. For example, it has sought to use biotechnologyas a tool to develop genetically engineered plants moretolerant to prolonged drought, scorching heat andhigh levels of salinity (the latter is an unwelcome by-

product of irrigation-dependent agriculture and theintrusion of saltwater into the Nile delta).

The institute is equipped with a state-of-the-artgenomics and bioinformatics laboratory. Its first prod-uct, which has undergone field tests for the past fiveyears, is a virus-resistant, genetically-modified squash,developed in cooperation with Michigan State Univer-sity in the United States. Researchers at the institutehave also worked with Montana State University in theUnited States on a project that has transferred a Btgene into local potato varieties to make them moreresistant to troublesome tuber moths, both in the fieldand in storage. Tests have shown that this biopesticidehas led to a marked reduction in moth infestation anda corresponding increase in yield – all without the useof toxic pesticides. In addition, the institute has insert-ed the HB1 gene into locally grown wheat, a bioengi-neering process that is designed to enhance plantyields in hot, dry conditions.

The Bt-modified potato has been exported withsome success. The squash plant is undergoing additionaltests to determine if it meets international biosafetystandards for food, feed and environmental protection.However, because the market is small – no more than120,000 hectares in Egypt are expected to be planted insquash – the regulatory process has proven to be costlyin light of the anticipated return on the investment.

On the other hand, the institute is optimistic thatHB1-containing wheat varieties will be introduced intothe market much more rapidly and for less cost thanthe engineered squash plants because the introducedHB-1 gene was isolated from a barley plant that isalready deemed safe. Field tests, moreover, show thatyields are 10 to 20 percent higher than yields obtained

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from conventional wheat plants,making farmers eager to have accessto the new varieties.

Other crops that have received AGERI’s attentionand resources include high-yielding transgenic cotton,which has been developed in partnership with the USagri-company Monsanto and which is projected to beon the global market by 2008, and virus-free trans-genic sweet potatoes and virus-free strawberries whichare being developed in cooperation with Egyptianfood-exporting companies. The institute has alsorecently signed a contract with a cut-flower companyin Egypt to create blue-coloured gerbera by isolatingand transferring a gene from a blue-coloured petunia.

Other potential sources of external revenue forAGERI focus on the possibility of serving as a trainingcentre for molecular biologists from the Arab regionand on providing expert for-fee advice on such issuesas technology transfer and the protection of propertyrights. All of these efforts are intended to generatefunds that will be reinvested in the institute to helpensure that it keeps pace with rapidly evolving fields ofbiotechnology and genetic engineering. ■

For additional information about Egypt’s geneticengineering policies and initiatives, contact:

> Hanaiya L. Itribi Director

Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute(AGERI)

Giza, Egypthitriby@ageri.sci.eg

TISSUE CULTURECan medical science advance to the point where itcould recreate human cells and tissues on a scale thatregenerates skin, bones and organs? Such advanceswould likely prove a life-transforming event for ateenager who has lost a limb in a motorcycle accidentor an aging widow who is suffering from bone-deterio-rating osteoporosis.

The short answer is ‘yes’, we can recreate humancells and tissue, and rapid and encouraging progress isbeing made on this front. Nevertheless, we must alsoacknowledge that we have a long way to go before wecan transform such ground-breaking efforts into rou-tine procedures.

Continual advances in this cutting-edge field ofmedical research must focus on enhancing our under-standing of how humans create ‘real’ tissues and thendevise means to duplicate this natural process to mim-ic the ‘architecture of life’. That is exactly the researchagenda that has been embraced by Alexandria Univer-sity’s Tissue Engineering Laboratories.

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[CONTINUED PAGE 22]

Egypt has a lot ofmouths to feed and nota lot of land on which

to grow food.

Life begins with molecules,which display one set of charac-teristics when existing in singu-lar isolation and an entirely dif-ferent set of characteristics whenclumped together to create proteins, genes and cells.Such diverging characteristics are representative ofnature’s abiding commitment to bio-form and -func-tion.

Medical researchers have successfully separatedand then harvested cells and tissues – for example,from a person who has been badly burned. These har-vested cells and tissues are then placed in an in vitroenvironment conducive to growth where they replicatemillions of times to eventually assume the scaffold ormatrix of ‘real’ tissue. At a certain point, the cells andtissues are grafted onto the wounded area where theycontinue to regenerate and ultimately rejoin the ‘real’tissue – in effect becoming ‘real’ themselves. Such pro-cedures – cell and tissue harvesting, seeding, growing,scaffolding and grafting – are now commonplace, andhave aided millions of accident victims and casualtiesof war across the globe.

Could the same technique be successfully appliedto those who have diabetes? Could we regrow ahealthy pancreas – cell by cell, tissue by tissue? Willmedical researchers eventually find a way to replicatethe cells that constitute arteries and veins and thenreturn the regrown cells to the body to replace bloodvessels that have suffered seemingly irreparable dam-age? And what about procedures that enable us toregenerate bones and ultimately to regrow lost limbs?

The key is to build a ‘right-fitting’ tissue scaffold ormatrix that can align precisely – and then reconnect –to the body’s real tissue. The process is called tissueengineering and recent advances are turning this pipedream into a potential reality.

The scaffolding required for success can either comefrom a person or a tissue bank, or it can be created syn-thetically (for example, from seaweed, as has been

done at the Tissue Engineering Labo-ratories). The key is to develop a spe-cific and resilient structure that canserve as a host for the regeneratedtissue and allow that tissue to grow inways that are compatible with its ulti-mate location. Scientists at the TissueEngineering Laboratories have suc-cessfully pursued this painstakingtechnique to regrow bone marrowthat will aid dental surgeons in their

efforts to reconstruct damaged and diseased gums. The work of the Tissue Engineering Laboratories,

which has accelerated over the past decade and partic-ularly over the past five years, has led to the buildingof a state-of-the-art tissue engineering laboratory atAlexandria University, located on the top floors of theschool of dentistry. Well-trained staff are now undergo-ing advanced training in a well-equipped laboratory ina place that just five years ago was plagued by peelingpaint and broken table tops.

In 2006, the Tissue Engineering Laboratories willhold its first international workshop on tissue engi-neering, marking the institution’s official debut on theglobal scientific field. By investigating ways to regener-ate skin, bones and organs, the Tissue EngineeringLaboratories is proving that scientific institutions indeveloping countries need not sit on the sidelineswhen it comes to the most advanced fields of science –fields that stand between the world of dreams and theworld of discovery. ■

> Mona K. MareiDirector

Tissue Engineering LaboratoriesAlexandria University

Alexandria, Egypttelab@hotmail.com, telab_2004@yahoo.com

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Scientific institutions in developing countries

need not sit on thesidelines when it comesto the most advanced

fields of science.

I t is more than a library. It is also aconference centre, a museum com-

plex, an exhibition hall, a planetariumand a state-of-the-art electronic infor-mation centre.

Indeed, Bibliotheca Alexandrina (thenew Library of Alexandria), whichwas built near the site of the ancientLibrary of Alexandria, is a worthy successor to thatworld-famous institution, which stood at the apex ofglobal learning some 2,000 years ago. Since opening inOctober 2002, following a decade of consultation,planning and construction, Bibliotheca Alexandrina hasdrawn nearly 200,000 visitors. Besides a variety ofexhibitions, seminars, festivals and even concerts ofnational interest, the library has also hosted numerousinternational events, including TWAS’s 16th GeneralMeeting last December, which was attended by some250 scientists from around the world. The library’sdirector, Ismail Serageldin, and two of the library’strustees, Farouk El-Baz and Ahmed H. Zewail, aremembers of TWAS.

Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s loftygoals are conveyed by its missionstatement. Articulated well beforethe first visitor entered the building,the statement continues to guidethe library’s policies and pro-grammes.

Bibliotheca Alexandrina, in thewords of the institution’s advocates

and sponsors, is to serve as:• The world’s window on Egypt.• Egypt’s window on the world.• A leading institution of the digital age.• A vibrant centre of dialogue and understanding.

As Suzanne Mubarak, the wife of Egyptian Presi-dent Hosni Mubarak and the guiding light behind thelibrary’s creation and development, observes: “TheBibliotheca Alexandrina seeks nothing less than torecapture the spirit of the ancient Library of Alexan-dria, the centre of knowledge and ecumenism in theancient world, and to do so at the beginning of thethird millennium, in the age of the internet and instantcommunication.”

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FEATURE

ALEXANDRIATHE LIBRARY

[CONTINUED PAGE 24]

IN JUST THREE BRIEF YEARS, BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA,

SITE OF TWAS’S 16TH GENERAL MEETING,

HAS EMERGED AS ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREAT CENTRES

OF LEARNING AND INTER-CULTURAL DIALOGUE.

How does this 40,000 square metre complex,which rests alongside the east harbour of Alexandria,hope to achieve its diverse and lofty goals?

First, there is the main library itself, which occupiesseven floors and currently holds two million volumes(it has the capacity to hold four times as many vol-umes). There are also a number of specialised librariesthat include the Taha Hussein Library for the blind andvisually impaired; the Children’s Library (for studentsbetween the ages of 6 and 12); the Young People’sLibrary (for students between the age of 12 and 16);and the Arts and Multimedia Library, which currentlycontains 50,000 multimedia items (including CDs,DVDs and audio and video tapes). There are also inter-active workstations and screening rooms designed tobring a wealth of audio and visualinformation to those eager to studyall facets of human experience andendeavour. In addition, there is an

Electronic Resources Centre, focusing on informationavailable on the internet, as well as an Internet Archivethat contains millions of web pages produced between1996 and the present.

Bibliotheca Alexandrina also provides space andsponsorship for a series of museums, including anAntiquities Museum, a Manuscript Museum and a Sci-ence Museum, as well as a series of research centresthat currently consists of a Mediterranean ResearchCentre, a Calligraphy Centre, a Centre for Special

Studies and Programmes, a Manuscript Centre, an ArtsCentre and a National Centre for the Documentation ofCultural and Natural Heritage.

