Establishment of Bio-medical Info Center Urged

A Chinese scholar has urged the government to establish a national center of biological and medical information for life sciences research.

Hao Bolin, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), pointed out that bio-medical information such as the genetic data relating to humans and other species has been profoundly influencing bio-technology, medicine, agriculture, and other fields worldwide.

This information will become increasingly important for the treatment of disease, agricultural production, and other human activities in the future.

Although some small information centers exist in China, there is no national database providing free access to this information, Hao was quoted in Shanghai-based Wen Hui Bao daily on May 8.

The scholar suggested that, instead of the duplication of small and separate centers, governmental organs and academies of medicine and science and technology should join hands to launch a national database and make the information accessible through Internet technology.



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