Noted scientist to come on lecture tour

Chennai, Nov 30 (UNI) Indian-born noted scientist and sought-after adviser for biotechnology and microbiology in the world, Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty will be visiting India on a five-city lecture tour.

During his tour he would address industry leaders and scientific community in Kolkata (December 7), Delhi (December 9), Mumbai (December 11), Chennai (December 14) and Bangalore (December 16).

His lecture series would cover issues intrinsic to biotechnology and genetic engineering like 'Healthcare Challenges', 'Dynamics of Research and Innovation in Knowledge-Based Industries' and 'India as the global leader in science and technology', an official statement said here yesterday.

Organised by the Healthcare and Industry Information Cenrte, the lecture in each city would be sponsored by the leading Chamber of Commerce of that region.

Prof Ananda Chakrabarty first gained world attention in December, 1979 when he applied for the first patent on a living organism - a genetically engineered bacterium able to digest oil spills.

The case ended up in the US Supreme Court (US patent office vs Ananda Chakrabarty, December 13, 1979) and he obtained his patent in 1981, paving the way for many successive patents for genetically modified living organisms in the US.

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