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Good Morning. I regret that I can't be at this meeting of the Human Variome Project
in Beijing, but I wish you all the very best for a wonderful gathering. My name's Peter
Doherty, I'm an immunologist and I shared the 1996 Nobel Prize for Medicine for our
work on immune T-cells. We work on influenza. Like every other area of science our studies
are greatly influenced by the continuing molecular genetics revolution. For example, at the moment,
we are doing the systems biology of acute severe and mild influenza virus infections.
This is tremendously informative, but it takes us into a new area of research. And like the
Human Genome Project itself, it's only a first step.
Knowing the genome, even knowing the genes that are read out, is like knowing a telephone
directory without necessarily understanding what the names and addresses are, or how those
individuals are linked in some useful way. The potential for understanding the full power
of genetic analysis will really be realised through the Human Variome Project as we map
all the mutations that are associated with human genetic disease and also all those mutations
which will influence the way that we respond to, for instance, infections and other challenges
to our bodily integrity. It's not just about genetic disease, and not
just about other disease, knowing the variome will also illuminate our understanding of
human biology in a very general sense. It's truly impressive that China has committed
to this activity to such a great extent. It shows true enlightenment and wisdom and it's
wonderful for us as, in some senses a smaller brother, because there are only 20 million
Australians, compared with 1.2 billion Chinese. It's terrific that we have this interaction
and that we are building these ties between our two countries.
Science is about working across international boundaries. Science has always been international.
I've worked in many countries: the United States, Britain for example, and have very
much been involved in international collaborative projects.
This is a major effort that will function to protect humanity and I'm delighted to have
been able to say just these few words to you as you move on with this meeting. Have a great
meeting and enjoy Beijing.