Africa in the Age of Biology docx

AFRICA฀IN฀THE฀AGE฀OF฀BIOLOGY
Wilmot฀James฀
HSRC฀
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Social฀Cohesion฀and฀Integration฀Research฀Programme,฀Africa฀Human฀Genome฀Initiative฀Occasional฀Paper฀Series฀No.฀3
Series฀Editor:฀Prof.฀Wilmot฀James,฀Executive฀Director:฀Social฀Cohesion฀and฀Integration฀Research฀Programme฀of฀the฀
Human฀Sciences฀Research฀Council
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Preface
The฀ Human฀ Sciences฀ Research฀ Council฀ (HSRC)฀ has฀ established฀ an฀ occasional฀
paper฀ series.฀ The฀ occasional฀ papers฀ are฀ designed฀ to฀ be฀ quick,฀ convenient฀ vehicles฀
for฀ making฀ timely฀ contributions฀ to฀ debates฀ or฀ for฀ disseminating฀ interim฀ research฀
findings,฀or฀they฀may฀be฀finished,฀publication-ready฀works.฀Authors฀invite฀comments฀
and฀suggestions฀from฀readers.
This฀paper฀was฀presented฀as฀the฀first฀annual฀John฀Gerhart฀Memorial฀Lecture฀at฀
the฀conference฀of฀the฀Africa฀Genome฀Initiative฀held฀in฀Cairo฀from฀March฀26฀to฀29,฀
2004.฀Considerations฀of฀Egyptian฀science฀and฀arts฀and฀their฀lasting฀impact฀on฀Africa฀
are฀a฀fitting฀tribute฀to฀the฀roundedness฀of฀John฀Gerhart,฀himself฀an฀art฀collector฀of฀
some฀note,฀a฀gifted฀story-teller,฀an฀enthusiastic฀birder,฀an฀economist฀by฀training฀and฀
a฀scientist฀by฀inclination,฀a฀philanthropist฀of฀great฀empathy฀and฀skill,฀and฀a฀university฀
president฀with฀vision฀and฀leadership.฀One฀of฀the฀last฀things฀John฀Gerhart฀did฀before฀
he฀died฀was฀ to฀visit฀ that฀birder’s฀dream,฀ the฀Galapagos฀ Islands,฀once฀described฀in฀
the฀title฀of฀a฀book฀as฀Evolution’s฀workshop฀(Larson฀2001).฀It฀was฀here฀that฀Charles฀
Darwin฀spent฀a฀great฀deal฀of฀time฀observing฀the฀behaviour฀of฀species฀of฀beings฀that฀
had฀evolved฀over฀hundreds฀of฀thousands฀of฀years฀in฀isolation฀and฀in฀the฀absence฀of฀
natural฀predators.฀If฀you฀approached฀and฀touched฀those฀birds,฀they฀did฀not฀fly฀away.฀
Like฀John฀Gerhart,฀they฀lacked฀the฀biochemistry฀of฀trepidation.
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Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
Harvard฀ University’s฀ Richard฀Lewontin฀in฀his฀ book฀ Human฀ diversity฀ explains฀the฀
meaning฀ of฀what฀is฀ known฀ in฀ the฀world฀of฀ mathematics฀ as฀Markovian฀properties฀

operating฀as฀part฀of฀the฀dynamics฀of฀physical฀and฀natural฀systems.฀
The฀ properties฀ were฀ named฀ after฀ the฀ St฀ Petersburg฀ University฀ trained฀ Russian฀
mathematician฀ who฀first฀studied฀ them.฀Andrei฀Markov฀ (n.d.)฀ is฀best฀ remembered฀
for฀his฀study฀of฀sequences฀of฀random฀variables฀where฀the฀future฀state฀of฀a฀variable฀is฀
determined฀by฀a฀current฀variable฀but฀is฀independent฀of฀the฀way฀in฀which฀the฀present฀
state฀arose฀from฀its฀predecessors.฀So,฀for฀example,฀in฀demography,฀information฀about฀
the฀size฀of,฀say,฀the฀Egyptian฀population฀in฀2004฀depends฀only฀on฀how฀many฀people฀
were฀alive฀in฀2003฀and฀on฀the฀birth฀and฀death฀rates฀among฀the฀various฀age฀and฀sex฀
cohorts,฀without฀having฀ to฀know฀for฀purposes฀ of฀prediction฀how฀they฀ came฀to฀be฀
so.
Lewontin฀talks฀ about฀Markovian฀properties฀ in฀reference฀ to฀an฀understanding฀ of฀
species฀evolution฀and฀particularly฀that฀of฀hominids,฀where฀all฀we฀need฀to฀know฀in฀
our฀endeavour฀to฀predict฀our฀future฀biological฀trajectory฀is฀the฀present฀state฀of฀our฀
genes.฀Our฀genes฀are,฀no฀doubt,฀as฀Lewontin฀put฀it,฀‘a฀consequence฀of฀their฀history’,฀
but฀he฀also฀says฀that฀‘the฀genes฀currently฀possessed฀by฀the฀species฀are฀all฀that฀matters฀
for฀ its฀evolutionary฀ future,฀ irrespective฀of฀ how฀it฀acquired฀ those฀genes’฀(Lewontin฀
1995:฀147).
Processes฀of฀biological฀evolution฀work฀like฀Markov’s฀mathematical฀chains,฀where฀
memory฀is฀interesting฀but฀irrelevant;฀for฀there฀is,฀as฀Lewontin฀puts฀it,฀no฀‘memory฀in฀
biology,฀only฀in฀books’฀(Lewontin฀1995:฀148).฀After฀the฀sequencing฀of฀the฀human฀
genome,฀he฀might฀not฀be฀quite฀so฀categorical฀about฀the฀apparently฀ahistorical฀quality฀
of฀ genetic฀ material,฀ as฀ molecular฀ geneticists฀ would฀ certainly฀ attribute฀ ‘time’฀ to฀
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Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
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mutational฀events฀that฀are฀recorded฀there฀as฀junk฀or฀rubbish฀or฀the฀real฀thing;฀but฀
then฀again฀this฀matters฀not,฀for฀it฀is฀about฀what฀one฀needs฀to฀know฀in฀order฀to฀predict฀

the฀future.฀History,฀however฀one฀may฀wish฀to฀conceive฀of฀it,฀does฀not฀count฀in฀the฀
case฀of฀Markovian฀properties.
By฀ contrast,฀ cultural฀ systems฀ such฀ as฀ modes฀ of฀ production,฀ counting฀ systems,฀
language,฀writing,฀buildings,฀art,฀and฀so฀on,฀all฀depend฀vitally฀on฀an฀accumulation฀
of฀ memory฀ and฀ well-functioning฀ means฀ of฀ their฀ transmission฀ from฀ generation฀ to฀
generation.฀
Indeed,฀human฀progress฀in฀our฀styles฀of฀material฀and฀cultural฀manner฀of฀life฀relies฀
on฀our฀ability฀to฀store฀and฀pass฀on฀memory.฀Here฀the฀library,฀the฀architectural฀store฀
of฀written฀human฀memory,฀in฀books฀principally,฀or฀scrolls฀at฀that฀time฀more฀likely,฀
played฀a฀central,฀indisputable฀role.฀
And฀ it฀ is฀ in฀ illustrating฀ the฀ non-Markovian฀ principle฀ of฀ much฀of฀our฀cultural-
historical฀processes฀that฀Lewontin฀talks฀about฀the฀libraries฀of฀Alexandria:฀‘[T]he฀low฀
state฀of฀European฀culture,’฀he฀writes,฀‘that฀continued฀long฀after฀the฀disintegration฀
of฀Rome฀was฀in฀part฀a฀consequence฀of฀the฀immense฀loss฀from฀the฀fund฀of฀technical฀
and฀humanistic฀knowledge฀that฀occurred฀at฀the฀final฀destruction฀of฀the฀libraries฀of฀
Alexandria฀in฀391.’฀He฀then฀adds:฀‘In฀contrast,฀Muslim฀culture฀grew฀at฀a฀prodigious฀
rate฀beginning฀in฀the฀seventh฀century฀partly฀because฀the฀knowledge฀of฀classical฀times฀
–฀ knowledge฀ then฀ unavailable฀ to฀ the฀ Latin฀ and฀ Greek฀ scholars฀ of฀ Europe฀ –฀ was฀
preserved฀in฀Arabic฀manuscripts’฀(Lewontin฀1995:฀148).
฀There฀is฀no฀question฀that฀the฀libraries฀of฀Alexandria฀were฀central฀to฀the฀city฀and฀
the฀broad฀region฀including฀what฀today฀is฀the฀Middle-East,฀North฀Africa฀and฀much฀of฀
Central฀and฀Western฀Europe;฀that฀they฀were฀not฀the฀only฀ones฀to฀exist฀but฀were฀part฀
of฀a฀larger฀set฀of฀institutions฀to฀emerge฀from฀the฀concatenations฀of฀cultural,฀scholarly฀
and฀other฀areas฀of฀learning฀and฀application฀of฀what฀were฀then฀the฀advanced฀societies฀
of฀this฀part฀of฀the฀world.
The฀agency฀of฀their฀ruin฀is฀not฀so฀certain,฀neither฀is฀it฀clear฀what฀it฀was฀in฀volume฀
and฀substance฀ that฀the฀libraries฀actually฀ contained.฀The฀institution฀was฀created฀by฀
Ptolemy฀I฀Soter฀first฀as฀a฀museum฀to฀which฀his฀son฀Ptolemy฀Philadelphus฀added฀a฀
library.฀It฀was฀Julius฀Caesar,฀some฀claimed,฀who฀destroyed฀the฀library,฀others฀put฀the฀
blame฀on฀Christian฀mobs,฀and฀yet฀others฀peddle฀the฀story฀that฀it฀was฀‘[o]n฀the฀orders฀

