This book had its genesis in Alexandria, Egypt in March 2002, at the
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, when the new library hosted a conference on
Biotechnology and Sustainable Development: Voices of the South and
North. Here, a group of modern scholars met to review the state of the
art in relation to the applications of biosciences in human health, food
and agriculture and the environment, and address the ethical,
institutional, regulatory and socio-economic issues that affect their
use. The goal was to identify ways and means by which the new life
sciences could be mobilized in the service of humanity and especially to
improve the livelihoods of poor people.