In addition, there is a Planetarium and Exploratori-um which have drawn more than 70,000 visitors overthe past three years. Many of these visitors have beenschool-age children seeking to learn more aboutastronomy, space and, increasingly, a broad range ofother scientific fields.

Finally, there is the library’s conference centre witha main hall that can accommodate up to 3,000 guestsand ancillary meeting rooms and exhibition areas. Thispart of the complex has been the site of an increasingnumber of regional and international conferences andworkshops, among which was the 16th General Meet-

ing of TWAS.The multi-dimensional nature of

Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a fittingtribute to the legacy of the ancientLibrary of Alexandria, which, likeits worthy successor, was also moreof a dynamic crossroads of culturalexchange and discussion than asedate sanctuary of scholarship. Asthe library’s director, Ismail Ser-

ageldin, notes, Bibliotheca Alexandrina represents aquest “to honour the past, celebrate the pres-ent and invent the future.”

Here’s a sampling of the events thathave recently taken place at the library:• The library has twice served as host of the biennial Arab Reform Conference which

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The BibliothecaAlexandrina seeks

nothing less than torecapture the spirit of

the ancient Library of Alexandria.

brings together leading Arab intellectuals and repre-sentatives of civil society.

• In April 2004, the library, in cooperation with theWorld Life Science Forum, hosted BioVisionAlexand-rina, an international conference examining the cur-rent state of biotechnology and, more generally, thelife sciences, with special attention to issues of impor-tance to the developing world. This biennial interna-tional conference, which is a companion event to Bio-vision held every other year in Lyon, France, willreturn to Alexandria in 2006. For additional infor-mation, see www.bibalex.org/bioalex2006conf/.

• In April 2005, Bibliotheca Alexandrina also hosted theAnn Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation Confer-ence for Dialogue Between Cultures and, in May, theMiddle East Librarians Committee (MELCOM).

• In June 2005, the library sponsored the Einstein Sym-posium in honour of the World Year of Physics 2005,a year-long international celebration of Albert Ein-stein’s annus mirabilis.

• And in February 2006, it held a conference markingthe launch of the Peace Studies Institute, a jointventure between Bibliotheca Alexandrina and theSuzanne Mubarak Women’s International PeaceMovement.

It would be impossible to detail the full range ofactivities now taking place at Bibliotheca Alexandrina.Perhaps, by detailing two of its major initiatives – onecelebrating the future, the other the past – observerscan gain a sense of the breadth and sweep of what istaking place there.

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THE FIRST AND ANCIENT LIBRARYThe ancient Library of Alexandria was more than a placeof quiet study and contemplation. Indeed the library andits associated museum, which flourished for some 600years from 300 BCE (before the common era) to 300 CE(the common era), in many ways forever changed the wayin which intellectuals studied and presented ideas, trans-forming such endeavours from isolated, individual pursuitsinto well-known activities that could impact society andculture in untold ways. Its emphasis on all mindful pursuits– architecture, art, music and science – gave concreteexpression to the unity of all thought and helped to solid-ify the importance of the relationship between abstractideas and concrete action. The library, for example, was thesite of the poetry of Callimachus and the musings of Theo-critus. And it was a place that recorded and archivedancient Greek and Roman literature and science at a timewhen the West was turning its back on its heritage. Thusthe ancient Library of Alexandria served as an irreplaceablebridge between the age of antiquities and the Renaissance– a beacon of light during Europe’s Dark Ages. It was alsothe centre of global science at a time of great ferment anddiscovery. The library’s Aristarchus, for example, was thefirst scientist to conclude that the Earth revolved around thesun; Erastothenes proved the Earth itself was sphericaland calculated its circumference within one percent of itsactual measurement; Euclid wrote his great treatise ongeometry; and Herophilos accurately described the functionof the organs, recognized the brain as the centre of humanthought and reason, and calculated the systolic and dias-tolic pulse. But the library’s contributions extended wellbeyond science. It was here, for example, that Manethochronicled the history of Egypt under the pharaohs andclassified their dynasties; that Callimachus cataloguedbooks by topic and author laying the foundation for mod-ern library science; that untold literary scholars and trans-lators carefully edited the Greek classics, most notably theworks of Homer. The ancient Library of Alexandria was, inshort, a place that served as the intellectual crossroads foreastern and western cultures, helping to preserve and nour-ish the full range of human knowledge and experience ata time of great flux and uncertainty. It is this spirit –based on the ideals of tolerance, diversity and openness anddriven by a commitment to rationality, debate and schol-arship – that serves as the cornerstone of the new Libraryof Alexandria.

Embracing the Future. With state-of-the-art broad-band connections, 330 public work stations and some50 servers, Bibliotheca Alexandrina arguably has thebest information and communication technology (ICT)infrastructure in Egypt and one of the best in the Arabregion.

Beyond its first-rate infrastructure, the libraryactively participates in an array of ambitious ICT proj-ects in collaboration with other leading institutionsaround the world. Bibliotheca Alexandrina, for exam-ple, serves as a ‘mirror site’ for the Internet Archive,which provides a ‘snapshot’ of every web page pro-duced and posted on the internet since 1996. Thearchive now contains more than 10 billion web pages –a number that is growing dramatically with each pass-ing day. Bibliotheca Alexandrina also participates in the

Million Book Project. Led by Carnegie Mellon Universi-ty in the United States and with partners in China,India and the USA, this project hopes to create a uni-versal digital library by digitizing one million books by2008, ultimately ‘publishing’ the books as a searchablecollection on the internet.

Dealing with documents closer to home, BibliothecaAlexandrina has joined Yale University, United States,and 16 other institutions in Germany, Jordan, Lebanon,Syria and the USA as part of the Online Access to Con-solidated Information on Serials (OACIS) project forthe Middle East. The goal is to improve access in theUnited States, Europe and the Arab region to collec-tions found in Middle Eastern libraries, and to makescholarly literature about the Middle East more widelyavailable to scholars around the world.

26

THE ALEXANDRIA DECLARATION

Forces of change are challenging every aspect of Arab society. Over 50 percent of the 300 million people who livein the Arab region, which stretches from Oman in the east to Morocco in the west, are under 25 years of age. Inter-nal tensions and external pressures have assured that dramatic change is inevitable. The issue is whether that changewill be channelled into positive directions or whether the region will continue to be racked by endless dismay andviolence. The Alexandria Declaration, which was approved by more than 160 participants at a conference held inBibliotheca Alexandrina in March 2004, introduced an Arab reform agenda that would respect and seek to inte-grate tradition into the present and indeed to draw on the region’s rich, yet often neglected, tradition of ration-ality and progress to launch a better future. The reform agenda would be based on a critical approach designedto interpret tradition in contemporary terms and would be open and tolerant of contrarian views. For the full textof the Alexandria Declaration, which explores issues ranging from human rights to youth employment to familyeducation to the role of science in society, contact: secretariat@bibalex.org.

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In addition, Bibliotheca Alexandrina has spear-headed the revival of the l’Institut d’Egypte, first builtby Napoleon Bonaparte in Cairo more than 200 yearsago. The cornerstone of this effort has been the cre-ation of a digital version of the Description de l’Egypte,a comprehensive account of Egypt written by a legionof scholars and scientists – more than 150 in all –who travelled with Napoleon when he invaded Egyptin 1798.

The library has also organized the first digitalarchive of the papers, speeches, photos and videos ofGamal Abdel Nasser, the President of Egypt from 1954to 1970 and the leading voice for pan-Arab unity.

For its ‘digital’ achievements, Bibliotheca Alexandri-na has been invited to become a strategic partner ofthe Digital Library Federation, an organization of morethan 30 eminent academic librariesthat are pioneering the use of elec-tronic information technologies forproviding greater accessibility totheir collections and services. Bib-liotheca Alexandrina, which will beresponsible for digitizing mono-graphs written in Arabic as its

major contribution to thisinitiative, joins the BritishLibrary to become just the second libraryoutside the United States to be part of thefederation.

Honouring the Past. As the discussionabove indicates, many of the library’s

efforts to digitize information and

make it available on the web has focused on informa-tion that sheds light on the history of Egypt and theArab region.

It is worth noting, however, that efforts by Biblio-theca Alexandrina reach well beyond such flagshipprojects as l’Institut d’Egypte and OACIS for the MiddleEast to include a diverse set of programmes designedto document and preserve both Egypt’s and the Arabregion’s cultural heritage.

The Centre for the Documentation of Egypt’s Cultur-al and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT), for example, seeksto preserve the long sweep of Egyptian history – fromthe time of the pharaohs to the present. The centre seeksto advance this goal by creating digital maps of Egyptianarchaeological sites and digital renderings of thenation’s most significant architecture, as well as by cre-

ating state-of-the-art archives forEgyptian music, photographs andmanuscripts. Plans are also under-way for electronically documenting

Egypt’s Islamic and Coptic (Christian) heritage. Toensure information is as widely accessible to the publicas possible, the collections will be made available on atrilingual website (Arabic, English, French).

In collaboration with the nation’s Supreme Councilof Antiquities and the multinational computer companyIBM, the library has developed a unique internet portalthat guides browsers through a historic cyber-tour ofEgypt from ancient times to the present. In partnershipwith the Strabon Programme, which seeks to raise pub-

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The library’s efforts todigitize information havefocused on information

that sheds light on the history of Egypt and

the Arab region.

lic awareness of the cultural heritage of the Mediter-ranean basin, the Alex-Med Strabon project, sponsoredby the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, plans to create a digitalreconstruction of the Pharos Lighthouse, one of the sev-en wonders of the ancient world;the Ottoman mosques; and QaitBey Fort, a 15th century structurebuilt on the site of the Pharos Light-house, destroyed by the Turkishforces in the 16th century and byBritish forces in the 19th centuryand rebuilt both times.

