Biotechnology: A truly multifaceted subject

Biotechnology is a word that immediately conjures up images reminiscent of science fiction - half-human/half-machine cyborgs, genetic engineering, cloning, and strange and wonderful plant and animal hybrids.

The truth, as always, is far more mundane. In its simplest form, biotechnology involves a group of techniques that includes the use of live organisms within a technological environment, and the manipulation of these organisms to achieve a specific scientific goal.

So how do IT and biotechnology work together, how far is SA in the biotech race, and what has been achieved in this field?

Electric Genetics (EG) is an international bioinformatics group, spawned in 1997 from a small office based at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in Cape Town.

EG`s focus is on developing and marketing high-throughput bioinformatics tools and services that enhance the understanding of genomic information and accelerate the drug discovery process.

According to Tania Broveak Hide, CEO of EG, bioinformatics is the meeting of biotechnology and information technology through the use of computers to store, retrieve, analyse or predict the composition or the structure of bio molecules.

It is a subject that aims to shorten the process of discovering new drugs, thereby reducing the costs and risks involved in new drug development.

Brian O` Connell, rector and vice-chancellor of UWC, says the university has been able to nurture hard core innovative science that has given birth to organisations such as EG, which is one of SA`s first campus biotech companies.

"This has been achieved through insightful, directed, capacity development funding into UWC from the National Research Foundation, and subsequent capacity development funding investment by the Medical Research Council and the Department of Science and Technology."

Bioinformatics is the meeting of biotechnology and information technology through the use of computers to store, retrieve, analyse or predict the composition or the structure of bio molecules.

Tania Broveak Hide, CEO, Electric Genetics

He says UWC has already accrued nearly R1.5 million through intellectual property payments from EG, and stands to continue gaining financially through ongoing royalties and its shareholding in the company.

Bioventures, a biotechnology venture capital fund, recently invested R10 million in the company, despite what it considers to be difficult market conditions for biotech companies at the moment.

"EG not only has a quality management team with both scientific and business experience and expertise, it also has world-class products and is an ideal investment vehicle for Bioventures," says Dr Heather Sherwin, CEO of Bioventures.

"We believe there is also tremendous potential for other such spinouts from a number of South African universities."

Biometrics is an area where biotechnology and information technology meet, and the US is well ahead of the rest of the world in making use of this concept, particularly in terms of security smart cards.

Because smart cards carry a microprocessor chip, they can store much more data than a standard magnetic stripe card, meaning that effectively, a single card can be used for anything from financial applications to corporate security authentication.

Biometric identity cards are already in use with the US Department of Defence, and these have proven to be successful, particularly in the security-conscious post-9/11 world.

"These cards allow us to apply different levels of security for different levels of access and can include such issues as fingerprint identification, whereby the card carrier`s print is scanned and compared to the print stored in the chip`s memory, to make certain that the card belongs to the carrier," says Kenneth Scheflen, director of the Defence Manpower Data Centre.

The US Department of Defence will pilot true biometrics within a year, which will provide for fingerprint, iris, retinal and voice scanning options.

Bill Boggess, head, department`s Authentication and Access Technology Division

"There are a number of levels of security that can be contained on a card, including a variety of levels of biometric information - anything from fingerprint to retinal comparisons - which can be scanned and compared."

According to Bill Boggess, head of the department`s Authentication and Access Technology Division, because smart cards run applications - rather than only storing information on a magnetic stripe - the information remains secure in the card`s microprocessor.

"The beauty of using smart cards in the Department of Defence lies in the fact that a single card can be used for multiple applications, so for example, your card will serve as your key to access your PC, but it will also serve as your ID card, so whenever you want to move around the building, you must take the card out of your PC, leaving it secure from unauthorised access."

He says that while certain cards already use biometric information, the department will pilot true biometrics within a year, which will provide for fingerprint, iris, retinal and voice scanning options.

While the biggest focus in SA - in terms of biotechnology - is on agricultural development through issues such as genetically modified (GM) foods, and on drug delivery systems as mentioned previously, there are also a number of exciting experimental developments taking place that are leading us closer to the concept of the merging of man and machine.

In the US, researchers are carrying out the first tests on a silicon chip designed to replace a damaged part of the brain, according to the publication, New Scientist.

The success of techniques such as cochlear implants shows that the brain can utilise relatively sparse information to good effect.

Dr John Chad, , University of Southampton

The intention is that the implant will stand in for the hippocampus, which is a part of the forebrain that is vital for storing long-term memories. It is to be tested on tissue from rats` brains, then on live rats and monkeys. If all goes well, it could one day be used for people who face memory loss because of Alzheimer`s disease, epilepsy or a stroke.