of฀Omar,฀Caliph฀ of฀Baghdad,฀[that]฀the฀entire฀collection฀ of฀books฀(except฀for฀the฀
works฀of฀Aristotle)฀stored฀at฀the฀Library฀of฀Alexandria฀were฀removed฀and฀used฀as฀fuel฀
to฀heat฀water฀for฀the฀city’s฀public฀baths’฀(Libraries฀n.d.฀Accessed฀2004a฀+฀2004b).฀
The฀evidence฀for฀what฀happened฀is฀thin,฀and฀James฀Hannan’s฀assessment,฀balanced฀
it฀would฀seem,฀is฀that฀‘Caesar฀was฀most฀probably฀responsible฀for฀the฀loss฀of฀the฀Royal฀
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Library’;฀a฀second฀library฀called฀the฀Serapeum฀‘ceased฀to฀be฀when฀a฀Christian฀mob฀
tore฀ it฀ down฀ to฀ the฀ foundations฀ under฀ the฀ leadership฀ of฀ the฀ orthodox฀ patriarch฀
Theophilus฀after฀he฀had฀received฀word฀from฀the฀Emperor฀Theodosius’฀(Libraries฀n.d.฀
Accessed฀2004b).฀The฀story฀about฀Arab฀destruction,฀by฀the฀Caliph฀of฀Baghdad,฀is฀a฀
myth,฀without฀any฀evidence฀it฀would฀seem.฀And,฀of฀course,฀it฀is฀not฀the฀first฀time฀
that฀Baghdad฀has฀been฀blamed฀for฀something฀it฀did฀not฀do฀or฀not฀blamed฀for฀what฀
it฀did฀do.
This฀paper฀starts฀with฀this฀story฀in฀part฀because฀some,฀if฀not฀most,฀of฀Aristotle’s฀
work฀was฀housed฀in฀the฀Alexandria฀library;฀and฀this฀great฀figure,฀principally฀known฀for฀
his฀philosophical฀scholarship,฀was฀also,฀as฀things฀tended฀to฀be฀then,฀one฀of฀the฀world’s฀
first฀embryologists฀and฀developmental฀biologists.฀This฀same฀Aristotle,฀who฀collected฀
and฀ dissected฀ embryos,฀ and฀ observed฀ them฀ closely,฀ got฀ the฀ sex฀ determination฀ of฀
human฀beings,฀we฀now฀know,฀terribly฀wrong.฀He฀claimed฀that฀the฀sex฀of฀a฀person฀was฀
determined฀by฀the฀heat฀of฀the฀male฀partner฀during฀intercourse.฀The฀more฀heated฀the฀
passion,฀the฀greater฀the฀probability฀of฀male฀offspring.฀He฀had฀counselled฀elderly฀men฀
to฀conceive฀in฀the฀summer฀if฀they฀wished฀to฀have฀male฀heirs.฀Scott฀Gilbert฀in฀his฀text฀
Developmental฀biology฀says฀about฀Aristotle฀that฀he฀‘promulgated฀a฀very฀straightforward฀
hypothesis฀of฀sex฀determination.฀Women฀were฀men฀whose฀development฀was฀arrested฀
too฀ early’฀(Gilbert฀ 2000:฀523).฀With฀ no฀sense฀at฀ all฀of฀the฀ microbiological,฀never฀

mind฀the฀molecular฀biological,฀Aristotle฀and฀many฀since฀then฀had฀not฀a฀clue฀about฀
the฀role฀of฀X฀and฀Y฀chromosomes,฀genetic฀heredity฀and฀the฀boost฀to฀human฀survival฀
of฀sexual฀as฀opposed฀to฀asexual฀reproduction.฀
Still,฀Aristotle฀was฀crucial฀in฀the฀history฀of฀biology฀and฀medicine฀for฀his฀painstaking฀
observations,฀his฀method฀ of฀pursuing฀ some฀key฀ questions฀about฀humanity฀ and฀its฀
evolution,฀and฀his฀unusual฀preoccupation฀with฀embryology,฀even฀though฀he฀could฀
not฀recognise฀that฀sexual฀as฀opposed฀to฀asexual฀reproduction฀was฀nature’s฀masterful฀
secret฀to฀human฀variety฀and฀survival.฀
Egypt฀and฀its฀history฀are฀what฀lie฀at฀the฀heart฀of฀the฀early฀history฀of฀medical฀biology,฀
engineering,฀physics,฀mathematics,฀architecture,฀art฀and฀literature.฀Although฀scholars฀
today฀tend฀to฀ think฀only฀ of฀early฀ Egyptians’฀knowledge฀of฀the฀medical฀biology฀ of฀
mummification฀and฀their฀understanding฀of฀anatomy,฀the฀biochemistry฀of฀soft฀and฀
hard฀ tissue,฀decay฀ and฀ preservation,฀it฀ is฀ clear฀as฀ Sameh฀ Arab,฀Associate฀Professor฀
of฀ Cardiology฀ at฀Alexandria฀University฀ writes,฀ that฀ ‘[s]ome฀kind฀of฀medicine฀ was฀
already฀practiced฀in฀Egypt฀in฀the฀earliest฀prehistoric฀days’.฀He฀refers฀to฀the฀Kahung฀
gynaecology฀ papyrus฀ dating฀ to฀ 1825฀ BC฀ which฀ ‘describes฀ methods฀ of฀ diagnosing฀
pregnancy฀and฀the฀sex฀of฀the฀fetus,฀toothache฀during฀pregnancy,฀diseases฀of฀women,฀
as฀well฀as฀feminine฀drugs’฀and฀to฀the฀Edwin฀Smith฀papyrus฀of฀1600฀BC,฀which฀can฀be฀
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described฀as฀a฀reference฀work฀on฀internal฀medicine,฀dealing฀as฀it฀does฀with฀‘diseases฀of฀
the฀eye,฀skin,฀extremities,฀gynecology฀and฀some฀surgical฀diseases’฀(Arab฀n.d.).฀There฀
is,฀of฀course,฀much฀more฀to฀be฀said฀about฀ancient฀Egyptian฀medicine฀and฀its฀link฀with฀
modern฀biology,฀but฀that฀will฀have฀to฀be฀left฀for฀another฀time,฀another฀place.
.฀.฀.
Among฀ some฀ recently฀found฀fossils฀ left฀ in฀ the฀ Still฀Bay฀area฀ along฀ South฀ Africa’s฀

southernmost฀coastline฀by฀ what฀must฀ have฀been฀ ancestral฀Khoi฀ or฀San฀ people฀is฀ a฀
piece฀of฀decorated฀ochre,฀a฀form฀of฀iron฀ore.฀It฀is฀named฀in฀Afrikaans฀the฀blombos฀
(flower-bush)฀ochre฀after฀the฀cave฀where฀the฀fossil฀discoveries฀were฀found.฀The฀name฀
is฀an฀odd฀linguistic฀construction,฀being฀part฀of฀the฀vocabulary฀used฀to฀describe฀the฀
indigenous฀fauna฀variety฀of฀the฀south-western฀Cape฀known฀as฀fynbos฀(fine-bush),฀to฀
be฀found฀only฀there฀in฀all฀of฀its฀splendid฀variety฀and฀age.
Christopher฀Henshilwood฀of฀the฀State฀University฀of฀New฀York,฀the฀archaeologist฀
digging฀at฀this฀site,฀describes฀the฀red฀ochre฀as฀‘measuring฀two฀and฀three฀inches฀long’,฀
‘first฀scraped฀and฀ground฀smooth฀to฀create฀flat฀surfaces’,฀and฀‘then฀marked฀with฀cross฀
hatches฀and฀lines฀to฀create฀a฀consistent฀complex฀geometric฀motif’(Highfield฀n.d.).฀
What฀these฀markings฀mean฀is฀open฀to฀debate.฀One฀more฀cautious฀interpretation฀is฀
that฀ they฀are฀‘tally฀ marks’,฀‘making฀them฀ the฀ oldest฀form฀ of฀recorded฀ counting฀ever฀
found’฀[Blombos฀Cave฀n.d.].฀There฀is฀no฀independent฀source฀of฀proof฀as฀to฀what฀it฀is฀
these฀ancestors฀were฀counting.฀It฀could฀have฀had฀something฀to฀do฀with฀the฀ordinary฀
material฀ habits฀ of฀ hunters฀ and฀ gatherers,฀ and฀ likely฀ the฀ tallying฀ of฀ animal฀ kills.฀ Or,฀
perhaps,฀it฀related฀to฀trading฀with฀neighbours,฀or,฀more฀on฀a฀deeply฀existential฀level,฀
observing฀the฀astronomical,฀with,฀as฀Georges฀Ifrah฀puts฀it฀so฀beautifully฀in฀the฀Universal฀
history฀of฀numbers,฀a฀fascination฀with฀the฀regularity฀of฀‘the฀phases฀of฀the฀moon,฀the฀eternal฀
return฀of฀day฀and฀night,฀the฀cycle฀of฀the฀seasons’฀or,฀we฀might฀add,฀given฀the฀context,฀the฀
elliptical฀phases฀of฀the฀tides฀of฀great฀and฀marvellous฀oceans฀(Ifrah฀2000:฀xvi).
In฀the฀history฀of฀counting,฀the฀San฀and฀Khoi฀perhaps฀joined฀other฀human฀beings฀and,฀
in฀observing฀that฀birds฀have฀two฀wings,฀animals฀four฀legs,฀and฀they฀ten฀fingers฀to฀their฀
hands฀and฀ten฀toes฀to฀their฀feet,฀developed฀a฀numbering฀system฀using฀their฀fingers฀or฀toes฀
as฀the฀base฀ten,฀the฀most฀common฀type฀of฀counting฀found฀among฀earlier฀peoples.฀
Or฀perhaps฀they฀joined฀the฀Mayans,฀Aztecs,฀Celts฀and฀Basques฀who฀looked฀down฀
at฀their฀feet฀and฀realised฀that฀their฀toes฀could฀be฀counted฀like฀fingers฀and฀chose฀the฀
much฀more฀unusual฀arithmetic฀base฀of฀20.
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Or฀ again,฀ perhaps,฀ they฀ joined฀ the฀ Sumerians฀and฀Babylonians,฀who฀chose฀for฀
reasons฀unknown฀to฀us฀today฀a฀base฀of฀60,฀which฀we฀use฀in฀respect฀of฀measuring฀time,฀
with฀an฀hour฀being฀60฀minutes฀and฀a฀minute฀being฀60฀seconds;฀or฀the฀measurement฀
of฀a฀circle฀into฀360฀degrees,฀each฀of฀60฀minutes฀divided฀into฀60฀seconds.
Counting฀is,฀of฀course,฀the฀crucial฀first฀step;฀but฀it฀is฀not฀arithmetic฀and฀it฀certainly฀
does฀ not฀ approach฀ mathematics:฀ the฀ earliest฀ known฀ evidence฀ for฀ the฀ arithmetic฀
foundations฀of฀modern฀mathematics฀was฀found฀in฀Elam฀and฀Mesopotamia,฀Sumeria,฀
Ancient฀Egypt,฀Crete,฀Greece฀and฀Rome.฀
The฀ mathematics฀ of฀ Ancient฀ Egypt฀ were฀ quite฀ obviously฀ remarkable฀ in฀ their฀
sophistication฀ –฀proof฀of฀ this฀ are฀ the฀remains฀of฀ one฀ of฀ the฀great฀wonders฀ of฀ the฀
world:฀ the฀ pyramids,฀ which฀ were฀ engineered฀with฀extraordinary฀precision฀ and฀ on฀
a฀scale฀that฀stretches฀the฀mind.฀And,฀in฀confirmation฀of฀the฀test฀of฀all฀construction฀
tests,฀they฀still฀stand฀today,฀stripped฀perhaps,฀vandalised฀yes,฀looted฀certainly,฀but฀still฀
there฀in฀all฀of฀their฀beauty฀and฀grace.฀
Building฀the฀pyramids฀presumed฀expertise฀in฀stone฀cutting,฀engineering,฀mathematics฀
and฀physics,฀not฀to฀mention฀understanding฀and฀mastering฀the฀basics฀of฀the฀physics฀of฀
levers,฀ navigation฀ and฀ water฀ behaviour฀ in฀ moving฀ these฀ monstrous฀ blocks฀ of฀ stone฀
down฀the฀great฀river฀Nile.฀They฀are,฀in฀their฀practicality฀and฀complexity,฀stunning฀to฀
us;฀looking฀as฀we฀do฀in฀admiration,฀backwards฀at฀history.
This฀ venture฀ into฀ biology฀ and฀ Africa฀ is฀ by฀ way฀ of฀ counting฀ and฀ arithmetic฀ then;฀
because฀it฀is฀an฀interesting฀digression฀into฀the฀epistemological฀lineage฀of฀mathematics฀and,฀
for฀reasons฀that฀will฀become฀clear,฀because฀there฀is฀a฀critical฀mathematical฀side฀to฀human฀
genetics฀which฀also฀indicates฀where฀Africa฀stands฀in฀relation฀to฀modern฀biology฀today.
The฀mass฀media฀has฀over฀ the฀last฀ few฀years฀ been฀replete฀ with฀news฀ and฀feature฀
stories฀about฀deoxyribonucleic฀acid฀or฀DNA฀and฀what฀it฀means฀and฀might฀mean฀for฀
medicine,฀forensics,฀human฀origins฀and฀population฀ancestry.฀In฀part,฀the฀media฀has฀
been฀celebrating฀because฀of฀the฀50฀years฀of฀progress฀that฀have฀passed฀since฀DNA฀was฀