The Calligraphy Centre and Manuscript Centrehave worked together to digitize and archive the mul-titude of writings and translations produced during the600-year history of ancient Alexandria, and to record,transcribe and translate the unpublished inscriptionsfound on the approximately 500 monuments built inAlexandria in the Pharaonic, Greek and Islamic peri-ods. The Alexandrina Rare Collection Series, titledAlexandrina Works, has thus far restored 221 rarebooks, 27 manuscripts and five rare maps. It has also

prepared a catalogue of 569 manu-scripts focusing on Arabic gram-mar, language and morphology.

As Serageldin proudly proclaims: “Let the Bibliothe-ca Alexandrina be a space of freedom where we cele-brate our cultural diversity and build bridges of under-standing between peoples and civilizations. Let allthose who believe in the best of the human spirit, inthe value of knowledge and learning, in the rationalityof argument and in the civility of discourse, make thisinstitution their own” – revelling in the library’s abilityto serve as “a place where minds can meet and ideascan flow”. ■

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SCIENCE IN THE LIBRARY

The centrepiece of Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s efforts to promote ‘the culture of science’ is the Planetarium andExploratorium, which focuses on encouraging youngsters to gain not just greater understanding but an excitementfor science. The facility, which operates under the rubric Planetarium Science Centre, offers state-of-the-art dis-plays on astronomy and the earth sciences, and augments its permanent exhibits with summer workshops that intro-duce young people to a range of scientific fields that includes biology, environmental studies and physics. Each June,the library also holds a special event, ‘On the Footsteps of Eratosthenes’, during which children measure the Earth’scircumference using of the methods that Eratosthenes first used more than 2,000 years ago. The library also spon-sors a History of Science Museum for visitors of all ages. The museum celebrates the contribution that science hasmade to global well-being, paying particular attention to the often-neglected contributions that scientists from Egyptand the Arab region have made to this global effort. The second phase of the museum, which was created in col-laboration with the French Ministry of Higher Education, examines scientific progress during the Renaissance andcontemporary times. For still older but no less curious visitors, the library’s new institute for ethics and science exam-ines the ethical underpinnings that should inform and drive scientific research, encouraging scientists fromthroughout the Arab region to participate in the dialogue. Bibliotheca Alexandrina also hosted a series of activ-ities related to the UN-sanctioned World Year of Physics 2005, highlighted by the Einstein Symposium, which wasattended by three Nobel Laureates. Finally, since June 2005, Bibliotheca Alexandrina has been hosting the sec-retariat for the TWAS Arab Regional Office (ARO). The arrival of the regional office ensures a close relationshipbetween Bibliotheca Alexandrina and TWAS in the years ahead.

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Let the BibliothecaAlexandrina serve as aplace where minds can

meet and ideas can flow.

FEATURE

HOW DIFFERENT FROGS DEVELOPAccording to Eugenia del Pino Veintimilla (TWAS Fellow 1989) of the Pontifical Catholic Uni-versity of Ecuador, “Developmental biology is one of the most progressive areas of biologicalresearch today.”

“To understand the mechanisms of embryonic development, scientists concentrate theirefforts on certain ‘model organisms’ such as the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis,” sheexplained. “Indeed,” she continued, “we probably know more about the embryonic developmentof Xenopus than we do of humans.”

As with other frogs with aquatic reproduction, Xenopus spawn is laid inwater. Abandoned by the parent frogs, the eggs are left to develop on their

own into tadpoles and, eventually, young frogs. In tropical regions of theworld, in particular, many frog species have developed other modes of

reproduction that reduce or eliminate this aquatic larval period.Many such species are found in del Pino’s home country, Ecuador.

Ecuador, on the northwest coast of South America, is one ofthe world’s 17 megadiverse countries. Although it covers just0.17 percent of the world’s land area, it is home to more than

10 percent of terrestrial mammals. In addition, it ishome to some 440 species of amphibians – three timesas many per unit area as neighbouring Colombia and20 times as many per unit area as Brazil. In addition,some 175 of these species are endemic to Ecuador,that is, they are found nowhere else in the world.

“This great diversity of amphibians, uniquelyadapted to the diverse habitats found in Ecuador,demonstrates a wide variety of life-cycle adapta-tions and provides an ideal opportunity for novel

TWAS MEDAL LECTURES

EACH YEAR, TWAS AWARDS MEDALS TO ACADEMY MEMBERS WHO AREACTIVELY ENGAGED IN GROUND-BREAKING RESEARCH. THE SCIENTISTSARE INVITED TO PRESENT THEIR WORK AT THE ANNUAL TWAS GENERALMEETING. SUMMARIES OF THE TWO 2005 TWAS MEDAL LECTURES, PRE-SENTED AT TWAS’S 16TH GENERAL MEETING IN ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT,LAST DECEMBER, FOLLOW.

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research, particularly in developmental biology,” saiddel Pino.

The marsupial frog, Gastrotheca riobambae, a frogthat is endemic to Ecuador, displays parental care – theeggs and young tadpoles develop inside a pouch on the backof the mother frog instead of in the water. The eggs themselvesare some three millimetres in diameter. This is a moderate size amongmarsupial frogs. In other species eggs can reach ten millimetres in diam-eter – the largest frog eggs known and similar in size to the embryos of asmall bird.

Once inside the mother’s pouch, the eggs, of which there may be morethan 100, are incubated for about four months and develop to an advanced tad-pole. In other Gastrotheca species, development in the pouch even goes as far as the juvenilefrog stage. The parental care that these frogs offer has resulted in a retardation of the develop-ment process that has parallels with the slow development observed in mammals.

Similarities with mammalian reproduction extend to the hormonal control of embryonicincubation. In a series of elegant experiments, del Pino has demonstrated that increasing levelsof the hormone progesterone induce the pouch to close and allow the incubation of the eggs. Forexample, the pouch forms chambers well supplied with blood vessels that envelop each embryo.In addition, the gills of the embryo become modified to form a sheet of tissue that surroundseach embryo to facilitate the exchange of water, oxygen, nutrients and waste materials with themother’s pouch. Again, this gill-pouch combination resembles the mammalian system consistingof the embryo’s placenta and the mother’s womb.

Reproductive differences between marsupial frogs and the Xenopus model are also associat-ed with dramatic modifications of the embryonic programme of development. “In fact, not onlydo the embryos develop specialized gills,” said del Pino, “but early development has been great-ly modified.”

Early embryological development in allspecies begins with cleavage, typified by acluster of dividing cells. Even at this earlystage, del Pino has found significant differ-ences in the timing and morphology of thedevelopment of Gastrotheca. In a processknown as gastrulation, part of the embryosurface becomes internalised and the threegerm layers, the ectoderm, mesoderm andendoderm, acquire their identity, outliningthe future body plan of the animal. Inembryological terms, the tiny hole createdby the ingression of cells to the interior dur-ing gastrulation is known as the blastoporeand the new cavity that is thus formed iscalled the archenteron, or primitive gut.

“As a result of gastrulation,” explained del Pino, “the embryosof G. riobambae form an embryonic disk of small cells around theblastopore. The body of the embryo itself derives from this disk.Although development from a disk of cells is characteristic ofdevelopment in birds,” continued del Pino, “this is the mostdivergent mode of gastrulation so far described for frogs.”

Besides the marsupial frog, del Pino also studies the devel-opment of another frog endemic to Ecuador, the 17-millimetrelong Colostethus machalilla. This frog also has a terrestrial lifecycle. In this species, which reproduces frequently, only about

15 eggs are laid each time. The femaledeposits these in a ‘nest’ on a leaf oron the ground, which remains underthe care of the father for about 20days. At this point, the eggs hatch and the male frog trans-ports them to a suitable pool. In this way, the early period of develop-ment is protected. As is the case with Gastrotheca – the development ofColostethus is delayed.

The current focus of del Pino’s work is the careful dissection of theembryological development of these frog species. Using a range of tech-niques, from simple microscopic observation of complete embryos tosophisticated immune detection, sectioning and staining methods, delPino and her group have described the stages of development in bothGastrotheca and Colostethus embryos, comparing and contrasting thetiming of the appearance and duration of such embryonic structures asthe blastopore, the archenteron and the notochord, a rod-shaped massof cells that is thought to provide mechanical strength to the develop-ing embryo.

Studies on Xenopus, for example, have revealed that the expansion ofthe archenteron typically occurs during gastrulation. In contrast, del Pino has shown that, in thetwo Ecuadorian frogs she has studied, the expansion of the archenteron occurs much later. Inaddition, the notocord elongates during gastrulation in Xenopus, but not until after gastrulation,once the blastopore has closed, in Gastrotheca and Colostethus. Although Colostethus does notform an embryonic disk, it does form thick blastopore lips that resemble the embryonic disk ofGastrotheca.

“This represents an important deviation from the gastrulation pattern observed in Xenopus,”observed del Pino. “Curiously,” she added, “some genetically deficient Xenopus embryos havebeen shown to resemble the gastrulation variations we have discovered in nature.”

“These studies show not only what an excellent model Xenopus has been for embryologicalstudies, but also that, owing to their different developmental strategies, the two Ecuadorianfrogs can also be useful model species,” concluded del Pino. “In addition, these studies have notonly contributed to the advancement of science, but have also provided the means for trainingmany students and other young researchers in many biological techniques in Ecuador.”

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PUTTING LIFE INTO GELSGels, or cross-linked matrices of macromolecules, arebecoming increasingly sophisticated, and scientists andtechnologists around the world are using such gels inmany novel applications. The race is on, however, toproduce yet more sophisticated gels with a variety ofuseful properties.

“In the 1970s we spoke of developing hardware andsoftware,” explained R.A. Mashelkar, director general ofIndia’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR). “Now we are talking about wetware. Gels,which are now used widely as absorbants, for examplein sanitary napkins, or as support structures in tissueculture, could be used to make artificial muscles, opti-cal shutters, sensors and other items.”

Mashelkar then described some recent discoveries and developments at the National Chem-ical Laboratories (NCL), Pune, India, and other institutions.

