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MINSK, 16 October (BelTA) – Belarusian and Bulgarian scientists are going to advance cooperation in biotechnology for food industry applications, BelTA learned from Alexander Kilchevsky, Chief Academic Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB), on 16 October.

The official said: “Food of the future is a very hot topic. Sustainable development needs the right kind of food and to determine the right kind of food, one needs genetic peculiarities of the human being. This is why we pay a lot of attention to nutrigenomics in order to find out how well people digest various food components. We are also intent on studying longevity genetics problems. We intend to give recommendations to citizens of our country in order to make their lives longer and more active. We intend to work together with Bulgarian scientists in these areas. In particular, we’ve already created several tomato varieties.”

Professor Atanas Atanasov, academician of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, one of the leading biotechnology experts in Europe, made a report on problems of feeding the planet’s population in the 21^st century in the Genetics and Cytology Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus on 16 October. He is an honorary member of the American Biographical Institute (ABI), a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, an internationally recognized expert in the biological safety of genetically modified organisms. “An institute on longevity research has been established in California, USA. We can set up a similar strategic center in Bulgaria and work together on these matters, including with Belarusian scientists,” said Atanas Atanasov.

Atanas Atanasov mentioned the importance of consuming organic food and sticking to the diet compiled taking into account peculiarities of the individual. “It is necessary to work out a strategy, which will allow producing enough high-quality food in the future. It will allow preventing many diseases,” he said.

The Bulgarian scientist delivered his report during the international scientific conference Genome Transformation. Eighth Zhebrak Readings 2018. Such conferences have been held in the NASB Genetics and Cytology Institute since 2008 to discuss the most topical problems of genetics in the form of lectures.