Reflections About the Fourth National Congress of Biotechnology in Chile

Several forums and scientific meetings have devoted a prominent bench to biotechnology in the last few years. This can be explained, not only by its influence over the way of looking at fundamental problems in biological sciences, but moreover by its multidisciplinary nature, integrating different disciplines, both basic and applied. A very singular, and perhaps the most attractive aspect of biotechnology, is represented by the challenge of engineering the genome of plant, animal and microbial systems to develop new technologies and products for the welfare of mankind. Despite the world huge reservoir of knowledge in biotechnology, each country has its own peculiarities and problems, which make the generation of local knowledge a need to keep updated and to increase its independence. Biotechnology in Chile had been very active in the last few years, which is the underline of this IV National Congress of Biotechnology.