For example, there are gels that can increase their volume ten-fold when they are heated byjust a few degrees. When the gels are cooled, the process is reversed, caus-

ing them to shrink. Such gels have been used to make ‘intelligent win-dows’. During the day, the gel expands and clouds out light, creating a

shaded window. Then, as the temperature cools in the evening, the gelshrinks, allowing more light to pass through.

Gels with so-called ‘shape memory’ have also been known since the1980s when US scientists described a cylindrical gel that could be madeto swell and shrink repeatedly as conditions changed. Then, in the

1990s, Japanese scientists developed a bi-gel strip in which one of thegels expanded more than the other during, in this case, a change in tem-perature. The resulting strip acted like a finger, bending and straighten-

ing when required. The next step was to align two or three of thesefingers to create a ‘gel hand’.

More recently, NCL scientists discovered a unique form ofshape memory in a gel. In this instance, a cylinder converted to a

hollow sphere with a coconut-like structure and back again toits original cylindrical shape.

“Four fundamental forces control the behaviour ofmost responsive gels,”

explained Mashelkar.“These are hydrogen

bonding, van der Waalsforce, ionic interactions

and hydrophobic interac-tions.”

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Mashelkar then described how the Flory theory ofswollen networks (gels typically contain water or anothersolvent among their cross-linked chains), which takes intoaccount the original volume of the gel and the number ofcross-linkages, did not apply to a specific type of gel being inves-tigated at NCL, so-called lower critical solution temperature – orLCST-type gels. Mashelkar and his team reasoned that this was due tothe presence of a large number of hydrogen bonds in LCST-type gels and devel-oped a new theoretical model that took this into account. “Using this model,”explained Mashelkar, “we can predict changes such as increases and decreases involume caused by pH or temperature changes and then test them experimentally.”

As one example, Mashelkar cited the zipping and unzipping effect in poly(N-isopropyl-acrylamide) (PNIPA) gels. As the temperature increases, the model predicts that the number of

hydrogen bonds between the polymer and waterwill decrease while those between the gel poly-mers will increase.

“We tested this in the lab and found that theresults closely followed our predictions,” addedMashelkar. “In addition, by altering the co-monomer – the hydrophobic part of the gel-form-ing molecule – we were also able to control thetemperature at which the zipping and unzippingoccurred.” Such gels are already finding uses asinserts to make shoes more comfortable as thetemperature of the foot varies.

The NCL scientists’ new model was also able toexplain how a gel cylinder could turn itself into ahollow sphere and back again under certain con-ditions. When placed into a solution of copperchloride, the cylinder swells and allows cupricions to enter and bind to carboxyl groups on thechains of the gel molecules. This creates moleculestightly bound to copper on the outer surface of thegel. The stresses caused by these strong complexesare enough to break covalent bonds within thecylinder. Since the hydrophilic carboxyl groups atthe surface are bound in a copper complex, thesurface effectively becomes hydrophobic in water.

The gel cylinder, therefore, tries to minimize its surface energy – which it achieves by becomingspherical. The whole process can be reversed by placing the now hollow sphere in hydrochloricacid – and repeated over and over again.

One potential application for such a system, explained Mashelkar, could be to allow a gelcylinder to absorb such useful biomolecules as haemoglobin, becoming spherical in the process,

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and to release the biomolecule slowly asthey are put in an acidic environment, suchas that found in the stomach. It has alsobeen demonstrated that the rate of releaseof useful molecules from such systems isconstant over time.

The discovery of the sphere-formingcylinder was serendipitous and Mashelkarfreely admitted that another ground-break-ing area of research – that of self-healinggels – also had a fortuitous beginning.

“For theoretical reasons, two gels couldnot be welded together because each one rep-resents a giant macromolecule,” said Ma-shelkar. “However, a chance scanning electronmicroscope picture seemed to show twomacromolecules apparently welded together.”

Additional experiments have confirmedthat this was the case and, again, strongforces owing to the binding of cupric ionsare involved. This chance observation, fol-lowed by painstaking research, has opened

a new way of creating metal ion-induced healing in gels.“We have analysed the deformation dynamics in experimental systems but we are still working

on many unanswered questions,” added Mashelkar, who advised that all experimental results,even those that are considered failures, should be followed up.

Mashelkar and his team have also had success in developing ‘gelzymes’, artificial versions ofenzymes – the catalytic driving forces behind all living organisms. Gels containing differentcomponents of the active sites of the protein-digesting chymotrypsin enzyme, for example, havebeen synthesized. This was achieved by the polymerization of a supramolecular structure com-prising the complex formed by monomers bearing the respective functional groups of theenzyme and the template in the presence of a cross-linking molecule. By using such agents asultraviolet light or changes in pH, such gelzymes could be made to switch their activity on andoff. “We have shown that such enzyme mimics are still functional even after 50 switchingcycles,” he said.

Mashelkar began his lecture by introducing the sea slug – a simple organism with a gel-likebody that can feed itself, heal itself, respond to predators and reproduce. While ‘putting lifeinto gels’ is still a distant dream, with the development of gels with shape memory, moving fin-gers, the ability to self-heal and gelzymes, Mashelkar claimed that researchers had “put a littlemore life into gels”. In future, the development of new gel-forming molecules and furtheradvances in polymer science could be combined to create life-like systems that are able tobehave like the sea slug. For many, that would be a sobering thought. For Mashelkar and hiscolleagues, it is exhilarating. ■

A dolpho José Melfi, who currentlyserves as rector of São Paolo Uni-

versity, Brazil, earned his scientific rep-utation by studying geochemistry, rockalteration and the formation of tropicalsoils. He then applied this expert knowl-edge to agricultural and environmental problems. His cur-rent studies – the focus of his TWAS Prize lecture – involveanalysing the impact of agricultural practices on Brazil-ian soils and the carbon cycle – critical factors in theunderstanding of perhaps the most important environ-mental issue facing the world today – global climatechange.

“The concept of global warming is linked to the emis-sion of such greenhouse gases as carbon dioxide,methane and oxides of nitrogen,” explains Melfi.

“These gases are mainly produced byhuman activities related to the use offossil fuels.”

Although the Kyoto Protocol,which calls for caps in carbon emis-sions, came into effect in February

2005, analysts predict that the use of coal, oil and nat-ural gas will continue to increase over the foreseeablefuture. Indeed, the world’s best climate models antici-pate that, by the end of this century, the averageincrease in surface temperatures around the world willbe between 1.5 to 5.5 degrees Celsius higher than theiraverage values recorded over the past few decades.

SOURCES AND EMISSIONS“An analysis of global carbon emissions,” says Melfi,“reveals that the burning of fossil fuels is responsible TW

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SOIL, SUGAR AND CARBON

SINKSADOLPHO JOSE MELFI , PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY

OF SAO PAOLO, BRAZIL, WAS ONE OF EIGHT DEVELOPING WORLD

SCIENTISTS PRESENTED WITH A 2004 TWAS PRIZE BY PRESIDENT MUBARAK

DURING THE TWAS 16TH GENERAL MEETING IN EGYPT.

HIS PRIZE LECTURE EXAMINED THE LINKS BETWEEN SOILS,

AGRICULTURE AND GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE.

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FEATURE

[CONTINUED PAGE 36]

for about two-thirds of the total, with agriculturalactivities and land use changes contributing to a signif-icant one-third. However, when considering onlydeveloped countries, the contribution from burningfossil fuels is much higher. This means that, in devel-oping countries, the contribution from agriculture andland use changes is more than one-third.”

Indeed, when considering Brazil, greenhouse gasemissions from industrial sources represent just 25 per-cent of the country’s emissions, compared to around 75percent in most developed countries. Thus Brazil isranked 17th in the world in industri-al greenhouse gas emissions. How-ever, when taking into account agri-cultural practices and land usechanges, which account for 75 per-cent of Brazil’s emissions, the coun-try leaps up the emissions rankingsto the fifth place.

“So far, the importance of dif-ferent agricultural practices andchanging land use patterns on the carbon cycle indeveloping countries is an area that has received littleattention,” adds Melfi.

The proportions of the different greenhouse gasesproduced by agriculture also differ from those pro-duced by industry, explains Melfi. Whereas carbondioxide from industrial sources accounts for some 66percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions, together,agriculture and land use change account for some 55percent of the methane produced, 80 percent of theoxides of nitrogen and 22 percent of the carbon diox-ide. Because of emissions from rice cultivation and ani-mal production, methane is the principal greenhousegas produced from agriculture. In tropical areas, thechange in land use from previously forested areas toagricultural production, typically brought about eitherby burning or logging, also represents a significant con-tribution to global warming. Slashing and burning onehectare of a tropical forest, for example, transfers some100 to 200 tonnes of carbon, previously located in theabove-ground biomass of the forest, to the atmosphere.

“Thus, rational land use, through practices adaptedto tropical regions, could be a safe and more effective

way of minimizing the effect of greenhouse gas emis-sions in the atmosphere and, at the same time,increase the sequestration of these gases by soils andvegetation,” concludes Melfi.

IMPORTANCE OF SOIL“A soil profile,” explains Melfi, “consists of layers thathave developed over time, each with its own charac-teristic composition. A soil’s upper layers tend to berich in organic matter while deeper layers are mainlymineral.” Indeed, although soil contains just five per-

cent organic matter (mineral mat-ter accounts for 45 percent, withair and water – important compo-nents of the soil pores – makingup the remaining 50 percent), soilis the largest carbon reservoir onthe surface of the Earth. For exam-ple, the world’s soils hold between1,500 and 2,000 gigatonnes ofcarbon. That compares to an esti-

mated 730 gigatonnes in the atmosphere andbetween 470 to 655 gigatonnes in all the world’s veg-etation.

“Even taking into consideration just the top 30 cen-timetres of soil, where processes of organic mattertransfer take place more easily, the amountof carbon reaches 800 gigatonnes,”adds Melfi.