first฀discovered฀as฀having฀a฀ double-helical฀architecture,฀ and฀in฀ part฀because฀ of฀the฀
sometimes฀over-dramatised฀advances฀in฀understanding฀and฀treating฀inherited฀disease฀
regimes฀made฀possible฀by฀the฀sequencing฀of฀the฀human฀genome,฀the฀full฀repertoire฀of฀
our฀biological฀instructions.
Three฀billion฀base-pair฀nucleotides฀make฀up฀the฀human฀genome฀and฀these฀add฀up฀
to฀an฀unknown฀number฀of฀genes฀in฀the฀region,฀it฀is฀said,฀of฀about฀32฀000.฀Nucleotide฀
information฀is฀digital,฀in฀that฀two฀elements฀combine฀in฀a฀manner฀following฀the฀rule฀of฀
A฀(for฀adenine)฀combining฀with฀T฀(for฀thymine)฀and฀G฀(for฀guanine)฀and฀with฀C฀(for฀
cytosine),฀making฀up฀a฀chain฀–฀the฀full฀extent฀of฀which฀we฀have฀still฀to฀understand฀
fully฀from฀the฀point฀of฀view฀of฀function฀and฀purpose;฀but฀we฀do,฀of฀course,฀know฀the฀
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Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
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exact฀sequence฀of฀all฀the฀genetic฀letters฀of฀the฀nucleotide฀alphabet.฀Indeed,฀genomes฀
are฀encyclopaedias฀of฀genetic฀materials฀collected฀quite฀mechanically,฀not฀to฀prove฀a฀
set฀of฀hypotheses฀but฀simply฀to฀document฀what฀there฀is฀–฀the฀hypotheses฀coming,฀as฀
it฀were,฀later.฀And฀they฀now฀come฀thick฀and฀fast.
Mathematics฀was฀ required฀ to฀ count฀the฀ DNA.฀Mathematical฀molecular฀ biology,฀
called฀bioinformatics,฀is฀required฀to฀make฀sense฀of฀the฀DNA,฀identify฀and฀discover฀the฀
candidate฀genes฀that฀are฀the฀particular฀strings฀or฀chains฀of฀DNA฀and฀begin฀to฀ascertain฀
their฀function.฀Described฀once฀by฀the฀South฀African฀born฀Nobel฀Laureate,฀Sydney฀
Brenner,฀in฀typically฀sardonic฀and฀intellectually฀dismissive฀manner฀as฀a฀new฀brand฀of฀
library฀science,฀bioinformatics฀is฀part฀of฀the฀essential฀equipment฀of฀every฀gene฀hunter.฀
He฀or฀she฀is฀the฀person฀who฀can฀master฀the฀software฀and฀data฀management฀associated฀
with฀millions฀and฀billions฀of฀bits฀of฀digitised฀information฀that฀add฀up฀to฀genes฀and฀
combinations฀ of฀ genes฀ that฀ programme฀ the฀ various฀ parts฀ of฀ the฀ human฀ body,฀ its฀
maintenance,฀ the฀ death฀ of฀ cells฀ and฀ eventually฀ the฀ demise฀ of฀the฀ entire฀ organism.฀

It฀is฀quite฀a฀business,฀made฀possible฀by฀the฀exponential฀growth฀of฀computerisation,฀
and฀in฀particular฀the฀work฀of฀a฀person฀after฀whom฀the฀writer’s฀visiting฀professorship฀
at฀the฀California฀Institute฀of฀Technology฀is฀named,฀Gordon฀Moore.฀Gordon฀Moore,฀
founder฀of฀Intel,฀predicted฀that฀the฀number฀of฀transistors฀that฀could฀be฀placed฀on฀a฀
computer฀chip฀would฀double฀every฀18฀months,฀and฀so฀it฀has฀been฀for฀over฀30฀years.
But฀people฀should฀ not฀be฀misled฀by฀ Sydney฀Brenner’s฀lovely,฀dolorous฀ sense฀of฀
humour:฀the฀information฀demands฀in฀genomics฀are฀staggering.฀The฀genome฀contains฀
two฀kinds฀of฀digital฀information,฀one฀that฀encodes฀the฀protein฀and฀RNA฀‘molecular฀
machines฀of฀life’,฀and฀the฀other฀being฀the฀regulatory฀networks฀that฀specify฀how฀these฀
genes฀are฀expressed฀in฀time,฀space฀and฀amplitude.฀
DNA฀information฀is฀layered฀and฀arranged฀in฀a฀hierarchy,฀starting฀with฀the฀gene,฀
then฀ the฀ RNA,฀ then฀ the฀ protein,฀ then฀ the฀ protein฀ interactions,฀ then฀ the฀ protein฀
complexes,฀then฀the฀networks฀of฀ protein฀complexes฀ in฀a฀ cell,฀then฀ the฀tissues฀ and฀
organs,฀then฀the฀individual฀organism,฀followed฀by฀populations฀and฀the฀ecosystems฀in฀
which฀they฀live.฀In฀this฀kind฀of฀discovery฀science,฀mastering฀such฀vast฀quantities฀of฀
information฀to฀answer฀important฀questions฀is฀a฀skill฀and฀an฀art.
And฀the฀hardware?฀The฀first฀automated฀sequencing฀machine฀took฀a฀day,฀in฀1986,฀
to฀sequence฀250฀of฀the฀three฀billion฀base฀pairs.฀It฀took฀the฀human฀genome฀project฀
ten฀years฀to฀sequence฀the฀human฀genome,฀two฀years฀shorter฀than฀predicted;฀and฀the฀
private฀company฀Celera฀with฀its฀so-called฀shotgun฀approach฀took฀less฀than฀the฀public฀
consortium’s฀ ten,฀ using฀ a฀ warehouse฀ of฀ computers฀ to฀ do฀ so.฀ ‘With฀ single-DNA-
molecule฀ sequencing,฀ we฀ foresee฀ a฀ time’฀ say฀ the฀ inventors฀ of฀ the฀ first฀ sequencing฀
machine฀‘when฀the฀entire฀genome฀of฀an฀individual฀could฀be฀sequenced฀in฀a฀single฀
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Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
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day฀at฀a฀cost฀of฀less฀than฀$10฀000฀(compared฀to฀the฀$50฀million฀it฀would฀cost฀today)’฀

