Biotechnology
Research Topic
Language: English
This is a research topic created to provide authors with a place to attach new problem publications.
Research problems linked to this topic
- The strengths and weaknesses of animal models.
- How can new approaches and technologies be applied to perform targeted screening of specific areas of the body?
- A usable forward look on new technologies (including medicines, devices, therapeutics, precision medicine tools and approaches to drug development) in development.
- The risk of an unknown pandemic human disease (“disease x) has been at the top of the National Risk Register for some time and been realised this year in the shape of COVID-19. Two thirds of new human infectious diseases originate in animals. How can we better understand and prepare for future threats? How can we better join up animal and human health research, capability, and digital backbone across government to facilitate agile responses?
- How can we model existing data from human, animal, plant, and environmental health indicators to better understand the interconnection and potential impacts of climate change?
- How can we use digital innovation and precision farming techniques to measure animal health and welfare outcomes for livestock, and to provide early warning of livestock disease and health threats?
- What are the impacts of greenhouse gas removals and negative emission technologies on climate and the environment? What are the trade-offs of negative emissions techniques and other interventions?
- Identify, prioritise, and investigate scientific and technical challenges for remediation from a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) or HAZMAT event
- How does exposure to biodiverse environments link to human microbiome diversity and shape health outcomes?
- Molecular biology: The ongoing evolution in the costs, speed, and ease of DNA measurements will allow entirely new approaches to complement traditional biodiversity monitoring and increase understanding of ecosystems, biodiversity, diseases, and other aspects of the environment
- Research and development in all forensic science areas: the rapidly expanding digital forensics; “conventional” areas such as fingerprints and DNA; and many other niche areas. Using general scientific advances and insights in the forensics domain.
- What emerging biological or behavioural measurements and calculations can be used to ascertain or impersonate a person’s identity?
- New Technologies: How are new technologies and work practices being adopted by those using chemicals (e.g. next generation crop protection, variable rate application, genetic modification and biological pesticides etc) and which emerging innovations are considered most viable (e.g. digital agriculture, field monitoring, robotics, etc) and likely to become mainstream and transformative? How can we ensure appropriate regulation ensuring chemicals are used safely whilst promoting the adoption of technologies with the potential to improve the sustainability of chemical use?
- Advanced electronics: How will sensors, omics, geographical information systems, internet of things, be used to support regulation and enforcement needs across the agri-envrionmental and food sectors?
- Developing non-animal technologies.
- How can we enable better biosecurity standards and behaviours to control and minimise the impact of disease and pests? how can we build systems that are resilient to introductions of pests and diseases and that can support adaptation and recovery? How can we breed animals and plants which are resistant to key diseases?
- Using biometrics, digital and behavioural aspects to assure identity and to understand and mitigate the possible deception of systems.
- Endemic animal diseases undermine agricultural productivity, negatively impacting animal welfare, farmers’ livelihoods, public health, and threaten trade. Increased research into improved methods of detection and control of bovine TB and other such endemic diseases remains a priority for Defra
- How do we deploy emerging technologies to move from post-disease/outbreak surveillance to pre-emergence surveillance and mitigation of risks?
- How can we design and embed robust, cross-cutting indicators of, and improve our understanding of, human, animal, plant, and environmental health in systems under pressure from climate change?
- How should government make best use of biometrics and other technologies for government service users to prove their identities? What are the most useful applications of homomorphic encryption for digital government?
- Improve our understanding of how behavioural change can help meet air quality and noise/soundscape policy ambitions and improve the evaluation and dissemination of effective policy interventions
- Pursuing every aspect of research in the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement).
- How can we develop and apply science, technology, and evidence to inform and deliver a risk-based approach to animal and plant biosecurity?
- How can we better understand and prevent the development of antimicrobial and anthelmintic resistance? How can we develop better diagnostic tests to encourage more judicious use of antimicrobials and anthelmintics?
- What is needed to further understand the value of plants and the wider environment to society, and how is this relationship eroded by pests and disease?