“In a functioning ecosystem, soilcan be responsible for either theemission or sequestration of carbondioxide,” continues Melfi. “It is evi-dent that improved agriculturalpractices have great potential toincrease carbon sequestration.It could also helpto decrease thenet emissionof carbondioxide and

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Rational land use couldbe a safe and more

effective way ofminimizing the effect

of greenhouse gasemissions.

other greenhouse gases. But policy makers have notwidely recognized this potential,” he adds.

“There are several agricultural practices that canmitigate or even eliminate greenhouse gas emissionsto the atmosphere,” claims Melfi. Three of these cur-rently being practiced in Brazil are:• a no-tillage system;• the application of sewage sludge; and • the sugar cane system.

No-tillage system. In conventional agriculture, a largeamount of fossil energy fuels the tractors that plough

the fields. In addition, straw is usually baled upand carted away or, in some cases, burned off.Using the no-tillage system, the soil is onlymoved slightly and the straw is left as a residuethat decomposes, helping to increase theamount of carbon in the soil and releasing less

carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Thepotential for carbon sequestration in semi-arid regions is calculated to be 0.05 to 0.2tonnes of carbon per hectare per year, andin tropical regions to be 0.2 to 0.4 tonnes ofcarbon per hectare per year. Estimates for

Brazil, taking into account the top 10 centimetres ofsoil, are between 0.5 and 0.7 tonnes of carbon perhectare per year.

“Based on the figure of 0.5 tonnes of carbon perhectare per year and the utilization of the no-tillagesystem in Brazil, which is currently practiced on 20million hectares, the reduction of carbon emissions tothe atmosphere is some 10 million tonnes. In addition,0.3 million tonnes of carbon is ‘saved’ by not usingheavy agricultural machinery,” says Melfi. “Althoughconventional agriculture replaces part of the carbonlost by deforestation through soil sequestration, byusing the no-tillage system it is possible to recover thecarbon stock in the soil.”

Sewage sludge application. Globally, human populationis increasing, a trend that brings many environmen-tal problems, among which is the question of disposing

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[CONTINUED PAGE 38]

of human waste. Inmuch of the devel-oped world, water tre-atment facilities areused to clean and re-

cycle sewage-laden water. Elsewhere, untreatedsewage often pours into rivers or is dumped at sea. An-other option, though, is to stabilize the ‘waste’ by com-posting, heat drying or chemical fixation, turning itinto what is politely called ‘biosolids’, or, more com-monly, sewage sludge.

The application of sewage sludge is widely used inmany countries, but is only now being studied in Brazil.

“Because sewage sludge contains a rich supply ofnutrients, including carbon, nitrogen, phosphate andmagnesium,” says Melfi, “it can be spread on farmland,in forests or used for public works projects, landscap-ing activities or for land reclamation.”

According to Melfi, sewage sludge can also be usedto improve degraded tropical soils and, by promotingthe growth of plants, to enhance the sequestration ofadditional carbon from the atmosphere.

Sugar cane system. “Brazil’s sugar cane plantationsoffer two ways to mitigate the emission of carbon intothe atmosphere,” says Melfi.

Traditionally, sugar cane is harvested by hand. Tofacilitate this, it is necessary to burn the crop, a processthat removes the unwanted foliage but leaves thesugar-containing cane in place and makes it easier tohandle. The introduction of mechanical harvesting hasmeant that the leaves are no longer burned, thusreducing carbon dioxide emissions. They are, however,left on the ground where they decompose and add car-bon to the soil.

Mechanical harvesting, however, requires crops ofsugar cane to be grown in fields with less than a 15percent slope. Currently, it is being practiced on 20percent of the sugar crop in Brazil, or some 1.5 millionhectares, but the potential is there for this to beincreased to 50 percent.

“By changing harvesting practices, carbon seques-tration could reach 2.7 to 3.5 million tonnes of carbonper year,” says Melfi.

ALTERNATIVE FUELSThe Brazilian sugar industry also has a long history ofproviding the country with alternative ‘biofuels’. “Theuse of alcohol produced from sugar cane as a fuel invehicles emits less carbon dioxide to the atmospherebecause its combustion is cleaner compared to gaso-line,” says Melfi. “In addition, as part of this carbon

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dioxide is subsequently used by plants in photosynthe-sis, this closes the carbon cycle.”

Between 1975 and 2000, Brazil produced some227 million cubic metres of alcohol from sugar. Duringthis 25-year period, substituting this alcohol for fossilfuels resulted in 173 million tonnes of carbon notbeing introduced into the atmosphere. “In otherwords,” explains Melfi, “the emission of 173 milliontonnes of carbon was avoided.”

“The environmental gain from Brazil’s alcohol pro-duction is even higher,” adds Melfi, “as Brazil exportsalcohol to several countries, including Japan, whichnow adds 3 percent alcohol to its fuel.”

In addition, carbon emissions can also be offset byburning a by-product of sugar production, bagasse – thefibrous fraction of the sugar cane plant from which allthe economically recoverable sugarhas been extracted. In the late1980s, bagasse use in Brazil was ata low of about 20 million tonnes ayear. Its present rate of use, some 45million tonnes a year, results in anoffset of carbon emissions in theregion of 8 million tonnes.

“Thus, when taking into accountthe substitution of fossils fuels with alcohol, the burn-ing of bagasse and mechanical harvesting, Brazil’ssugar industry, reduces emissions by a total of 21 mil-lion tonnes of carbon a year,” concludes Melfi.

IMPLICATIONSCurrent land use and agricultural practices are respon-sible for emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide andother greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and forincorporating small amounts of carbon into the soil. “Ashift to more environmentally-friendly practices is pos-sible through the adoption of appropriate technologiessuch as conservation tillage, not burning sugar caneand the application of biosolids to agricultural land,”says Melfi.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, there is also an incen-tive for policy makers to adopt and promote suchpractices. In the so-called ‘carbon market’, one carboncredit (1 CER) is equivalent to one tonne of carbondioxide that was not released into the atmosphere orwas sequestered into the soil. At current global market

prices, 1 CER can be traded forbetween US$3 and US$5.

“In other words, the 21 milliontonnes of carbon emissions offsetby Brazil’s sugar industry eachyear, equivalent to some 77 milliontonnes of carbon dioxide, could beworth between US$231 andUS$385 million,” concludes Melfi.

Even discounting the other invaluable environmen-tal services provided by soils, figures such as thesedemonstrate the importance of soil as a valuable natu-ral resource – equally as important to human and envi-

ronmental well-being as clean air, clean waterand the Earth’s biodiversity.

“Soil is a resource that we need to do moreto protect,” adds Melfi. “It is time decision mak-ers understood its vital role in natural process-es and encouraged practices that promote itsconservation and use as a carbon sink.” ■

Brazil’s sugar industryreduces emissions

by a total of 21 milliontonnes of carbon a year.

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A languid morning marked by bril-liant sunshine and calm seas

made the holiday season in southeastAsia that much more special. The day after Christmas had beguninnocently enough both for those wholived there and for those on vacation.

But events would soon turn 26 December 2004 into aday the world would never forget. At 6:58 local time, amega-tsunami, triggered by the second largest earth-quake ever recorded (measuring 9.3 in magnitude andcaused by a rupture along a fault 1,300 kilometres inlength), began its silent, super-swift journey in thenorthern Indian Ocean some 160 kilometres west of

the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.While travelling in the deep

ocean, the tsunami never causedsurface waters to rise more than 30centimetres. But as it approachedthe shoreline, tsunami-induced wavecrests reportedly reached heights of30 metres, unleashing repetitive

bursts of water and energy that swept away everything– and everyone – in their path.

Some 40 minutes after the seabed earthquake, thetsunami barrelled into Banda Aceh, the capital city ofIndonesia’s Aceh province, claiming 168,000 victims.An hour later, it swept into Phuket and the nearby fish-ing villages and coastal resorts of Thailand, killing

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FEATURE

IN THE AFTERMATH OF

A MEGA-TSUNAMIEVER SINCE A MEGA-TSUNAMI OF UNPRECEDENTED DEADLY FORCE STRUCK

THE COAST SURROUNDING THE INDIAN OCEAN IN DECEMBER 2004,

GOVERNMENTS THROUGHOUT THE REGION HAVE SOUGHT TO THWART THE IMPACT

OF THE NEXT EARTHQUAKE-DRIVEN TIDAL WAVE BY DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE

TSUNAMI DETECTION AND WARNING SYSTEMS. HARSH GUPTA, HEAD OF INDIA’S

DEPARTMENT OF OCEAN DEVELOPMENT, EXPLAINS THE STEPS THAT HIS NATION

HAS TAKEN AND PLANS TO TAKE IN THE YEARS AHEAD.

more than 5,500 people. But the tsunami’s journey hadjust begun. A relentless wall of water, it sped across theBay of Bengal, slamming into the coast of India, whereit took 15,000 lives, and Sri Lanka, where it claimedanother 30,000 people. The majority of its victimswere women and children unable to reach higherground.

Leaving Asia behind while trav-elling at the speed of a jet aero-plane – some 500 to 1,000 kilome-tres per hour (the seismic waves ofan earthquake, in contrast, travelat speeds of 5 kilometres per hour)– the tsunami would continue itspath of death and destruction,sweeping across the western Indi-an Ocean, eventually battering thecoast of east Africa. Some 300 people fell victim to thetsunami in Somalia. Causalities were also reported inKenya, Tanzania and Yemen. The tsunami finally gaveout near Port Elizabeth, South Africa, some 8,000 kilo-metres from where it began.

All told, more than 220,000 people in 11 countrieswere killed and another 1.5 million were left homelessin one of the worst natural disasters in human history.

IN INDIAAlong the coast of India, theheight of the tsunami’s wavecrest reached an estimated 4.5metres at Port Blair, 3.2 metresin Chennai and 1.5 in Cochin.