(Hood฀&฀Galas฀2003:฀131).฀
The฀ full฀human฀ genome฀ is฀publicly฀ available,฀and฀if฀ one฀has฀the฀ hardware฀and฀
Internet฀ connection,฀for฀free,฀ anyone฀can฀download฀ that฀ part฀of฀ the฀ genome฀that฀
would฀be฀of฀interest฀to฀them.฀We฀have฀to฀thank,฀among฀others,฀the฀Wellcome฀Trust฀
for฀ that.฀And฀ so,฀in฀Africa,฀ there฀are฀ institutions฀that฀specialise฀ in฀bioinformatics,฀
although฀ it฀ is฀ not฀ known฀ at฀ what฀ level฀ of฀ information฀ scientists฀ are฀ working฀ in฀
Burkina฀ Faso,฀ Cameroon,฀ Egypt,฀ Ethiopia,฀ Kenya,฀ Malawi,฀ Mali,฀ Nigeria,฀ South฀
Africa,฀Tanzania,฀Tunisia,฀Uganda฀and฀Zambia.฀An฀African฀Bioinformatics฀Network฀
(Abionet)฀ has฀ as฀ affiliated฀ institutions฀ the฀ University฀ of฀ Benin,฀ the฀ International฀
Centre฀ for฀ Insect฀ Physiology฀ and฀ Ecology฀ (ICIPE),฀ the฀ South฀ African฀ National฀
Bioinformatics฀ Institute฀at฀ the฀ University฀of฀the฀ Western฀Cape,฀the฀ University฀of฀
Pretoria,฀ the฀ University฀ of฀ Mali฀ and฀ several฀ other฀ institutions.฀ Abionet’s฀ mission฀
summarises฀the฀abiding฀passion฀of฀geneticists฀working฀in฀Africa฀today:
The฀ purpose฀ of฀ the฀ network฀ is฀ to฀ enable฀African฀ scientists฀ to฀ unlock฀ the฀ scientific฀
potential฀ of฀ recent฀ advances฀ in฀ genomics฀ in฀ order฀ to฀ accelerate฀ medical฀ advances฀
against฀ infectious฀ diseases฀ such฀ as฀ malaria,฀ tuberculosis฀ and฀ HIV/AIDS฀ that฀ are฀
still฀ killing฀so฀ many฀in฀ Africa.฀The฀ recent฀availability฀ of฀genomic฀ data฀from฀ a฀wide฀
range฀ of฀ organisms,฀including฀ common฀ African฀ pathogens,฀presents฀ new฀ challenges฀
for฀ biologists,฀ sociologists,฀ mathematicians฀ and฀ computer฀ scientists฀ alike.฀ (African฀
Bioinformatics฀Network฀n.d.)
฀ The฀ human฀ host฀ to฀ disease฀ has฀ been฀ sequenced,฀ as฀ have฀ the฀ genomes฀ of฀ the฀
pathogens.฀ It฀ is฀ the฀ interaction฀ between฀ host฀ and฀ pathogen฀ which฀ has฀ to฀ be฀
understood฀ properly,฀and฀ remedies฀ and฀interventions฀developed.฀ Last฀year,฀ about฀
a฀ fifth฀ of฀ the฀ inaugural฀ conference฀ of฀ the฀ Africa฀ Genome฀ Initiative,฀ entitled฀ the฀
‘Human฀Genome฀ and฀Africa’,฀ was฀devoted฀to฀what฀ is฀called฀pathogen฀ genomics.฀
Funded฀by฀the฀Wellcome฀Trust,฀it฀was฀indeed฀a฀mini-conference฀in฀the฀bigger฀event.฀
Currently,฀scientists฀are฀looking฀carefully฀at฀the฀ethical฀and฀legal฀considerations฀in฀
drug฀ and฀ vaccine฀ discovery฀ and฀ will฀ probably฀ focus฀ on฀ drugs฀ and฀ vaccines฀ for฀
effective฀public฀health฀care฀responses฀to฀Africa’s฀three฀killer฀diseases฀at฀the฀conference฀
in฀2005,฀likely฀to฀be฀held฀in฀Kenya.

At฀ the฀ inaugural฀ conference,฀ virologist฀ and฀ Nobel฀ Laureate฀ David฀ Baltimore฀
argued฀that฀current฀HIV฀vaccine฀development฀is฀unlikely฀to฀be฀successful฀because฀of฀
HIV’s฀instability฀and฀rapid฀evolutionary฀mutation.฀He฀put฀forward฀the฀proposition฀
that฀an฀immunity฀protein฀requires฀engineering฀and฀has฀allocated฀a฀company฀to฀work฀
on฀the฀idea.
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8
Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
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Mathew฀Berriman฀of฀the฀Wellcome฀Trust฀Sanger฀Institute,฀whose฀area฀of฀expertise฀
is฀the฀malaria฀parasite฀Plasmodium฀falciparum,฀said฀genomics฀do฀advance฀research฀but฀
that฀‘in฀the฀next฀five฀years,฀it฀is฀unlikely฀we฀will฀see฀any฀benefits.฀Over฀the฀next฀10฀
years,฀some฀knowledge฀will฀seep฀through,฀and฀aid฀understanding฀of฀the฀mechanisms฀
of฀drug฀resistance.฀But฀the฀most฀significant฀impacts฀will฀be฀in฀the฀20฀year฀timescale,฀
with฀drugs฀and฀vaccines฀for฀treating฀the฀disease’฀(Genome฀News,฀Supplement฀to฀the฀
Mail฀&฀Guardian฀6฀June฀2003,฀p.฀4).฀
Then฀there฀is฀also฀the฀story฀of฀tuberculosis,฀as฀told฀by฀Stewart฀Cole฀of฀the฀Institute฀
Pasteur.฀Tuberculosis฀has฀a฀dreadful฀synergy฀with฀HIV฀and฀is฀largely฀a฀social฀disease฀
as฀a฀consequence฀of฀poverty฀and฀poor฀housing;฀on฀the฀bacterial฀and฀viral฀side,฀it฀is฀also฀
now฀better฀understood฀as฀a฀result฀of฀genomics.฀‘Genetic฀mapping,’฀he฀says฀‘suggested฀
the฀human฀and฀animal฀strains฀of฀tuberculosis฀once฀shared฀a฀progenitor,฀but฀evolved฀
independently’(Genome฀News,฀ Supplement฀to฀ the฀Mail฀ &฀Guardian฀6฀June฀2003,฀
p.฀4).฀A฀remedy,฀though,฀is฀not฀in฀sight.
It฀ may฀be,฀in฀ the฀ North,฀ that฀one฀result฀ will฀ be฀the฀emergence฀ of฀ personalised฀
medicine,฀ of฀ having฀ drugs฀ and฀ interventions฀ designed฀ specifically฀ for฀ the฀ unique฀
modality฀ of฀one฀ person’s฀ disease฀profile;฀ because฀having฀so฀ ‘many฀polymorphisms฀
associated฀ with฀ disease฀ susceptibility฀ brought฀ DNA฀ diagnosis฀ to฀ medicine฀ and฀
opened฀the฀pathway฀to฀truly฀predictive฀medicine,฀where฀the฀risks฀of฀disease฀can฀be฀

identified฀in฀advance฀of฀symptoms’฀(Hood฀&฀Galas฀2003:฀131).฀We฀in฀the฀South,฀
as฀elsewhere,฀need฀to฀work฀hard฀at฀figuring฀out฀how฀to฀make฀genomics฀relevant฀to฀
clinical฀practice฀in฀private฀and฀public฀medicine,฀so฀that฀it฀does฀not฀remain฀with฀the฀
privileged฀and฀elite฀few.
In฀the฀South,฀it฀is฀also฀about฀bringing฀killer฀diseases฀under฀control.฀That฀is฀a฀job฀on฀its฀
own,฀requiring฀extraordinary฀investment฀that฀simply฀is฀not฀there฀or฀easily฀forthcoming.฀
In฀the,฀I฀believe,฀undervalued฀report฀Genomics฀and฀world฀health,฀the฀authors฀say฀the฀
following฀in฀terms฀of฀what฀to฀expect฀from฀the฀private฀sector:฀‘The฀private฀sector฀does฀not฀
invest฀in฀research฀aimed฀at฀diagnostics฀or฀therapeutics฀for฀diseases฀that฀are฀predominant฀
in฀developing฀countries฀because฀the฀populations฀most฀likely฀to฀need฀them฀do฀not฀have฀
purchasing฀power.฀ ฀In฀1997,฀for฀example,฀it฀was฀estimated฀that฀low฀and฀medium฀
income฀countries฀accounted฀for฀only฀20%฀of฀the฀global฀pharmaceutical฀market,฀even฀
though฀they฀made฀up฀over฀80%฀of฀the฀world’s฀population.’฀They฀go฀on฀to฀add฀that฀
although฀public฀research฀funding฀has฀considerations฀other฀than฀profit฀maximisation,฀
it฀is฀nevertheless฀sadly฀the฀case฀that฀‘pneumonia,฀diarrhea,฀tuberculosis฀and฀malaria,฀
which฀together฀account฀for฀more฀than฀20%฀of฀the฀disease฀burden฀of฀the฀world,฀receive฀
less฀than฀1%฀of฀the฀total฀public฀and฀private฀funds฀devoted฀to฀health฀research.฀In฀1998,฀
out฀of฀the฀US$70฀billion฀global฀spending฀on฀health฀research,฀only฀US$300฀million฀
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8
Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
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was฀ directed฀ to฀ vaccines฀ for฀ HIV/AIDS฀ and฀ US$100฀ million฀ to฀ malaria฀ research’฀
(Weatherall,฀Brock฀&฀Chee฀2002:฀17–18).฀
A฀ five฀ to฀ 20-year฀ time฀ span฀ for฀ results฀ from฀ the฀ revolution฀ in฀ genomic฀ and฀ post-
genomic฀biomedicine฀to฀make฀a฀real฀difference฀in฀Africa฀does฀not฀sound฀right฀and฀is฀
surely฀unacceptable;฀it฀is฀a฀reflection฀of฀the฀irrationality฀of฀a฀global฀system฀that฀has฀to฀be฀
redirected฀by฀focused฀African-sourced฀investments,฀by฀governments,฀in฀creating฀properly฀

