Taipei, Dec. 1 2 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian met a Nobel laureate Friday at the Presidential Office and hailed his progressive research on the human genome.
Saying that Taiwan should make greater efforts in areas related to the human genome, Chen expressed his admiration for Sir John E. Sulston's remarkable achievements in the study of AIDS and praised the work as a major breakthrough in the history of humanity.
Sulston, the co-winner of the Nobel Prize in physiology for medicine in 2002, was invited to visit Taiwan by the British Trade and Cultural Office in Taipei as part of its celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of the discovery of DNA. Sulston also used to lead three genome centers at Cambridge University and other leading facilities.
Chen said that exchanges between specialists must be enhanced given the nation's emphasis on biotechnology and the "two-trillion, two-star" national program that focuses on various potential domestic sectors, such as semiconductor, LCD and digital-content industries.
The government will also increase the ratio of its budgets for scientific research from the current level of 2 percent to 3 percent of Taiwan's gross domestic product in 2006, the president said.