DCU is hosting this year's RTE Future Tense Science Week lecture on Tuesday 13 November. RTE producer Peter Mooney will introduce the annual talk which takes place in the DCU student centre, The Hub, at 7.30. The talk and the following discussion will be recorded for later broadcast on RTE Radio One.

The lecture, "What has Biotechnology done for our food?", will be given by Professor Fergal O'Gara, director of the Biomerit research centre at University College Cork. He has been active in the field of food biotechnology for many years, and is co-ordinator of a network of European biotechnology research centres.

"One of the major challenges today is food production for a world population which is predicted to grow to 8 billion by the year 2020", he said. "Innovative biotechnology has the potential to contribute significantly to the task of producing this food".

The new biotechnology is geared towards enhancing food products either by adding nutrients to foods which traditionally lacked them or by developing plants as edible vaccines.

The talk is expected to be of interest to scientists and specialists in the fields of agriculture and food processing, consumers, retailers, and those with general ecological concerns about how we produce and prepare our food.

Tickets for the lecture are available from Brian Trench at DCU: tel 7005668, or email brian.trench@dcu.ie

ENDS

For further details:

Eilis O'Brien, Tel: 700 5217 or 087 2057125
Brian Trench, Tel: 7005668