functioning฀public฀health฀systems฀built฀in฀part฀around฀‘thinking฀institutions’,฀and฀the฀
university-private฀sector฀partnerships฀in฀genomic฀research฀and฀development.฀It฀is฀indeed฀
a฀pleasure฀to฀note฀the฀creation฀ of฀ the฀Institute฀for฀Infectious฀Diseases฀ and฀Molecular฀
Medicine฀at฀the฀University฀of฀Cape฀Town฀and฀the฀new฀Biosciences฀Facility฀that฀has฀been฀
established฀in฀Kenya.฀Also,฀of฀course,฀Ain฀Shams฀University’s฀centre฀for฀bio-engineering,฀
which฀is฀another฀emerging฀centre฀of฀excellence฀along฀these฀lines.฀Development฀here฀is฀
wholly฀our฀responsibility,฀for฀many฀of฀us฀have฀allowed฀the฀little฀we฀had฀during฀colonialism฀
to฀collapse,฀with฀of฀course฀some฀notable฀exceptions.฀And฀it฀is฀also฀our฀responsibility฀to฀
invest฀generously฀in฀African฀entrepreneurs฀in฀the฀biomedical฀and฀biotechnological฀arenas฀
by฀providing฀the฀avenues฀for฀venture฀capital฀and฀technical฀expertise;฀all฀this฀helped฀along฀
by฀northern฀hemisphere฀corporate฀partnerships฀and,฀when฀necessary,฀aid.฀NEPAD฀has฀
already฀moved฀into฀this฀area,฀which฀is฀welcome,฀but฀the฀scale฀of฀the฀challenge฀needs฀to฀be฀
matched฀by฀the฀scale฀of฀the฀necessary฀investment.
.฀.฀.
Marketing฀ information฀ for฀ a฀ new฀ diet฀ tablet฀ called฀ Hoodia฀ gives฀ the฀ nutritional฀
content฀as฀follows฀(as฀required฀by฀United฀States฀law):
Chromium฀100฀mg
Calcium฀pyruvate฀48฀mg฀
Hoodia฀gordonii฀20:฀150฀mg฀
Citrus฀pectin฀40฀mg฀
Grapefruit฀seed฀extract฀30฀mg฀
Prune฀30฀mg฀
All฀this฀is฀caffeine฀free,฀ephedra฀free฀and฀stimulant฀free฀–฀‘a฀diet฀pill฀unlike฀any฀
other’,฀the฀advertisement฀says;฀90฀tablets฀for฀just฀$29,95!
Hoodia,฀ it฀ turns฀ out,฀ is฀ a฀ natural฀ appetite฀ suppressant฀ used฀ in฀ ‘[t]he฀ harsh฀
environments฀in฀which฀the฀Kung!฀Bushmen฀have฀lived฀for฀thousands฀of฀years’;฀here฀
where฀hunters฀are฀on฀the฀hunt฀sometimes฀for฀days,฀Hoodia฀‘suppresses฀hunger’฀and฀
meets฀considerable฀energy฀requirements.฀‘The฀ San฀call฀ the฀cactus฀ !khoba฀and฀ have฀
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Wilmot฀James
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Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
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been฀ chewing฀ on฀ it฀ for฀ thousands฀ of฀ years฀ to฀ stave฀ off฀ hunger฀ and฀ thirst฀ during฀
long฀ hunting฀ trips฀ in฀ their฀ parched฀ Kalahari฀Desert฀home,’฀writes฀Leon฀Marshall฀
for฀National฀Geographic฀News฀(Marshall฀2003).฀Expert฀natural฀botanists,฀the฀Kung!฀
Bushmen฀can฀readily฀identify฀more฀than฀300฀different฀types฀of฀plants฀with฀different฀
properties,฀of฀which฀Hoodia฀is฀a฀key฀but฀hardly฀the฀only฀such฀plant,฀leaving฀the฀perhaps฀
naive฀or฀indifferent฀Kung!฀Bushmen฀open฀to฀exploitation฀by฀modern฀pharmaceutical฀
companies,฀seeking฀a฀profit฀by฀turning฀natural฀remedies฀into฀commercial,฀biomedical฀
interventions.฀And,฀indeed,฀ pharmaceutical฀companies฀ have฀begun฀ to,฀as฀ they฀put฀
it,฀‘bio-prospect’฀in฀extreme฀and฀harsh฀environments฀that฀‘could฀make฀possible฀even฀
more฀fantastic฀scientific฀and฀commercial฀ feats’.฀Billions฀of฀US฀ dollars฀are฀at฀stake,฀
says฀Elizabeth฀Weise฀of฀USA฀Today฀with฀a฀sense฀of฀the฀journalistically฀spectacular:฀
‘Possible฀discoveries฀include฀detergents฀made฀from฀enzymes฀that฀work฀much฀better฀
than฀existing฀products฀in฀cold฀water;฀color฀pigments฀in฀cloth฀that฀don’t฀degrade฀in฀
heat,฀made฀from฀microbes฀that฀thrive฀in฀hellishly฀hot฀water;฀and฀antibiotics฀strong฀
enough฀to฀kill฀off฀even฀the฀most฀drug-resistant฀bugs฀that฀pop฀up฀in฀our฀hospitals’฀
(Weise฀2004:฀9D).฀฀
Some฀ of฀ these฀ organisms฀ living฀ in฀ extreme฀ places฀ fall฀ under฀ no฀ single฀ national฀
authority,฀ such฀ as฀ those฀ in฀ Antarctica,฀ the฀ deep฀ sea-bed฀ or฀ even,฀ who฀ knows,฀
the฀ moon฀and฀Mars;฀ by฀ no฀means฀ a฀ far-fetched฀idea,฀given฀ the฀ recent฀landing฀ of฀
scientifically฀loaded฀rovers฀on฀the฀planet฀nearest฀to฀ours.฀So,฀for฀example,฀‘activities฀
on฀the฀world’s฀most฀inhospitable฀continent฀[Antarctica]฀are฀overseen฀by฀54฀countries฀
that฀are฀party฀to฀the฀Antarctic฀Treaty฀System’.฀As฀bio-prospecting฀does฀not฀fall฀under฀
this฀treaty,฀the฀scientific฀advisors฀to฀the฀United฀Nations฀recently฀presented฀a฀report฀
outlining฀ more฀ comprehensive฀ and฀ inclusive฀ international฀ agreements฀ to฀ include฀
protection฀against฀what฀are฀called฀bio-prospecting฀and฀bio-piracy.
In฀the฀instance฀of฀Hoodia,฀an฀interesting฀model฀arose,฀though฀the฀jury฀is฀still฀out฀on฀

whether฀it฀is฀working฀or฀not:฀the฀South฀African฀Council฀for฀Scientific฀and฀Industrial฀
Research฀(CSIR),฀in฀whose฀laboratories฀P57฀was฀identified฀as฀Hoodia฀gordonii,฀will฀
pay฀a฀representative฀body฀of฀the฀San฀eight฀per฀cent฀of฀milestone฀payments฀made฀by฀
its฀licensee,฀the฀United฀Kingdom฀pharmaceutical฀company฀Phytopharm,฀during฀the฀
drug’s฀clinical฀ development.฀This฀payment฀ came฀to฀ more฀than฀$1million.฀ But฀the฀
biggest฀revenues฀would฀derive฀from฀the฀agreed฀six฀per฀cent฀in฀royalties฀paid฀to฀the฀
San฀if฀and฀ when฀the฀ drug฀is฀marketed฀ by฀Pfizer,฀which฀ in฀turn฀ has฀been฀ licensed฀
by฀ Phytopharm.฀ National฀ Geographic฀ News฀ remarks฀ that฀ ‘given฀ the฀ international฀
demand฀for฀obesity฀drugs,฀the฀market฀for฀P57฀could฀run฀to฀billions฀of฀dollars’.
Unorganised,฀poor,฀marginalised,฀abused,฀and฀lurching฀towards฀extinction,฀these฀
oldest฀of฀ancient฀ peoples฀bear฀ genetic฀materials฀ that฀are฀of฀ the฀greatest฀depth฀and฀
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Wilmot฀James
10
Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
11
most฀diverse฀historically,฀likely฀the฀ancestors฀to฀all฀of฀us.฀To฀them,฀Hoodia฀may฀bring฀
some฀fortune,฀some฀salvation.฀It฀has฀invited฀organisational฀structures฀and฀a฀leadership฀
that฀were฀not฀there฀before,฀at฀least฀not฀with฀the฀same฀clarity฀of฀purpose,฀to฀receive฀
and฀distribute฀funds฀to฀the฀San฀community,฀entering฀thereby฀the฀domain฀of฀politics;฀
for฀ who฀is฀the฀ San฀community,฀and฀ on฀ what฀basis฀and฀ on฀whose฀terms฀ do฀ those฀
who฀distribute฀scarce฀resources฀distribute฀them,฀especially฀in฀a฀community฀that฀is฀so฀
lacking฀in฀even฀the฀most฀elementary฀of฀services?
And฀so฀the฀South฀African฀San฀Council฀emerged฀in฀2001฀to฀represent฀some฀San฀
tribes,฀as฀did฀a฀Trust,฀whose฀purpose฀it฀is฀‘to฀use฀income฀received฀from฀the฀CSIR฀for฀
general฀upliftment,฀development฀and฀training฀of฀the฀San฀community฀approved฀by฀the฀
Board฀of฀Trustees’.฀This฀Board฀consists฀of฀seven฀individuals฀drawn฀from฀the฀ranks฀of฀
the฀San,฀NGOs฀and฀the฀South฀African฀Government.฀Human฀rights฀lawyers฀and฀those฀
with฀modern฀professional฀skills฀who฀could฀help฀represent฀the฀interests฀of฀minority฀

