But this speed limit may be breached as the brave new world of genetic engineering is brought into play.
Again, there will be experts on hand to tell the leaders about rising resistance to antibiotics, about the way a hyperconnected world can quickly spread pandemics, or about concerns about how it is foolhardy to be complacent in a world where genetic mutation often outpaces human innovation.
Traditionalists worry about unintended pollution of the world's purest genetic stock of maize.
The genetic modifications of the science fiction world are perhaps decades away for most but for a few hundred people in the world today suffering with LDL deficiency, it is a reality right around the corner.
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This is the much-hyped idea that, with soon-to-be-affordable genetic testing, we will enter a magical world in which your doctor can prescribe exactly the right drugs for you, at exactly the right doses, tailored for your specific genetic make-up.
Coffee historians believe most of the world's Arabica coffee crop shares genetic ancestry with two 18th century plants: one brought to Europe from Indonesia, and another taken from Yemen and cultivated in Brazil.
He thinks genetic modification of this humble crop, so far from the world of advanced science, will provide the most comprehensive defence and be the best way to boost yields.
The H7N9 virus, previously known only to infect birds, appears to have mutated so that it can more easily jump to animals like pigs, meaning the range of potential hosts has expanded, the Associated Press reported Wednesday, citing a World Health Organization scientist studying the virus's genetic makeup.
Genetic Technologies has incited a mini-riot in the high-stakes world of biotech.
Understanding the origin -- and the genetic behavior -- of a pathogen is the holy grail in the world of infectious disease.
Last month, the European Union approved Glybera for treatment of a rare genetic disease, making it the first gene-therapy medicine approved in the Western world.
"Coupled with recent genetic data, our finding indicates that the Atlantic population -- and perhaps the world population -- are connected and may constitute a single population, " Skomal said.
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Never mind that numerous professional medical and scientific societies around the world had concluded as early as the 1980s that the new molecular techniques of genetic engineering posed no greater risks to health or environment than other products.
More than 2, 000 families with two or more affected children have donated DNA samples to the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange, funded by Autism Speaks, which makes the information available to researchers around the world.
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