For people who have suffered complete or near-total paralysis, a development known as the brain-computer interface (BCI) offers hope for the future. A BCI uses an electroencephalograph to pick up brain waves from electrodes stuck to the skull. The brain waves are then amplified and used as computer commands.

While BCIs are still in the development stage, scientists say that in a perfect world, these devices will be able to seamlessly fuse thought with real-time action. In other words, a victim of paralysis would only need to think "up" and the cursor on the attached computer would float. If they were to think "e-mail" an e-mail program would spontaneously open, or if they think "coffee", for example, the kettle will switch on.

Another area where the gap between the machine/human interface is growing smaller is in the development of artificial synapses, which will help nerve cells communicate, through an implanted microchip.

The chip will stimulate the junctions where nerve messages travel from one cell to another, and the researchers involved in this development, from Stanford University in California, believe that their synapse chip could act more like the brain`s natural processes than an electrically-charged chip, because it could allow for sensitive and specific responses.

The researchers have already been able to create four artificial synapses on a silicon chip one centimetre square.

Each synapse is a tiny hole in the silicon, which is just 5 000 nanometres wide, and although this is much bigger than a real synapse, it can nonetheless stimulate a single cell in a layer above the chip.

"There are huge obstacles to be overcome in producing a reliable interface to the brain with useful information throughput," says Dr John Chad, a senior lecturer at the University of Southampton.

"However, the success of techniques such as cochlear implants shows that the brain can utilise relatively sparse information to good effect."

In terms of the convergence of computers and biological material, many researchers believe the computers of the future will not be built by factory machines, but rather by living cells such as bacteria.

At the recent American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting, scientists described how wires can now be made by yeast organisms, and how solar panels can be built using substances produced by sea sponges.

Computers made with natural processes - such as yeast organisms and sea sponges - are not around the corner, it will be many years before the technologies can be developed that far.

Dr Daniel Morse, , University of California

Researchers believe the development of these kinds of technologies will be essential if the size of electronic devices continues to shrink. Among the advantages offered by this type of biological technology is a lack of pollution. Biology and bio-catalysis are expected to offer the prospects of synthesis without the recourse to toxic chemicals that are presently the basis of human manufacturing of silicon-based materials.

However, Dr Daniel Morse of the University of California told the conference that computers made with natural processes such as this are not around the corner - it will be many years before the technologies can be developed that far.

A further development in this field was recently displayed at the Medical University of South Carolina, where three-dimensional tubes of living tissue were printed, using modified desktop printers filled with suspensions of cells instead of ink.

According to the researchers, this is the first step towards printing complex tissues or even entire organs. The printers were adapted by washing out ink cartridges and refilling them with suspensions of cells. The software that controls the viscosity, electrical resistances and temperature of the printing fluids was then reprogrammed and the feed systems were altered.

Scientists conducted several experiments using easily available tissues such as hamster ovary cells. By printing alternate layers of a specially developed gel, along with clumps of cells onto glass slides, they showed that three dimensional structures such as tubes could be built up.

The researchers hope that one day it will be possible to print an entire network of arteries, capillaries and veins that nourish organs, although they believe many more studies and developments will have to take place before this can be achieved.

Aiming to create a critical mass of biotechnology businesses and biotechnologists, to stimulate the economic development of the industry in SA, eGoli BIO is one of two business incubators in the country that is focused on biotechnology.

eGoli BIO is the result of a joint initiative between CSIR Bio/Chemtek, the Innovation Hub and AfricaBio and received its initial funding from Godisa, a programme supported by the Department of Science & Technology, the Department of Trade and Industry and the European Union.

"The objectives of Godisa are economic growth and long-term employment creation through the enhancement of technological innovation and improvement of productivity," says Dr Paul Abrahams, the organisation`s CEO.

"There are many potential growth areas particular to the local socio-economic environment, one of the most exciting of which is the biotech sphere.

"We offer biotechnology entrepreneurs the opportunity to commercialise their products or services within a business incubator. The incubator creates an environment of learning and sharing in which information, experience and ideas are freely exchanged."

He says his organisation is not actually involved in research and development (R&D), but that it provides business infrastructure and value-add services such as financial modelling assistance with business plans, introductions to a network of potential investors and possible markets and generally adds a dose of business acumen to what would otherwise be a pure research set-up.

Too often, science is done purely for science`s sake, rather than for commercial purposes, so we are trying to educate researchers about the potentially lucrative commercial side to research and development.