and฀indigenous฀communities฀at฀local,฀regional฀and฀world฀bodies฀came฀forth฀to฀assist;฀
here฀the฀South฀African฀San฀Institute฀(SASI)฀has฀played฀a฀particularly฀beneficial฀role.
The฀legal฀issue,฀one฀that฀pertains฀worldwide฀including฀Africa,฀concerns฀the฀role฀of฀
patents฀in฀respect฀of฀biological฀and฀botanical฀knowledge.
Recently฀ the฀ United฀ Nations฀ expressed฀ its฀ concern฀ over฀ bio-prospecting฀ in฀
Antarctica฀by฀pharmaceutical฀companies฀in฀search฀of฀unique฀organisms฀that฀can฀be฀
used฀for฀commercial฀purposes.฀The฀bio-prospectors,฀who฀speak฀of฀the฀last฀frontiers,฀
search฀in฀what฀are฀known฀as฀hydrothermal฀events:฀the฀deep฀sea-bed,฀the฀water฀column฀
of฀the฀high฀seas฀and฀polar฀ice฀caps.
The฀ United฀ Nations฀ University,฀ based฀ in฀ Tokyo,฀ recently฀ published฀ a฀ report฀
recommending฀a฀range฀of฀rules฀to฀regulate฀bio-prospecting.฀‘Isolating฀and฀extracting฀
the฀ substances฀ that฀ allow฀ organisms฀ to฀ survive฀ in฀ one฀ of฀ the฀ earth’s฀ harshest฀
environments฀could฀lead฀to฀new฀cancer฀treatment฀drugs,฀antibiotics฀and฀industrial฀
compounds,’฀ the฀ report฀ says.฀ One฀ valuable฀ substance฀ is฀ glyco-proteins,฀ which฀
function฀as฀antifreeze฀in฀some฀of฀the฀fish฀there฀and฀prevent฀them,฀obviously,฀from฀
freezing฀to฀death.฀If฀isolated฀and฀produced,฀antifreeze฀substances฀could฀be฀used฀for฀
‘raising฀the฀freeze฀tolerance฀of฀commercial฀plants,฀improving฀farm฀fish฀production฀in฀
cold฀climates฀and฀extending฀the฀shelf฀life฀of฀frozen฀foods’฀(Stoddard฀n.d.).฀
The฀report฀sums฀up฀the฀difficulties:฀‘Companies฀are฀concerned฀because฀there฀is฀no฀
title฀in฀these฀resources฀ ฀ownership฀is฀undefined.฀They฀can฀spend฀millions฀developing฀
a฀ product฀ with฀ questions฀ remaining฀ about฀ ownership,’฀ said฀ one฀ of฀ the฀ co-authors฀
of฀ the฀ report,฀ Sam฀ Johnston.฀ On฀ the฀ other฀ hand,฀ scientists’฀ concerns฀ are฀ that฀ the฀
‘commercial฀nature฀of฀this฀will฀take฀away฀from฀the฀transparency฀and฀cooperation฀which฀
is฀the฀hallmark฀of฀Antarctic฀research,’฀Johnston฀reportedly฀added.฀The฀Convention฀on฀
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Wilmot฀James
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Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
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Biological฀Diversity,฀which฀emanated฀from฀the฀1992฀Rio฀de฀Janeiro฀Earth฀Summit,฀a฀
model฀of฀its฀kind฀in฀regulating฀bio-prospecting฀on฀paper,฀simply฀had฀not฀worked,฀with฀
the฀result฀that฀a฀country฀like฀Brazil,฀with฀its฀equatorial฀forests,฀felt฀pressed฀to฀close฀its฀
national฀borders฀and฀prohibit฀any฀of฀its฀biological฀materials฀from฀leaving.฀
Of฀course,฀the฀search฀to฀find฀within฀nature฀answers฀to฀at฀some฀times฀difficult฀and฀
at฀other฀times฀ephemeral฀problems฀of฀humankind฀opens฀up฀ethical฀and฀legal฀frontiers฀
that฀ involve฀the฀disciplines฀ that฀ worry฀about฀these฀ things:฀ law,฀ philosophy,฀ethics฀
and,฀as฀it฀turns฀out,฀anthropology฀and฀sociology.
A฀current฀research฀theme฀concerns฀ the฀ethical฀ and฀legal฀ issues฀involved฀ in฀drug฀
and฀vaccine฀discovery,฀the฀idea฀being฀to฀chart฀the฀terrain฀for฀Africa฀in฀anticipation฀
of฀having฀such฀interventions฀to฀deal฀with,฀given฀the฀continent’s฀substantial฀disease฀
burden.฀Rules฀have฀to฀be฀defined฀according฀to฀which฀African฀populations฀can฀be฀used฀
as฀subjects฀to฀discover฀the฀genetic฀basis฀of฀some฀inherited฀(and฀acquired)฀diseases,฀to฀
test฀vaccines฀and฀drugs฀in฀development,฀and฀to฀start฀making฀clear฀sense฀of฀what฀can฀
be฀done฀to฀start฀resisting฀that฀poor฀precedent฀and฀bad฀habit฀set฀in฀the฀United฀States฀of฀
patenting฀everything฀that฀moves,฀including฀various฀bits฀of฀human฀genome฀sequence.฀
At฀ the฀ same฀ time,฀though,฀one฀obviously฀ understands฀ the฀ need฀ for฀ companies฀ to฀
protect,฀justify฀and฀recoup฀their฀considerable฀investments.
But฀many฀drugs฀that฀can฀make฀a฀huge฀difference฀to฀the฀health฀of฀African฀populations฀
are฀not฀covered฀by฀patent฀law.฀At฀the฀2003฀conference฀of฀the฀Africa฀Genome฀Initiative,฀
Gordon฀Dougan฀of฀Imperial฀College’s฀Centre฀for฀Molecular฀Microbiology฀called฀on฀
African฀countries฀ to฀take฀ advantage฀of฀ new฀genomic฀technology฀ and฀develop฀ their฀
own฀drugs,฀and฀mentioned฀India฀and฀Cuba฀in฀particular฀in฀this฀regard.฀
Technology฀associated฀with฀genome฀sequencing฀has฀made฀the฀process฀of฀drug฀and฀
(some)฀vaccine฀development฀much฀simpler.
Dougan฀said฀that฀‘the฀development฀of฀vaccines฀in฀developing฀countries฀had฀fallen฀back฀
in฀the฀last฀20฀years฀and฀was฀now฀concentrated฀in฀the฀hands฀of฀four฀major฀multinational฀
companies’.฀Generic฀vaccines,฀Gordon฀added,฀‘could฀be฀made฀by฀anybody’฀and฀‘Africa฀
should฀also฀start฀developing฀vaccines฀to฀immunize฀its฀population฀against฀diseases฀which฀
are฀prevalent฀in฀this฀region’฀(Daniels฀2003:฀6).฀A฀senior฀African฀scientist,฀who฀is฀also฀a฀

member฀of฀the฀Human฀Genome฀Organization฀(HUGO),฀light-heartedly฀observed฀that,฀
from฀the฀point฀of฀view฀of฀manufacturing฀some฀generic฀drugs฀and฀vaccines,฀it฀would฀
be฀ like฀ ‘brewing฀ beer’,฀ and฀ without฀ patents฀ to฀ worry฀ about,฀ quite฀ straightforward.฀
Therefore,฀what฀Africa฀needs฀are฀entrepreneurs฀in฀this฀field฀and฀some฀venture฀capital฀
to฀get฀them฀ going.฀ By฀no฀ means฀a฀ small฀point,฀as฀ Africa฀lacks฀entrepreneurs฀in฀ the฀
biotechnological,฀medical฀and฀pharmaceutical฀areas.฀It฀is฀not฀enough฀to฀have฀the฀science฀
and฀technology;฀entrepreneurs฀are฀crucial฀for฀development฀and฀success.
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Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
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Then฀there฀is฀the฀question฀of฀genetically฀modified฀foods.฀Attention฀was฀focused฀
on฀this฀issue฀by฀Zambia’s฀refusal฀to฀accept฀genetically฀modified฀crops฀as฀aid฀because,฀
said฀Drinah฀Nyirenda,฀a฀former฀University฀of฀Zambia฀dean฀and฀executive฀director฀
of฀the฀Zambian฀Programme฀Against฀Malnutrition,฀of฀the฀country’s฀‘concerns฀about฀
the฀ effect฀ that฀ genetically฀ modified฀ food฀ would฀ have฀ on฀ the฀ environment฀ and฀
maintaining฀the฀diversity฀of฀local฀crops’฀(Nyirenda฀2003).฀
For฀Africa฀as฀a฀whole,฀the฀story฀is฀more฀complicated.฀South฀Africa฀is฀the฀only฀country฀
on฀ the฀ continent฀ with฀ commercialised,฀ genetically฀ modified฀ crops.฀ The฀ director฀ of฀
Genetic฀ Resources฀ at฀ the฀ Department฀ of฀ Agriculture,฀ Dr฀ Shadrack฀ Moephuli,฀ is฀
quoted฀as฀being฀an฀upbeat฀supporter฀of฀what฀genetically฀modified฀crops฀might฀bring฀
to฀the฀ country’s฀vast฀ population฀ of฀ poor฀people:฀‘South฀ Africa’s฀ impoverished฀ rural฀
people฀would฀be฀the฀main฀beneficiaries฀of฀controversial฀genetically฀modified฀organism฀
technology.’฀He฀ added:฀ ‘At฀the฀ moment฀ trials฀ are฀ ongoing฀ with฀ maize฀ and฀cotton.฀
These฀are฀being฀done฀with฀small฀scale฀subsistence฀farmers฀in฀rural฀areas.฀These฀are฀the฀
kinds฀of฀areas฀where฀it฀is฀important฀to฀realize฀the฀benefits฀of฀food฀security฀that฀can฀come฀
with฀crops฀that฀are฀resistant฀to฀pests’฀(Seccombe฀2000).฀More฀than฀mere฀experiment,฀
South฀Africa฀had฀163฀000฀hectares฀of฀genetically฀modified฀yellow฀maize฀and฀a฀further฀

18฀000฀hectares฀of฀genetically฀modified฀cotton฀in฀the฀1999฀to฀2000฀season.
Still,฀ South฀ Africa฀ is฀ a฀ signatory฀ to฀ the฀ BioSafety฀ Protocol,฀ and฀ its฀ openness฀
towards฀commercialised,฀genetically฀modified฀crops฀might฀bring฀it฀into฀conflict฀with฀
the฀Southern฀African฀Development฀Community฀(SADC)฀whose฀members฀differ฀in฀
their฀stance.฀Malawi,฀Namibia฀and฀Zimbabwe,฀for฀example,฀do฀not฀accept฀genetically฀
modified฀crops฀unless฀they฀are฀milled฀first;฀and฀only฀the฀latter฀country฀is฀conducting฀
research฀on฀the฀commercial฀production฀of฀various฀genetically฀modified฀agricultural฀
products.฀
The฀irony฀ of฀having฀ some฀African฀ countries,฀which฀in฀ the฀past฀ could฀feed฀ their฀
people,฀ now฀ turning฀ back฀ genetically฀ modified฀ seeds฀ or฀ crops฀ is฀ only฀ made฀ less฀
painful฀by฀what฀is฀described฀as฀the฀aggressively฀self-interested฀commercial฀stance฀of฀
the฀United฀States฀in฀its฀search฀for฀markets฀in฀the฀European฀Union,฀having฀secondary฀
consequences฀for฀the฀much฀smaller฀and฀probably฀less฀important฀markets฀of฀Africa.฀
Referring฀to฀the฀US฀challenge฀to฀the฀EU฀at฀the฀World฀Trade฀Organization,฀Amadou฀
Kanoute,฀the฀Africa฀Director฀of฀Consumers฀International,฀said฀that฀the฀United฀States฀
lawsuit฀against฀the฀European฀Union฀to฀ease฀restrictions฀and฀standards฀‘will฀boomerang฀
against฀the฀United฀States฀because฀so฀many฀countries฀are฀in฀the฀process฀of฀developing฀
regulatory฀ systems฀ for฀ genetic฀ modification’.฀ In฀ fairly฀ typical฀ and฀ not฀ altogether฀
inaccurately฀a฀manner,฀Kanoute฀said฀that฀he฀believes฀the฀Bush฀administration’s฀main฀
goal฀in฀launching฀the฀WTO฀case฀is฀not฀concern฀about฀Africa฀food฀production฀and฀
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Wilmot฀James
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Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
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hunger,฀but฀the฀export฀of฀US฀corn฀to฀the฀$300฀million฀European฀market฀(Kanoute฀
2003).฀฀
While฀the฀big฀boys฀fight฀it฀out฀then,฀African฀countries฀are฀keen฀to฀adopt฀what฀is฀
known฀as฀bio-safety฀measures,฀in฀protocols฀globally฀and฀legislation฀nationally.฀But฀

