Bio-scientists are soldiers & generals in battle to safeguard planet: Prez

Bio-scientists are soldiers and generals in the battle to safeguard the planet, President Ram Nath Kovind said Monday as he urged them to find solutions to asthma, respiratory disorders and cancers.

Speaking at an event organised by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), he noted that scientists have to fight on four "frontlines"-- environment, lifestyle diseases, infectious diseases and ailments related to brains.

The president said personalised and precision medicine, genomic medicine, lab-generated organs, rationalising data privacy with data use for clinical research offer scope for the wellbeing of mankind, but could also pose "bioethical dilemmas as well as legal questions".

"Bio-scientists are our soldiers and generals in the battle to safeguard our planet, our species and our future," he said.

An enhanced thrust on studying human and animal health in real environments and finding solutions to problems such as asthma, respiratory disorders and cancers is needed, he said.

"In the quarter-century since 1990, the number of Indians living with diabetes grew from 26 million to 65 million. In the same period, the incidence of all cancers increased by almost 30 per cent. Diet and lifestyle are key factors, as also maternal, foetal and neo-natal health. Both prevention and treatment are vital," Kovind said.

Highlighting the dangers of infectious disease, he said while efforts were on against the known infectious diseases, lesser-known ones threatened to expand.

The president also highlighted the dangers of diseases arising out of urban stress.

"Preventive measures, relevant to genetics and lifestyle, are in the realm of theory, waiting to be discovered.

"We must discover these if our people are to age well, with full mental capacities. If this is not researched by us in our population, ailments such as dementia will be a major problem and solutions from elsewhere will not fit here," he added.