Seville, September 9, 2012. Farewell day, scientists loaded with suitcases full of memories of Seville and knowledge acquired throughout a week in which they have been able to attend and participate in more than a hundred conferences. The International Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology ended its scientific activity today with an excellent finale: the plenary conferences given by Bruce Alberts and Venki Ramakrishnan. The former, president of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, reviewed the advances in biological research over the last fifty years, while the latter, the British scientist of Indian origin, presented his findings in the field of structural biology, studies that earned him the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009.
Bruce Alberts, science advisor to the President of the United States, Barack Obama, highlighted in his speech the important steps taken by biology from the mid-20th century to the present day. He pointed out that these advances have had repercussions on the broadest knowledge of cellular processes. Alberts’ words were in line with the title of the Congress, “From Simple Molecules to Systems Biology”. According to the American scientist, professor at the University of San Francisco (California), one of the main objectives of the next generations of biochemists is focused on “obtaining the necessary information to deepen the knowledge of each mechanism produced in proteins”.
He also emphasized that without the collaboration of other scientific disciplines it is impossible to make progress in the biological challenges of the future. For Alberts, “the support of computational mathematicians is necessary to provide better descriptions of complex protein systems”. In this sense, he concluded that “in the next century it will be necessary to obtain a true understanding of how cells and organisms work,” and this will require new techniques and new quantitative methods.
The second part of Alberts’ speech focused on another of the fundamental aspects of his career: the popularization and teaching of science in schools. Alberts made a fiery defense of “creativity, tolerance, rationality and openness” in educational methods. “We need to redefine what science in school means at all levels, from kindergartens to high schools,” said the American scientist. His work as head of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and as editor-in-chief of the prestigious journal Science has helped him understand how science learning should be encouraged in schools. To this end, Alberts pointed out that new alternatives are needed, at no great cost, new proposals that subvert traditional teaching methods, through “active learning”, based on interaction between teachers and students.
Venki Ramakrishnan began his lecture by explaining the differences between the research systems of the United States and the United Kingdom. For the Nobel laureate, there is a disparity between the two countries, such as the urgency of results. “For this reason, I had to return to the UK, where it is possible to maintain a research project for a longer period of time. For a six-year project, I ran out of funds in the United States by the fifth year,” said the scientist.
On a more scientific level, Ramakrishnan spoke of his research in the field of protein synthesis and the ribosome. According to the studies carried out by the British researcher of Indian origin, who shared the Nobel Prize with the Israeli Ada Yonath in 2009, there is a detailed understanding of the interaction of proteins and how these can explain more accurately the abundant information previously accumulated on their activity and deepen the knowledge of their mode of action, for example in the field of antibiotics. In addition, and possibly more promising, is the application of the information now available in the design of new therapeutic targets that improve the activity of existing ones.
In this sense, the research on crystallization carried out by Nobel has made it possible to gain insight into the mechanism of action of antibiotics -which affect the ribosome-, and to serve as a guide to other groups for the implementation of programs for the design of new molecules.
Closing of the Congress
The closing ceremony of the International Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, held in the Fibes Auditorium, was attended by the Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, Carmen Vela, who recognized the work and effort made by the organizers in recent years, especially the president of this summit, Miguel Angel de la Rosa; the secretary of the event, Irene Diaz; and the head of the scientific program, Joan Guinovart. Vela also referred to the difficulties facing research in Spain at the moment and pointed out that the Secretariat for which he is responsible “is working as hard as possible to alleviate this situation”.
Finally, the president of the Congress, Miguel Ángel de la Rosa, handed over the baton to the next organizers of the summits of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) and the Federation of Societies of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (FEBS), which will be held in Marrakech and St. Petersburg, respectively, in 2013.