The Future of Science

V — The DNA Revolution (2009)

V — The DNA Revolution

2009 · Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice

Celebrating advances in genomics, this conference explored how the revolution in DNA science is transforming medicine, agriculture, and our understanding of life itself.

Key Themes

Marking the completion of the Human Genome Project’s follow-on research and the rapid decline in sequencing costs, this edition celebrated the transformative impact of DNA science on medicine, forensics, and our understanding of life. Speakers presented advances in personalized medicine, gene therapy, and the emerging field of epigenetics.

The conference explored how genomic data is reshaping drug development, enabling earlier disease detection, and creating new ethical dilemmas around genetic privacy and discrimination. Researchers from stem cell biology discussed the potential of reprogrammed cells for regenerative medicine.

A highlight was the discussion of how affordable DNA sequencing was democratizing genetic research, allowing scientists in developing countries to participate in genomic studies that were previously possible only in well-funded Western laboratories.

Speakers

Umberto Veronesi Pier Giuseppe Pelicci Giulio Cossu Julie Segre William Haseltine Carlo Alberto Redi Denis Duboule