Professor George Amoako, Professor of Physics and Materials Science at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), has urged the government to support universities to establish modern research centres with the requisite equipment to advance the cause of science and technology in Ghana.
He said scientists carrying out advanced research locally were handicapped with the lack of proper facilities, forcing them to collaborate with international partners at exorbitant costs.
As a scientist researching into Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) technologies, he said his work was always sent to China for practical analysis due to the lack of high-resolution equipment.
“People doing advanced research in the sciences go through hell because the facilities are not there but for cutting edge technologies to be achievable, the universities and government should establish research centres with the requisite equipment,” he stressed.
Prof Amoako made the call when he delivered his inaugural lecture on the theme: “”DNA Origami: A template for patterning nanostructures” at UCC .
His lecture detailed how DNA origami (folding of DNA on a nanoscale) in particular could revolutionalise the diverse fields of science due to its unique recognition abilities, chemical and physical ability, and mechanical robustness as a structural material.
Already, DNA is used in various fields such as criminal investigations, paternity test, and creating vaccines.
But the professor noted that with DNA origami, the technology could be applied in biomaterial science for the treatment, augmentation or replacement of biological functions, and also in nanomedicine to treat conditions such as cancers and down syndrome.
He added that the DNA-based nanotechnologies could also be used to design nanorobots as well as highly powerful computers through molecular computing.
However, Prof Amoako lamented that challenges such as the absence of accurate and cost-effective methods to manufacture new DNA strands and the lack of relevant machines continued to stifle progress.
He called for an intergovernmental intervention to the supply of equipment and partnerships to realise the new technologies.
“The quest for government to urge students to go into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education will cease to become a mirage if the current state of advanced research laboratories is addressed.
“Scientists in Ghana will be able to carry out research leading to cutting technologies provided the universities, with the support of government, establish accessible well-resourced centres,” he stressed.
He said that was the only way to motivate young scientists to stay in advanced research in science which could yield homegrown solutions to benefit the people.
For his part, Prof Johnson Nyarko Boampong, the Vice Chancellor of UCC, called on the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences to integrate their programmes to give students clearer perspectives on various topics.
“If for instance before you treat cytology and genetics and a lecture on DNA is given, it will help the students to understand the topic better.
“But we are working in silos and we are not integrating our programmes and that is not good,” he said.
Prof Amoako was appointed as lecturer at UCC in 2006, became a senior lecturer in 2013 promoted to associate professor in 2018 and in 2020, he was promoted to the rank of a professor.
GNA
Professor George Amoako