this฀clamour฀to฀regulate฀hides฀an฀alarming฀lack฀of฀capacity฀to฀discriminate฀between฀
which฀genetically฀modified฀crops฀are฀genuinely฀harmful฀to฀people,฀biodiversity฀and฀
the฀environment,฀and฀in฀what฀measure,฀and฀which฀are฀not,฀by฀many฀governments฀
lacking฀expertise฀in฀modern฀agriculture฀and฀food฀production฀in฀the฀era฀of฀molecular฀
biology฀and฀genomes.฀Africa฀could฀certainly฀do฀with฀a฀continental฀resource฀to฀provide฀
good฀advice฀to฀governments฀in฀the฀area฀of฀genetically฀modified฀foods,฀backed฀up฀by฀
good฀science.฀Possibly,฀it฀is฀a฀continental฀resource฀that฀could฀be฀provided฀by฀the฀New฀
Partnership฀for฀African฀Development฀(NEPAD)฀too;฀and฀there฀are฀also฀other฀global฀
agencies฀like฀the฀World฀Health฀Organization.฀
People฀should฀not฀be฀fooled฀by฀the฀claim฀that฀genetically฀modified฀foods฀are฀the฀
answer฀to฀problems฀ of฀poverty,฀malnourishment฀and฀ development฀in฀Africa.฀That฀
would฀be฀to฀misdiagnose฀the฀problem,฀poorly฀understand฀the฀motives฀of฀commercial฀
bio-agriculture฀ and฀ naively฀ trust฀ governments฀ of฀ the฀ North฀ about฀ the฀ altruistic฀
benefits฀of฀accepting฀their฀exports.฀George฀Monbiot฀writes฀as฀follows฀in฀the฀Guardian฀
of฀9฀March฀2004:
GM฀technology฀permits฀companies฀to฀ensure฀that฀everything฀we฀eat฀is฀owned฀by฀them.฀
They฀can฀patent฀the฀seeds฀and฀the฀processes฀that฀give฀rise฀to฀them.฀They฀can฀make฀sure฀
that฀crops฀can’t฀be฀grown฀without฀their฀ patented฀chemicals.฀They฀ can฀prevent฀seeds฀
from฀reproducing฀themselves.฀By฀buying฀up฀competing฀seeds฀companies฀and฀closing฀
them฀down,฀they฀can฀capture฀the฀food฀market,฀the฀biggest฀and฀most฀diverse฀market.฀No฀
one฀in฀her฀right฀mind฀would฀welcome฀this.฀
He฀goes฀on฀to฀talk฀about฀how฀some฀genetically฀modified฀crops฀do฀have฀higher฀yields฀
and฀ how฀ some฀ too฀ can฀ be฀ changed฀ to฀ have฀ more฀ nutrients,฀ ‘though฀ both฀ these฀
developments฀can฀be฀over฀hyped’฀and฀require฀rigorous฀scrutiny฀before฀such฀crops฀are฀
imported฀and฀used.฀Monbiot฀mentions฀the฀project฀to฀engineer฀sweet฀potato฀to฀resist฀
viruses฀in฀Kenya฀as฀having฀collapsed,฀despite฀$6฀million฀in฀funding฀from฀Monsanto,฀
The฀World฀Bank฀and฀the฀United฀States,฀whereas฀across฀the฀border,฀in฀Uganda,฀a฀far฀
cheaper฀and฀conventional฀‘breeding฀programme฀has฀doubled฀sweet฀potato฀yields’.฀It฀
turns฀out,฀too,฀that฀the฀other฀Kenya฀project฀to฀engineer฀vitamin-enriched฀rice฀also฀
collapsed฀before฀starting฀because฀it฀appears฀as฀if฀‘malnourished฀people฀appear฀not฀to฀

be฀able฀to฀absorb฀Vitamin฀A฀in฀this฀form’฀(Monbiot฀2004:฀23).฀
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Wilmot฀James
14
Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
15
Still,฀ Monbiot฀ overstates฀ his฀ point;฀ what฀ we฀ simply฀ need฀ is฀ the฀ capacity฀ for฀
rational,฀scientific,฀common฀ sense฀assessments฀ of฀what฀is฀ good฀for฀ us฀and฀what฀is฀
not;฀and฀while฀we฀are฀busy฀doing฀that,฀we฀should฀not฀wreck฀but฀build฀and฀rebuild฀
the฀agricultural฀economies฀that฀in฀the฀past฀fed฀Africa’s฀people.฀For฀biotechnology฀in฀
food฀production฀is฀neither฀the฀panacea฀nor฀the฀evil฀imperial฀plot฀it฀is฀made฀out฀to฀be;฀
everything฀depends,฀as฀always,฀on฀what฀we฀make฀of฀and฀do฀with฀the฀biotechnology,฀
which฀in฀turn฀depends฀on฀what฀we฀make฀of฀our฀agricultural฀economies.
.฀.฀.
Public-private฀partnerships฀in฀the฀biotechnology฀era฀between฀knowledge฀centres฀such฀as฀
universities฀or฀institutes฀and฀(especially)฀pharmaceutical฀companies฀can฀be฀as฀lucrative฀
as฀they฀are฀challenging฀in฀the฀governance฀area:฀a฀recent฀controversy฀at฀the฀University฀
of฀California฀at฀Berkeley฀over฀whether฀a฀corporate฀funder฀of฀a฀major฀science฀project฀
should฀have฀a฀seat฀on฀the฀governing฀body฀overseeing฀the฀work฀indicates฀that฀the฀issue฀
is฀germane฀everywhere฀ and฀not฀only฀in฀Africa,฀where฀there฀is฀a฀standing฀accusation฀
from฀certain฀quarters฀that฀African฀institutions฀are฀mere฀platforms฀for฀the฀interests฀of฀
the฀multinational฀pharmaceutical฀companies฀and฀donor฀country฀interests฀seeking฀less฀
restrictive฀places฀to฀bio-prospect,฀test฀and฀market฀new฀biotechnology฀products.
As฀a฀test฀of฀the฀integrity฀of฀what฀it฀is฀we฀do,฀we฀should฀ask฀how฀biotechnological฀
research฀in฀Africa฀feeds฀back฀into฀the฀teaching฀of฀modern฀biology฀at฀its฀universities,฀
the฀training฀of฀the฀next฀generation฀of฀research฀scientists,฀and฀the฀establishment฀and฀
maintenance฀of฀quality฀research฀laboratories฀–฀a฀rare฀commodity฀on฀this฀continent.
We฀ should฀ return฀ to฀ the฀ well-tried฀ and฀ tested฀ partnership฀ between฀ research฀ and฀
teaching,฀so฀valued฀in฀university฀life฀and฀so฀central฀to฀the฀evolution฀of฀new฀ideas.฀There฀

is฀nothing฀so฀important฀to฀keeping฀one’s฀balance฀as฀having฀to฀conduct฀research฀and฀to฀
teach฀the฀younger฀generation฀–฀to฀test฀hypotheses฀in฀the฀laboratory฀and฀in฀the฀classroom฀
with฀young฀active฀minds;฀and฀the฀central฀question฀is฀how฀well฀both฀are฀done฀in฀Africa฀
in฀ the฀various฀ areas฀ of฀biology฀ that฀ have฀been฀ remade฀ and฀ reorganised฀by฀ the฀rapid฀
development฀of฀genetics.฀Certainly฀none฀of฀the฀disciplines฀and฀subdisciplines฀including฀
anatomy,฀botany,฀ecology,฀embryology,฀histology,฀immunology,฀medicine,฀mycology,฀
neuroscience,฀ pathology,฀pharmacology,฀physiology,฀systematics,฀veterinary฀ medicine,฀
virology฀ and฀ both฀ vertebrate฀ and฀ invertebrate฀ zoology฀ have฀ been฀ untouched฀ by฀ the฀
extraordinary฀ advances฀ in฀ molecular฀ and฀ cell฀ biology,฀ biophysics,฀ biochemistry฀ and฀
genetics.฀These฀are฀breathtakingly฀represented฀by฀the฀human฀genome฀project,฀one฀of฀the฀
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Wilmot฀James
16
Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
17
great฀accomplishments฀built฀on฀the฀cumulative฀advances฀in฀biology฀over฀the฀course฀of฀
the฀19th฀and฀20th฀centuries.฀
Although฀ we฀ might฀ have฀ an฀ idea฀ derived฀ from฀ anecdotal฀ personal฀ experience,฀
no฀ systematic฀ assessment฀ of฀ what฀ is฀ taught฀ today฀ at฀ university฀ level฀ across฀ Africa฀
in฀the฀biological฀and฀life฀sciences฀has฀emerged.฀It฀is฀a฀challenge฀for฀bodies฀like฀the฀
academies฀ of฀ sciences฀ to฀ see฀ what฀ can฀ be฀ done฀ about฀ this฀ hiatus,฀ for฀ we฀ need฀ to฀
know฀in฀order฀ to฀monitor฀ progress฀and฀ to฀encourage฀ and฀support฀ what฀is฀ already฀
being฀done.฀A฀significant฀grant฀ ought฀to฀ be฀made฀ to฀the฀ association฀of฀ academies฀
of฀science฀to฀assess฀the฀quality,฀scale฀and฀depth฀of฀the฀teaching฀of฀modern฀biology฀
at฀all฀African฀universities.฀A฀disturbing฀trend฀is฀that฀organisations฀that฀are฀making฀a฀
name฀for฀themselves฀in฀this฀area฀are฀increasingly฀uninvolved฀in฀the฀teaching฀arena,฀
and฀indeed฀see฀it฀as฀a฀burden,฀which฀means฀the฀benefits฀of฀new฀knowledge฀remain฀
locked฀up฀in฀the฀corporation฀or฀government฀department฀or฀in฀the฀narrow฀halls฀of฀
the฀institute.฀What฀is฀the฀use฀of฀that฀for฀future฀generations,฀and฀how฀disturbing฀it฀is฀

