JOIN USFuture science involves multi-disciplines
Future science, especially biological and clinical focused research, will be increasingly multi-disciplinary, said Sir Tom Blundell, Professor Emeritus, University of Cambridge, here, on Saturday.
He was delivering the graduation day address at the maiden graduation day celebrations of Yuvaraja’s College.
New studies in genetics depend not only on chemistry for DNA sequencing, but also on nano-technologies and state of the art computational methods, he said, explaining how collaborative studies by scientists from various streams was crucial during the period.
He said, following the Human Genome project, studies are being carried out regarding genetic variations found in hundreds of thousands of human genomes.
Speaking about the progress in studying disease causing organisms, he said, today scientists are able to sequence the genetic code of individual pathogens such as viruses, bacteria and other organisms, to understand how they evolve and escape human immune system.
Future society
Recounting experiences from his life, he said, “We have to rid ourselves of class, race, caste and gender discrimination — we still have a long way to go in every country in the world. All graduates from universities should feel themselves as able to contribute to the society in any capacity that their skills, physical and mental aptitudes allow”.
On India, he observed that the nation has a ‘very entrepreneurial streak’ in its culture. “With high level academic science in this country, there are real opportunities to contribute (in translating research to application)”, he said.
He advised young scientists to develop applications for research work done by them and take it forward by starting new companies or taking initiatives for the welfare of the society and environment.
Convocation
As many as of 524 students of the college graduated during the ceremony. A total of 17 graduate students and three postgraduate students received endowment prizes.