Dr Paul Abrahams, CEO, eGoli BIO

"In many instances in this country, science is done purely for science`s sake, rather than with a commercial goal in mind. What we are trying to do is to focus the researchers to some extent on the potentially lucrative commercial side to R&D," says Abrahams.

"We are a bridge between pure academic research and actually getting a product to market."

He says the organisation is trying to develop a backbone for the biotechnology sector, through building the small and medium enterprise market, but that it is inevitably a slow process.

"The biotechnology sector is growing relatively slowly, but I believe the real kicker for the industry will be when we have one big success. That is really when everyone will sit up and take notice of us."

eGoli BIO has developed a close working relationship with the other five incubators, as well as having links to the Gauteng government`s Blue IQ project through The Innovation Hub and Blue Catalyst, a recently established venture fund within the Blue IQ stable.

"The incubators all learn from each other, as we are a fairly new concept in this country, thus leveraging off the networks is vital to our sustainability," says Abrahams.

A Harvest Biotech Foundation International, a biotechnology group with offices in Washington DC in the US and in Nairobi, Kenya, recently joined forces with eGoli BIO. The foundation`s new office will serve as eGoli BIO`s anchor tenant at the incubator.

"Because A Harvest has a number of networks, thanks to our offices in the US and Africa, we can help to add value to eGoli BIO`s other tenants by making our resources, contacts and global networks available to them," says Daniel Kamanga, A Harvest`s communications director.

"The idea is that we can hopefully make the introductions, in a sense, so that the other tenants can make contact with like-minded organisations, and also to smooth their path so that they do not find themselves having to duplicate paths that we have already trodden."

He says one of A Harvest`s key aims is information dissemination and education, as the correct information can help countries put together strong biotechnology infrastructure and proper education can prevent what he calls "knee-jerk reactions", like those often experienced by people when issues such as GM crops are raised.

The anti-GM lobby only focuses on the perceived risks of genetic modification, and not on the recognised benefits of the process.

Daniel Kamanga, communications director, A Harvest Biotech Foundation International

"GM foods have long been a contentious issue, although the anti-GM lobby only focuses on perceived risks, rather than on the recognised benefits, and the ones who are usually most against it are the people from nations where there is no hunger crisis. Africa really needs the advantages biotechnology can offer," he says.

According to Kamanga, A Harvest`s founder, Dr Florence Wambugu, has spent 20 years in the biotechnology sector, 10 of which have been in Africa, and she has the distinction of being involved in the first GM food development - a modified sweet potato - in sub-Saharan Africa.

"Dr Wambugu had a rural African upbringing, so she is not only very connected to the people, but she is also aware of the dire problems faced by the continent in terms of hunger, and is constantly looking for ways to solve them. This is one of the key reasons she founded A Harvest."

According to Dr Wambugu, African countries can effectively tackle the challenge of poverty, hunger and malnutrition through intra-African technology transfers and the sharing of models of good practice in agriculture.

Instead of focusing on proven programmes, many agriculturalists reinvent the wheel in terms of development agendas, or they repeat very well documented failures as so-called 'new` agricultural development initiatives.

Dr Florence Wambugu, CEO, A Harvest Biotech Foundation International

"Many African countries would benefit enormously from simple and effective technology transfers, such as the tissue culture banana programme in Kenya, which has already benefited over 10 000 farmers," she says.

"The problem is that instead of focusing on proven programmes, many agriculturalists reinvent the wheel in terms of development agendas, or they repeat very well documented failures as so-called 'new` agricultural development initiatives."

She says this often results in a waste of resources that could have been spared, if space had been provided for the sharing of knowledge and experiences.

"A Harvest has a pan-African biotechnology coalition strategy, and through this, we aim to facilitate the sharing of information within each country and among different countries, with a view to making this serve as a powerful meeting of minds to help address the challenges of food insecurity in Africa."

Biotechnology may be a relatively new subject in South African terms, but it certainly shows the potential to radically alter the African continent, not only in terms of agricultural development - which is the true key to Africa`s future - but also through the numerous technological advances it will bring.

"Biotechnology is one of the critical hi-tech growth sectors for SA`s future economy, which is why the eGoli BIO incubator was set up as one of the six key incubators in the country," says Abrahams.

"Incubators are adding value to developing new technology businesses and commercialising scientific discoveries, which can only help to stimulate the economy."

He says that while there is still a lot of learning required to get the biotechnology sector properly established, SA is well on its way to achieving the goals of the National Biotech Strategy.

"The overall goal is to establish a meaningful biotechnology sector through a variety of mechanisms, and I believe that many are already contributing towards that," says Abrahams.

"I also believe that a lot will happen in this sector in the next five years or so. There is no doubt that the future of biotechnology in SA is bright."