for฀the฀vocation฀of฀education฀to฀be฀reduced฀in฀such฀a฀manner?฀The฀success฀of฀serious฀
biological฀science฀in฀Singapore,฀says฀Sydney฀Brenner,฀was฀not฀simply฀the฀investment฀
from฀government,฀which฀was฀indeed฀generous,฀but฀having฀a฀critical฀mass฀of฀scientists,฀
postdoctoral฀students฀and฀university฀departments฀to฀carry฀the฀initiative฀forward฀with฀
their฀expertise฀and฀energy฀–฀and฀look฀at฀the฀results฀they฀achieved.
It฀is,฀from฀the฀point฀of฀view฀of฀research,฀obviously฀the฀case฀that฀many฀scientists฀
in฀Africa฀do฀ongoing฀research฀of฀great฀importance,฀and฀judging฀by฀the฀work฀done฀at฀
the฀2004฀Cairo,฀the฀2003฀Spier฀and฀other฀discipline-based฀conferences฀that฀happen฀
all฀the฀time,฀we฀are฀not฀a฀complacent฀community.฀It฀is,฀though,฀also฀quite฀striking,฀
if฀not฀altogether฀unsurprising,฀that฀African฀or฀African-trained฀scientists฀who฀receive฀
what฀is฀regarded฀as฀the฀pinnacle฀of฀global฀recognition฀by฀way฀of฀the฀Nobel฀Prizes฀in฀
Chemistry฀and฀Physiology฀and฀Medicine฀invite฀such฀recognition฀by฀virtue฀of฀work฀
done฀at฀research฀laboratories฀at฀universities฀or฀institutes฀in฀the฀North,฀and฀specifically฀
in฀the฀United฀States฀and฀United฀Kingdom.฀In฀these฀countries฀there฀are฀abundant฀
resources,฀ a฀critical฀mass฀ of฀scholars,฀well-provisioned฀ laboratories,฀ and฀a฀ working฀
and฀defined฀research฀culture.฀But฀it฀is฀also฀true฀that฀the฀Nobel฀Laureates฀from฀Africa฀
completed฀their฀basic฀university฀training,฀almost฀without฀exception,฀in฀their฀home฀
countries;฀there฀is฀as฀a฀result฀nothing฀here฀to฀be฀ashamed฀of,฀although฀there฀is฀a฀great฀
deal฀concerning฀current฀quality฀in฀some฀quarters฀to฀worry฀about.
It฀is฀true฀for฀the฀Egyptian฀scientist฀Ahmed฀Zewail,฀now฀at฀the฀California฀Institute฀
of฀ Technology,฀ who฀ received฀the฀Nobel฀Prize฀ in฀ Chemistry฀ in฀ 1999฀ for฀his฀ study฀
of฀ the฀ transition฀ states฀ of฀ chemical฀ reactions฀using฀ what฀is฀ known฀ as฀ femtosecond฀
spectroscopy.฀Zewail฀started฀what฀Bengt฀Norden฀in฀his฀Nobel฀Prize฀address฀described฀
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Wilmot฀James
16
Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
17
as฀a฀new฀field฀of฀femtochemistry,฀which฀is฀‘using฀the฀fastest฀camera฀in฀the฀world’,฀a฀

method฀of฀capturing฀how฀a฀‘molecule฀passes฀the฀transition฀state฀as฀fast฀as฀the฀atoms฀in฀
the฀molecule฀move’.฀‘Zewail’s฀use฀of฀the฀fast฀laser฀technique฀can฀be฀likened฀to฀Galileo’s฀
telescope’,฀no฀small฀compliment฀in฀the฀history฀of฀science฀(Norden฀2002:253).฀
It฀is฀true฀for฀the฀South฀African฀born฀Sydney฀Brenner,฀who฀won฀the฀Nobel฀Prize฀for฀
Physiology฀and฀Medicine฀in฀2002,฀shared฀between฀three฀scientists฀for฀their฀discoveries฀
of฀the฀regime฀of฀genetic฀regulation฀of฀organ฀development฀and฀programmed฀cell฀death฀
of฀ a฀completely฀sequenced฀ and฀biologically฀fully฀ described฀ everyday฀garden฀worm฀
that฀goes฀by฀the฀unpronounceable฀(at฀least฀the฀first฀part฀of฀it)฀name฀of฀Caenorhabditis฀
elegans.฀At฀the฀inaugural฀Africa฀Genome฀Initiative฀meetings฀in฀Stellenbosch฀last฀year,฀
Brenner฀described฀what฀he฀would฀like฀to฀do฀in฀biology฀for฀the฀human฀genome,฀which฀
would฀be฀to฀collect฀what฀he฀calls฀‘humanity’s฀genes’,฀much฀as฀he฀did฀with฀C.฀elegans,฀
which฀was฀to฀provide฀a฀full฀biological฀description฀of฀what฀every฀part฀of฀the฀organism฀
does฀down฀to฀its฀finest฀detail.฀
It฀ is฀ true฀ for฀ Sir฀ Aaron฀ Krug,฀ who฀ spent฀ his฀ younger฀ years฀ in฀ South฀ Africa฀
and฀ received฀ the฀ Nobel฀ Prize฀ for฀ Chemistry฀ in฀ 1982฀ for฀ his฀ development฀ of฀
crystallographic฀electron฀microscopy฀and฀his฀structural฀elucidation฀of฀the฀biologically฀
important฀nuclei-acid฀protein฀complex.฀Sir฀Aaron฀was฀an฀important฀contemporary฀of฀
James฀Watson,฀Francis฀Crick,฀Maurice฀Wilkins฀and฀Rosalind฀Franklin,฀all฀involved฀
in฀ establishing฀ that฀ the฀ architectural฀ structure฀ of฀ DNA฀ is฀ double฀ helical,฀ which฀
permitted฀them,฀in฀their฀now฀famous฀understatement฀of฀the฀century,฀to฀identify฀the฀
copying฀mechanism฀for฀DNA฀and฀thus฀provide฀the฀answer฀to฀one฀of฀life’s฀greatest฀
mysteries:฀how฀does฀heredity฀work?
And฀I฀must฀add฀that฀it฀is฀true฀for฀South฀African฀Max฀Theiler฀for฀his฀discoveries฀
concerning฀ yellow฀ fever฀ and฀ how฀ to฀ combat฀ it฀ (Nobel฀ Prize฀ in฀ Physiology฀ and฀
Medicine฀in฀1951),฀as฀well฀as฀for฀Allan฀Cormack,฀for฀the฀development฀of฀computer-
assisted฀tomography฀(Nobel฀Prize฀in฀Physiology฀and฀Medicine฀in฀1979).
Those฀who฀can฀are฀returning฀the฀investment.฀Sir฀Aaron฀is฀a฀co-patron฀of฀the฀recently฀
formed฀ Institute฀ for฀ Infectious฀ Disease฀ and฀ Molecular฀ Medicine฀ (IDMM)฀ at฀ the฀
University฀ of฀Cape฀ Town.฀Established฀‘in฀ order฀ to฀consolidate฀and฀ expand฀existing฀
efforts฀to฀combat฀the฀most฀serious฀threats฀to฀health฀and฀overall฀prosperity฀in฀the฀region:฀

infectious฀ diseases฀ including฀ HIV/AIDS,฀ TB,฀ parasitic฀ infections,฀ locally฀ prevalent฀
cancers฀and฀genetic฀disorders’,฀the฀IDMM฀has฀a฀ compelling฀vision฀to฀be฀a฀research฀
body฀capable฀of฀‘relevant,฀cutting฀edge฀biomedical฀research,฀employing฀enabling฀and฀
emerging฀technologies,฀embedded฀in฀an฀environment฀where฀clinical฀and฀research฀skills฀
are฀well฀developed’฀(Institute฀of฀Infectious฀Disease฀2003).฀It฀seeks฀to฀combat฀some฀of฀
Africa’s฀viral,฀bacterial฀and฀parasitic฀diseases฀on฀a฀regional฀level.
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Wilmot฀James
18
Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
19
Other฀powerful฀regional฀centres฀of฀biomedical฀research฀include฀the฀International฀฀
Livestock฀Research฀Institute฀(ILRI),฀and฀the฀International฀Centre฀for฀Insect฀Physiology฀
and฀Ecology฀(ICIPE),฀both฀in฀Kenya,฀and฀the฀Ain฀Shams฀University฀in฀Egypt,฀which฀
serves฀as฀a฀biomedical฀hub฀for฀north-east฀Africa.฀There฀are฀emerging฀possibilities฀for฀
West฀and฀Central฀Africa฀too,฀indicating฀the฀groundswell฀of฀local฀African฀initiatives฀
that฀cannot,฀however,฀proceed฀without฀considerable฀global฀support,฀subject฀as฀it฀is฀to฀
the฀fluctuating฀economic฀and฀political฀pulse฀of฀the฀North.
And฀then฀there฀are,฀finally,฀individuals฀such฀as฀Sarah฀Tishkoff,฀Trefor฀Jenkins฀and฀
Himla฀Soodyall฀who฀bring฀to฀bear฀the฀considerable฀and฀penetrating฀hypotheses฀of฀
evolutionary฀biology฀to฀African฀history,฀specifically฀in฀an฀effort฀to฀link฀population฀
genetics฀to฀the฀ancestry฀of฀African฀and฀global฀populations฀–฀fascinating฀subject฀matter฀
that฀is฀beginning฀to฀have฀some฀impact,฀but฀not฀enough,฀on฀the฀historiography฀of฀
Africa.฀ Certainly,฀ benchmark฀publications฀like฀ the฀ Unesco฀history฀of฀Africa฀ require฀
an฀ engagement฀ with฀the฀journey฀of฀ life฀ mapped฀ out฀ by฀mitochondrial฀DNA฀ and฀
the฀Y฀chromosome฀in฀the฀writing฀of฀what฀has฀been฀called฀African฀pre-history,฀which฀
goes฀back฀to฀human฀origins฀and฀the฀diffusion฀of฀modern฀Homo฀sapiens฀populations฀
throughout฀the฀globe.฀The฀recent฀focus฀on฀genetic฀bottlenecks฀is฀a฀key฀contribution฀
in฀this฀direction,฀leading,฀it฀is฀my฀hope,฀to฀the฀revision฀of฀existing฀and฀the฀publication฀

of฀new฀volumes฀in฀the฀Unesco฀series.฀As฀Richard฀Dawkins฀puts฀it฀in฀a฀characteristic฀
flourish฀of฀science฀and฀poetry,฀‘[e]volution฀is฀an฀enchanted฀loom฀of฀shuttling฀DNA฀
codes,฀whose฀evanescent฀patterns,฀as฀they฀dance฀their฀partners฀though฀geological฀deep฀
time,฀weave฀a฀massive฀database฀of฀ancestral฀wisdom,฀a฀digitally฀coded฀description฀of฀
ancestral฀worlds฀and฀what฀it฀took฀to฀survive฀in฀them’฀(Dawkins฀1996:฀24).฀And฀as฀I฀
began฀this฀paper฀with฀mathematics,฀I฀end฀it฀with฀the฀observation฀that฀‘Africa฀in฀the฀
Age฀of฀Biology’฀is฀part฀of฀the฀lovely฀story฀about฀breaking฀down฀knowledge฀boundaries฀
fixed฀here฀and฀elsewhere,฀and฀that฀we฀should฀link฀the฀sciences,฀the฀humanities฀and฀
the฀social฀sciences฀in฀answering฀some฀basic฀questions฀on฀our฀origins,฀life฀and฀destiny฀
in฀this฀world.
SCI 5_Africa Biology 007 8/25/04, 11:22 AM18
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18
Africa฀in฀the฀Age฀of฀Biology
19
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