While the Indian coast is cer-tainly at risk from tsunamis – especially in coastal areasalong the Java-Sumatra volcanic belt in the Bay of Ben-gal or near the fault lines in the Arabian Sea – histori-cally such events have been extremely rare. Experts

estimate that 85 percent of alltsunamis have occurred in thePacific Ocean and that most othershave taken place in the Mediter-ranean and Caribbean seas. Indeed,assessments of the historic records,dating back to 326 BCE, indicatethat the Indian Ocean has experi-enced just six mega-tsunamis overthe past 2,500 years.

The rarity of a tsunami event,however, does not deny the potential devastation thataccompanies its arrival. On the contrary, the scarcity ofsuch events makes it even more difficult to developeffective warning systems. The most complex risk man-agement challenges, in fact, are often posed by extreme-ly rare events that prove extremely deadly when theystrike. Remaining vigilant over long periods of time isnot easy to do – regardless of the size of the threat.

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[CONTINUED PAGE 42]

The most complex riskmanagement challenges

are often posed byextremely rare eventsthat prove extremely

deadly when they strike.

Harsh Kumar Gupta

Nevertheless, the basic elements of an effectivetsunami detection and warning system are well knownamong scientists who have studied these devastatingevents. The key to success is to put in place mechan-isms that are capable of detecting a tsunami in realtime and then conveying that information quickly toboth public officials and the public at large.

This overall strategy requires ocean bottom sensorslike those, for example, that have been successfullydeployed by a consortium of Pacific rim countries tospot the more frequently occurring tsunamis that takeplace in that region. It means calcu-lating the travel time from potentialsea-bottom tsunami locations topopulous coastal areas. It meanspreparing inundation maps basedon modelling and careful assess-ments of historical documents. Andit requires devising effective com-munication schemes that conveythe information as swiftly as possible to those most atrisk and then providing evacuation plans to helpensure their safety.

DUAL USEComprehensive surveillance systems, such as the onedescribed above, should be designed not only fortsunamis but also for storm surges. Such ‘dual-use’detection and warning systems make it easier to justify

their costs and, at the same, help the public remainaware of the warning system once it is in place. InIndia, this strategy could prove particularly usefulbecause more than 10 percent of the world’s cyclonestake place in the northern Indian Ocean, most notably

in the Bay of Bengal, which hasexperienced nearly 60 cyclonesover the past 35 years alone.

The plan that the Indian gov-ernment has developed in theaftermath of the December 2004mega-tsunami calls for:• Upgrading and connecting exist-ing seismic stations, which will more

than triple in number from 51 to 170.• Establishing a network of eight to 10 bottom pressure

recorders in potential areas of tsunami activity in thenorthern Indian Ocean.

• Installing a chain of 45 to 50 sea level monitoring sta-tions at critical points on the mainland, on islands andon off-shore platforms.

• Building 10 radar-based monitoring stations for real-time measurement of surface currents and waves.

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The basic elements of an effective tsunamidetection and warningsystem are well known.

• Devising more sophisticated models for projecting thebehaviour and intensity of tsunamis and storm surges.

• Generating detailed coastal inundation and vulnera-bility maps based on existing data and models.

• Developing more effective educational and trainingprogrammes both for experts and the public on mat-ters related to tsunamis and storm surges.

This initiative, which was launched in February2005, will cost an estimated US$30 million. TheDepartment of Ocean Development will lead the effort,which will also enjoy the active involvement of India’sDepartment of Science and Technology, Department ofSpace and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR). India’s universities and research institutes willalso participate.

India is expected to have a comprehensive warningsystem in place by September 2007. The goal is toreduce the average time that it takes to inform thepublic of the occurrence of a tsunami or storm surgefrom 40 minutes to 10 minutes.

Thirty minutes may not seem like much. But thissaving in time could ultimately save thousands of lives.And as the events of 26 December 2004 tell us, in darkand deadly ways, time does indeed matter. ■

> Harsh Kumar Gupta (TWAS Fellow 1995)Secretary

Department of Ocean DevelopmentNew Delhi, India

email:dodsec@dod.delhi.nic.in

INDIA IS NOT ALONEIndia is not the only nation in southeast Asia that hasbegun to build a detection and early warning system tosafeguard citizens against the potential deadly impact oftsunamis and storm surges. Indonesia, for example, plansto develop a warning network that includes sea floor sen-sors and associated buoys as well as coastal sirens andsound systems. Thailand has decided to install 62 warn-ing towers and to put in place a National Disaster Warn-

ing Centre, which received its first test on 4 July 2005when a 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck the NicobarIslands, about 660 kilometres west of the mainland. Warn-ings were issued following the ocean floor earthquakebut, fortunately, the quake failed to produce a tsunami.Malaysia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka have also launchedcomprehensive detection and warning programmes. Meanwhile, other regions of the world have also taken noteof the Indian Ocean mega-tsunami to improve their ownwarning and detection systems. For example, the PacificTsunami Warning Center, located in Hawaii and operatedby the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra-tion (NOAA), will add 32 additional DART (deep-oceanassessment and reporting of tsunamis) buoys to what is theworld’s most sophisticated detection and warning system.In addition, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Com-mission, which operates under the auspices of the UnitedNations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization(UNESCO), plans to coordinate the Indian Ocean TsunamiWarning and Mitigation System. The initiative, which willcost an estimated US$200 million, is expected to becomeoperational in the next few years.

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The World Year of Physics 2005, aUN-sponsored celebration of the cen-

tennial anniversary of Albert Einstein’sannus mirabilis (miraculous year), wascharacterized by countless exhibitions,symposia, workshops and lecturesaround the world.

The initiatives, which took place in libraries, muse-ums, research centres and universities, were designed toexplore the impact of physics on our global society andto generate greater awareness and enthusiasm for afield of science often disregarded – or should we say dis-carded – by the public as “too hard to understand” and“too removed from everyday life to make a difference”.

To help counter this public perception, a pair ofwidely publicised ‘bookend’ events marked the begin-ning and conclusion of this year-long celebration: aninaugural conference that took place in Paris in January2005 and a closing conference that took place in

November 2005 in Durban, SouthAfrica. Both events were sponsored bythe United Nations Educational, Cul-tural and Scientific Organization(UNESCO), and a number of other sci-entific institutions, including theAbdus Salam International Centre for

Theoretical Physics (ICTP). The ICTP shares both a com-mon heritage with TWAS (both institutions were creat-ed by the Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam) and a commonsite (the ICTP generously hosts the Academy’s secretari-at on its campus in Trieste, Italy).

The World Year of Physics 2005 marked the 100th

anniversary of the most remarkable year in Albert Ein-stein’s remarkable career. Indeed it marked one of themost noteworthy years in the history of modern science,rivalling Isaac Newton’s 18-month annus mirabilis in1665-1666 during which time he invented calculus,uncovered how gravity works and explained the lawsof motion.

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FEATURE

TWAS CELEBRATESEINSTEIN’S

MIRACULOUS YEARIN THE WORLD OF PHYSICS, EINSTEIN’S SUCCESSES ARE INDEED

WORTH CELEBRATING. BUT SO ARE HIS SHORTCOMINGS.

In 1905, Einstein experienced a similar burst ofgenius highlighted by the publication of four illustriouspapers in Annalen der Physik, Germany’s pre-eminentphysics journal.

Each paper in its own right rep-resented a breakthrough in ourunderstanding of physics. Together,the papers exerted a profoundimpact not only on the world of sci-ence but on society as a whole bygreatly enhancing our understand-ing of how the world of atoms andmolecules behave and by alteringour very perception of how we seeourselves in the universe.

In these papers, Einstein, then just 26 years old andwith a newly minted doctorate degree from the Univer-sity of Zurich, proved that light consists of discrete par-ticles (photons), a finding for which he won the NobelPrize in 1921; described in detail a powerful new theo-retical tool (Brownian motion) for detecting the ran-dom movement of atoms and molecules in gases and

liquids; and explained his theory of special relativity,which established the relationship between mass andenergy and between space and time (for which Einstein

is best known). “A storm brokeloose in my mind,” Einstein wouldlater note when asked about thisstunning year of accomplishmentvirtually unmatched in the annalsof science.

TWAS celebrated the WorldYear of Physics 2005 by holding aconference session at the TWAS16th General Meeting in Alexan-dria, Egypt. The session, which was

organized by Luiz Davidovich, professor of physics atthe Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, soughtto commemorate Einstein’s miraculous year by exam-ining his impact both on science and society.

While honouring the past, the presenters also kepta keen eye on the future. Indeed one of the reasonsthat Einstein’s accomplishments remain so compellinga century after they took place is that his findings have

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[CONTINUED PAGE 46]

The World Year of Physics2005 marked the 100th

anniversary of the mostremarkable year inAlbert Einstein’s

remarkable career.

dramatically shaped physics throughout the 20th cen-tury and continue to influence the field to this day withimplications that affect our society, our economy andeven our ethical values.

Nobel Laureate Claude Cohen-Tannoudji (Physics1997) gave the session’s opening presentation, ‘Lightand Matter: The Modernity of Einstein’s Ideas’. Cohen-Tannoudji, professor of physics at École NormaleSupérieure, Paris, France, shared the Nobel Prize withStephen Chu and William Phillips for developing tech-niques that utilize laser light to cool atoms to extreme-ly low temperatures. In his presentation, Cohen-Tan-noudji examined how Einstein’s breakthrough discov-ery, which showed that light consists of photons (orwave-like particles), set the stage for the numerousapplications of laser light that have taken place in thelate 20th and early 21st centuries.

Govind Swarup, professor emeritus at the TataInstitute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) NationalCentre for Radio Astrophysics in Pune, India, gave apresentation on ‘Cosmology and Astrophysics: FromEinstein to Now’. Swarup’s talk focused on Einstein’sseminal contributions to our understanding of the ear-ly universe and its evolution ever since. Swarup, whois a fellow of the Royal Society of London and the Indi-an National Science Academy (INSA), gained interna-tional fame for his role in the building of India’s radiotelescope system, which seeks to explore the far reach-es of the universe where the universe’s first particlesare thought to be located.

