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by Prasit Palittapongarnpim
Bioinformatics
is rapidly emerging as a new branch of science. It is widely believed
that scientists in developing countries will be able to significantly
contribute to the progress of this field since the capital investment
needed for bioinformatics research may be much smaller than for
experimental biological sciences. However, the advancement of bioinformatics
science in developing countries requires not only competent human
resources, but also good ideas and problems. Without good communication
with state-of-the-art experimental laboratories, there is a clear
danger that small bioinformatics teams in developing countries may
try to address irrelevant questions. Without good communication
with state-of-the-art bioinformatics laboratories, there is a danger
of using suboptimal technology to address the problems. To avoid
these dangers, there must be forums where bioinformatics scientists
in developing countries interact with their counterparts in developed
countries, as well as with biologists from various disciplines.
This can be done through scientific publications as well as meetings
and seminars.
There are several good international bioinformatics conferences.
The fact that they are mostly organized in the developed world limits
the access of scientists from developing countries. Moreover, there
are problems that are of urgent importance for developing countries,
such as those relating to agriculture and biodiversity. From 6-8
February 2002, the International Conference on Bioinformatics 2002:
NorthSouth Networking (INCOB2002) was held in Bangkok to provide
a forum for facilitating these interactions.
Conference participants attended several interesting lectures on
the current status of bioinformatics, as well as research presentations
by scientists from more than 20 countries. The papers describing
the works of several plenary speakers are published in Pure
and Applied Chemistry,
Vol. 74, No. 6, pp. 881-914. INCOB2002 has been such a successful
event in establishing understanding between scientists with different
backgrounds that participants agreed to hold similar meetings every
one or two years. These meetings, as well as communication of research
through publications such as PAC, will be among the essential components
for generating more interaction between bioinformatics scientists
around the world. With these interactions, the successful spread
of bioinformatics in developing countries will finally be realized.
Prasit Palittapongarnpim of the National
Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Pathumthani,
Thailand, is a member of the Organizing Committee and is conference
editor.
www.iupac.org/publications/pac/2002/7406