Biotechnological developments
Our knowledge of hereditary material (DNA) has grown, the human
genome has been sequenced, and other species’ genomes will be
sequenced in the coming years.
In order to understand how genes, both alone and in conjunction with
each other, control different biological processes requires numerous
and comprehensive studies. This knowledge can help us to develop
medicines, vaccines, dietary supplements, food types, feeding
regimes, pesticides, etc, all of which could prove to be of vital
importance for plants, animals and humans.
This knowledge could also help us to determine the origins of
biological material and thereby form a basis for genetic
traceability. In order to take advantage of the potential which
biotechnological innovations have to offer, it is necessary to have
a well-organised biological repository with individual samples where
relevant data is available.