Lu Yongxiang, president of the Chinese Academy ofScience (CAS), then provided a broad overview ofphysics over the past century – a century dominated byEinstein. Titled ‘The Inspiring History of Physics in theLast 100 years: Retrospect and Prospect’, Lu described

how physics, far from being removed from everydaylife, has provided the foundation for many of the mostseminal technological breakthroughs of the past centu-ry, ranging from the awesome power of the atom in the1940s and 1950s to the stunning development of com-puters and the internet in the 1980s and 1990s. Lu,who also serves as vice president of TWAS, forecaststhat physics will continue to play a vital role in suchfrontier fields as biotechnology (through, for example,biophysics and bioinformatics) and nanotechnology,which draws a great deal of its intellectual strengthfrom our understanding of new materials and thestructure of atoms and molecules.

Davidovich, who moderated the conference ses-sion, also gave a lecture during the session, entitled‘Spooky Action at a Distance: Exploring the Subtletiesof Quantum Mechanics’.

His talk concentrated on quantum physics, one ofthe two pillars of theoretical physics; the other pillar isEinstein’s theory of relativity. Specifically, Davidovichprovided an overview of the international physics com-

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munity’s intense discussions following the discovery ofquantum mechanics in the early 20th century, sometwenty years after Einstein’s miraculous year.

His presentation began with the formulation ofWerner Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle in the late1920s. Davidovich then outlined a step-by-step ‘quan-tum journey’ that included a discussion of the NielsBohr–Einstein debates, focusing on quantum mechan-ic’s counterintuitive notion that “when you measuresomething you unavoidably change it by producing achange in the state of the system” (a notion that Ein-stein rejected); Erwin Schrödinger’s breakthroughanalyses of wave equations and quantum mechanics inthe 1920s and 1930s; and John Bell’s Einstein-defyingfindings on quantum theory and‘hidden’ variables in the 1960s(Einstein insisted that there mustbe hidden variables; Bell foundnone). In conclusion, Davidovichdiscussed current efforts to applyquantum theory to such exoticfields as quantum computation andquantum cryptography.

As Davidovich noted, his choiceof examining Einstein’s contributions to quantummechanics may seem odd, especially to his colleaguesin the field. After all, Heisenberg, not Einstein, is cred-ited to have discovered quantum physics. Indeed Ein-stein was a persistent sceptic of the uncertainty princi-ple, often dismissing it as an ‘incomplete theory’ oflesser value, or should we say of lesser certainty, thanthe theory of relativity.

So why did Davidovich choose to highlight Einstein’scontributions to quantum physics, about which Einsteinhimself had expressed deep doubts? How does such a

discussion fit into a series of celebratory presentationsdesigned to honour the 100th anniversary of Einstein’sincomparable contributions to modern physics?

In Davidovich’s words, such an approach shedseven brighter light on Einstein’s genius because itshows how his doubts and criticisms – and not just hisassertions and theories – helped to shape the broadcontours of physics over the past 100 years.

The uncertainty theory, as articulated by Heisen-berg, claimed that the position and momentum (theproduct of mass and velocity) of such sub-atomic parti-cles as electrons cannot be measured with absoluteprecision simultaneousy. That’s because, as Heseinbergreasoned, the effort of measuring their position

inevitably changes the momentumof the particles involved. In thewords of Bohr, Heisenberg’s men-tor, the uncertainty principle isbased on the notion that “we can-not at the same time know where aparticle is and where it will go.”

Einstein remained boggled bythis ‘probabilistic’ assertion andwas not bashful to say so. He pre-

ferred instead to remain the world’s most respected –and vocal – proponent of the ‘certainty’ and ‘determin-istic’ principles that resided at the heart of classicalphysics. Contrary to Bohr, Heisenberg and many otherphysicists in the growing field of quantum physics,Einstein fervently believed that we should be able todetermine where a particle is and where it will go,and that measuring these parametres would do justthat – enable us to locate the particles and determinetheir positions as they moved through space. He stark-ly expressed his scepticism this way: “One could not

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[CONTINUED PAGE 48]

Einstein remained theworld’s most respected –and vocal – proponent of the ‘certainty’ and

‘deterministic’ principles.

possibly believe that the moonexists only when looked at.” Sure-ly, Einstein reasoned, we knewthat the moon was in the sky without peering up andthat we could also determine with certainty – that is,measure – where it would be in the coming days,weeks, months and years. In response to those whothought otherwise, Einstein concluded that ‘hidden’deterministic variables would, upon further study,ultimately reveal the certainty in Heisenberg’s uncer-tainty principle. That’s why Einstein called it an“incomplete theory”.

In his talk, Davidovich observed that by question-ing the validity of the uncertainty principle, Einsteinwas casting doubt on the entire field of quantummechanics. His intellect, not to mention his stature,made it impossible for others to ignore him. The vigor-ous debate that ensued, Davidovich noted, propelledthe field forward in ways that would be difficult toimagine without Einstein’s critical contribution.

Indeed it was Einstein who, together with his col-leagues Boris Podolski and Nathan Rosen, co-authored

an article in 1935 that introduced the concept of‘entangled’ states, which they concluded was a neces-sary consequence of quantum physics. Simply put, theauthors suggested that two particles, having interactedin the past, would somehow remain ‘entangled’regardless of the distance between them. It then fol-lows that measuring the position or momentum of oneparticle would allow the position and momentum ofthe second particle to be determined. Einstein playful-ly – and, it should be noted, cynically – referred to thisentangled relationship as “spooky action at a dis-tance”.

Einstein’s notion of “spooky action at a distance”(thus the title of Davidovich’s presentation) did, ironi-cally, provide a perfect description of the principlesdriving quantum mechanics. His critical insight, as aresult, has helped to advance this vital field of physicsover the past half century, first in the contributions ofNiels Bohr and Erwin Schrödinger in 1930s, then

through John Bell’s findings in the 1960s, and, mostrecently, in cutting-edge research related to quantumcomputation, which some scientists believe will drivethe development of ever-faster computers, and quan-tum encryption, which some scientists believe will pro-vide fail-safe methods for transferring information onthe internet.

In Davidovich’s words, Einstein’s genius was pres-ent even when he was wrong. Just another reason tocelebrate one of the world’s most gifted minds. ■

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Einstein’s genius was present even when

he was wrong.

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5 G77 AWARD• TWAS and the Group of 77(G77) in New York have launchedthe G77 Award for Science, Tech-nology and Innovation to recog-nize and honour individual scien-tists, technologists and innova-tors from developing countrieswhose research work has con-tributed significantly to criticalproblems in science, especially incutting-edge fields. Pedro Anto-nio Prieto-Pulido, a physical sci-entist from the Universidad delValle, Cali, Colombia, is the firstrecipient of this award. He is be-ing honoured for his contributionto the research and developmentof materials science and elec-tronic devices, particularly for hiswork on magnetism and thephysics of superconductivity athigh temperatures. Prieto will bepresented with the award at thegeneral assembly of the G77scheduled to take place at the UNheadquarters in New York, USA,in September 2006.

DEL PINO HONOURED AGAIN• Just days after receiving aTWAS Medal from PresidentMubarak of Egypt during TWAS’s16th General Meeting in Alexan-dria (see pages 8 and 29-31), Eu-genia del Pino Veintimilla(TWAS Fellow 1989) received an-other award, this time from Al-fredo Palacio, President ofEcuador. “Each year, the mayorand city council of Quito honourcitizens who have contributed tothe cultural life, sciences, sportsand social aspects of the city,” ex-plains del Pino. Specifically, delPino was presented with the Eu-genio Espejo Medal, the highestrecognition that Quito gives tocontributions in the sciences. She

is being honoured for her wide-ranging contributions to develop-mental biology, the conservationof the Galapagos Islands and theeducation of young scientists inEcuador.

VIJH ELECTED PRESIDENT• Ashok Kumar Vijh (TWAS As-sociate Fellow 1987) has beenelected president of the Academyof Science of the Royal Society ofCanada. As president of the Acad-emy of Science, which has about1,000 fellows, Vijh also becomesone of the vice presidents of theRoyal Society of Canada. Vijh iscurrently Maître de Recherche atthe Institut de Recherché d’Hydro-Québec and invited professor atthe Institut Nationale de la Re-cherche Scientifique of the Univer-sity of Québec. Vijh’s researchhas earned him a worldwide rep-utation in electrochemistry. Hisinsight in adopting and adaptingconcepts and methodologies from

solid-state physics, applied fromthe field of physical chemistry,has allowed him to make a num-ber of original and innovativecontributions. He is also wellknown as a forceful advocate ofthe importance of fundamentalresearch in Canada and has writ-ten on such themes as scienceand ethics and the unity of cre-ative processes in art and sci-ence. Vijh’s term as president ofthe Academy of Science of theRoyal Society of Canada runs un-til 2007.

FIROUZABADI HONOURED• The Organization of IslamicConference (OIC) Committee onDevelopment of Science and Te-chnology has named Habib Fi-rouzabadi (TWAS Fellow 2000)Chemist of the Year 2005. Firouz-abadi, a professor at Shiraz Uni-versity, Iran, and a member of theIranian Academy of Sciences, haspublished more than 200 refer-eed papers, including many in hisspecialist area of catalysis and re-dox reactions. He will receive hisaward during a special ceremonyto be held in Karachi, Pakistan.

PEOPLE, PLACES, EVENTS

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5SCIENCE IN LESOTHO• Moeketsi Mpholo has beenawarded a TWAS Prize for YoungScientists in Developing Countriesby Lesotho’s Department of Sci-ence and Technology. Mpholo, ofthe Department of Physics andElectronics, National University ofLesotho, is currently working ontwo projects. His major focus, incollaboration with CambridgeUniversity, UK, involves develop-ing an electronic chip to analyseblood and other biochemical sam-ples. “We have successfully man-aged the first step,” says Mpholo,“building a working pump thatuses passive electric fields totransport the fluid.” He is also de-veloping a computer simulationmodel designed to reveal exactlyhow the pump will operate.Mpholo’s other project focuses onthe simulation of radio signals inLesotho. “One of the major prob-lems for radio systems is deter-mining how reliable and exten-sive the radio waves will be,” ex-plains Mpholo. “Most of the avail-able models were developed incountries such as Japan and theUK that have very different ter-rains, populations and land-usepatterns compared to Lesotho,”he adds. “There is a need to de-velop a detailed computer-basedradio propagation planning toolspecifically for Lesotho’s moun-tainous terrain and sparsely popu-lated areas.” Mpholo has receivedsupport from both industry andthe country’s Ministry of Commu-nications Science and Technologyfor this project.

