News from Berlin

News from Berlin - The British Government's scientific Chief Adviser Professor Sir Mark Walport was in the capital of Berlin on Monday, the 20th of October, for a guest visit at the Embassy. He participated in a bilateral meeting on the field of synthetic biology, on the topic entitled "Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology: Potential Applications and Governance of Groundbreaking Technologies". This a topic that is becoming increasingly important for health research.

The discussion centered on topics about the engineering of biology and whether one can modify biology to perform various tasks and if so, how? Questions on the link between information technology and biotechnology, the role of large companies and intellectual property and open innovation, as well as the implications of global regulation were posed. Also in discussion was the model of regulation in the United Kingdom, and the differences in the approaches that Germany and the UK respectively take. The promotion of cooperation and encouragement of continued joint efforts was emphasised at the meeting as the two countries can learn a lot from each other.

Professor Sir Walport was knighted in the 2009 New Year Honours list for services to medical research and his previous roles include professor of medicine and head of the division of medicine at Imperial College London. The mission of the British embassy in Berlin is to work with Germany to build a more competitive, flexible and democratic European Union in order to increase trade, tourism and investment, and address the national security threats from terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, conflict and crime. In addition to this cooperation, the embassy and consulates provided consular assistance to British nationals in Germany.

News from Berlin - Berlin Global