CAS DOCTORATE• Ghulam Rasul, a native of Pak-istan and the first student to en-roll in the Chinese Academy of

Science’s (CAS) Graduate Univer-sity, has received his doctoratedegree. Jointly supported by CAS,TWAS and the Commission onScience and Technology for Sus-tainable Development (COM-SATS), Rasul travelled to China in2000 as a visiting scholar to carryout research at the CAS Instituteof Atmospheric Physics. A yearlater he enrolled in CAS GraduateUniversity while remaining at theInstitute of Atmospheric Physicsto work on his project, ‘Diagnos-tic analysis and numerical simu-lation of disastrous weather insouth Asian summer monsoons’.Formerly associate director of thePakistani Meteorological Admin-istration in Islamabad, Rasul nowexpects to make significant con-tributions to meteorological re-search in his home country and topromote additional scientific ex-changes between Pakistan andChina.

IAP WATER MEETING• The InterAcademy Panel (IAP),in collaboration with the SpanishRoyal Academy of Sciences, willhold an International Symposiumon the Sustainable Use of GroundWater from 24-27 January 2006at the University of Alicante,Spain. The meeting is part ofIAP’s Water Programme for 2004-

2006. A host of international ex-perts will discuss different issuesconcerning the use of water re-sources, especially groundwater,as it relates to agriculture, indus-try, national development and theconservation of aquatic ecosys-tems. The meeting has been or-ganized by the Spanish RoyalAcademy of Exact, Physical andNatural Sciences and the Geolog-ical and Mining Institute ofSpain. Other issues to be dis-cussed during the meeting will in-clude ‘Institutions for Groundwa-ter Management’ – the promotionof which is a central componentof the IAP Water Programme, es-pecially in developing countries(see TWAS Newsletter vol. 17, no.2, 2005, pages 32-38).

EURO PROPOSAL• In June 2004, the EuropeanCommission launched ‘Plants forthe Future’, a multidisciplinaryplatform of public and privatepartnerships aimed at increasinginvestment in research and inno-vation and to boost Europeancompetitiveness in relevant in-dustrial sectors. TWAS partici-pated along with a broad groupof stakeholders representing re-search institutions, industry,farmers, regulatory authoritiesand consumer representatives.Specifically, TWAS helped ensurethat the voice of developingcountries was not overlooked inthe discussions of the consortium.The first report of the ‘Plants forthe Future’ platform, which fo-cuses on the production ofhealthy, safe and sufficient foodand feed while securing sustain-able agriculture and developinggreen products such as biomateri-als and biofuels, was published in

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5 December 2005. It is availableonline at www.epsoweb.org/Cata-log/TP/TP%20Documents.htm.

SYMPOSIUM IN COLOMBIA• Hugo Hoenigsberg (TWASFellow 1989) is currently organ-izing the First International Sym-posium on Molecular Develop-ment and Stem Cell Research, tobe held in Bogota, Colombia,from 13-16 March 2006. For add-itional information, visit geoci-ties.com/igebm or contact hoenisbe@umb.edu.co.

NEW PUBLICATIONS• In collaboration with HarvardUniversity Press, TWAS has pub-lished a large-format, full colourbook called Dry: Life Without Wa-ter. The book features a collectionof 16 case studies, many based onresearch conducted during thethree-year Third World Network ofScientific Organizations (TWNSO)project on biodiversity in arid andsemi-arid lands funded by theUnited Nations Environment Pro-gramme (UNEP) Global Environ-ment Facility (GEF). For additio-nal information, visit www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/MASDRY.• TWAS and the InternationalCouncil for Science (ICSU) havecollaborated with the ScienceCouncil of the Consultative Groupon International Agricultural Re-

search (CGIAR) to produce a 54-page report on Science for Devel-opment: Changing Contexts, NewOpportunities. The document canbe downloaded from www.sci-encecouncil.cgiar.org/publications. • The UNESCO Science Report2005 is now available and in-cludes a contribution detailingthe current situation in Africa co-authored by TWAS executive di-rector, Mohamed Hassan. Ad-nan Badran (TWAS Fellow 1991)has also contributed a chapter onthe Arab States. For additional in-formation, visit publishing.un-esco.org/details.aspx?Code_Livre=4423#.• The second edition of the Dis-ease Control Priorities Project willbe launched during the GeneralForum of the InterAcademy Med-ical Panel (IAMP) in Beijing inApril 2006. The first edition,which examined the priority of25 health conditions based on

their public health significanceand the cost-effectiveness of pre-ventive and patient managementinterventions in developing coun-ties, was published in 1993. Con-tributions to this updated editionhave been received from expertsnominated by IAMP member aca-demies. For additional informa-tion, see www.fic.nih.gov/dcpp/.

GLOBAL SCIENCE CORPS• A workshop examining the con-cept of a Global Science Corpstook place in Nairobi, Kenya, on16-17 January 2006. Funded bythe Science Initiative Group(SIG), based in Princeton, NewJersey, USA, and the United Na-tions Development ProgrammeSpecial Unit for South-South Co-operation (UNDP-SSC), the work-shop examined various mechan-isms for promoting North-Southscientific exchanges and the de-velopment of fellowship pro-grammes. The concept of aGlobal Science Corps was firstproposed by Nobel LaureateHarold Varmus (Physiology orMedicine 1989), former head ofthe National Institutes of Healthand currently president of theSloane Kettering Institute in NewYork, USA. For additional infor-mation, see www.globalscience-corps.org.

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W H A T ’ S T W A S ?

THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES FOR THE DEVELOPING WORLD (TWAS) IS AN AUTONOMOUS

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION THAT PROMOTES SCIENTIFIC CAPACITY AND EXCELLENCE

IN THE SOUTH. FOUNDED AS THE THIRD WORLD ACADEMY OF SCIENCES BY A GROUP

OF EMINENT SCIENTISTS UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE LATE NOBEL LAUREATE ABDUS

SALAM OF PAKISTAN IN 1983, TWAS WAS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED IN TRIESTE, ITALY,

IN 1985, BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS.

TWAS has more than 800 members from 90 countries, 73 of which are developing coun-

tries. A 13-member Council is responsible for supervising all Academy affairs. It is

assisted in the administration and coordination of programmes by a small secretariat,

headed by the Executive Director. The secretariat is located on the premises of the Abdus

Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. The United

Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is responsible for

the administration of TWAS funds and staff. A major portion of TWAS funding is pro-

vided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy.

The main objectives of TWAS are to:

• Recognize, support and promote excellence in scientific research in the South.

• Provide promising scientists in the South with research facilities necessary for

the advancement of their work.

• Facilitate contacts between individual scientists and institutions in the South.

• Encourage South-North cooperation between individuals and centres of science and

scholarship.

TWAS was instrumental in the establishment in 1988 of the Third World Network of Sci-

entific Organizations (TWNSO), a non-governmental alliance of 160 scientific organi-

zations from developing countries, whose goal is to assist in building political and sci-

entific leadership for science-based economic development in the South and to pro-

mote sustainable development through broad-based partnerships in science and tech-

nology. > www.twnso.orgTWAS also played a key role in the establishment of the Third World Organization for

Women in Science (TWOWS), which was officially launched in Cairo in 1993. TWOWS has

a membership of more than 2,500 women scientists from 87 developing countries. Its

main objectives are to promote research, provide training, and strengthen the role of

women scientists in decision-making and development processes in the South. The sec-

retariat of TWOWS is hosted and assisted by TWAS. > www.twows.orgSince May 2000, TWAS has been providing the secretariat for the InterAcademy Panel

on International Issues (IAP), a global network of 90 science academies worldwide

established in 1993, whose primary goal is to help member academies work together

to inform citizens and advise decision-makers on the scientific aspects of critical global

issues. > www.interacademies.net/iapThe secretariat of the InterAcademy Medical Panel (IAMP), an association of 52 acad-

emies of science and medicine, relocated to Trieste in May 2004. IAMP and its mem-

ber academies are committed to improving health worldwide, especially in developing

countries. > www.iamp-online.org

TWAS and its affiliated organizations offerscientists in the South a variety of grants andfellowships. To find out more about theseopportunities, check out the TWAS website: www.twas.org

Want to spend some time at a researchinstitution in another developing country?Investigate the fellowships andassociateships programmes:www.twas.org/Exchange.htmlTWOWS offers postgraduate fellowships towomen from least developed countries (LDCs)and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa:www.twows.org/postgrad.html

Are you a scientist seeking funding for yourresearch project? Then take a look at theTWAS Research Grants scheme:www.twas.org/mtm/RG_form.htmlIs your institution seeking funds tocollaborate with a research institute inanother country in the South? The TWNSOgrants programme may be able to providesupport:www.twnso.org/grants.html

But that’s not all TWAS has to offer. For instance, do you need a minor spare part for your laboratory equipment – no bigdeal, really – but you just can’t get itanywhere locally? Well, TWAS can help: www.twas.org/mtm/SP_form.html

Would you like to invite an eminent scholar to your institution, but need funding forhis/her travel? Check out the VisitingScientist Programme:www.twas.org/hg/vis_sci.html

Are you organizing a scientific conference and would like to involve young scientists from the region? You may find the help youneed here:www.twas.org/mtm/SM_form.html

CONFERENCES

TRAVEL

EQUIPMENT

GRANTS

FELLOWSHIPS

WANT TO KNOW MORE?