2023-11-29 13:33:47
Daniel Salamone He is a veterinarian, directs the Animal Biotechnology Laboratory of the UBA and is a researcher at the CONICETthe same organization that will lead from December 10. “The national cloner”as Javier Milei defines him, was born in Entre Ríos 63 years ago, did his residency at the Buenos Aires zoo and earned his doctorate in the United States.
In 2000 he returned to the country, inspired by a talk with René Favaloro about the difficulty of obtaining “universal donors” of hearts for transplants. Determined to dedicate his career in assisted reproduction, in 2002 he was part of the team that gave birth to Pampita, the first cloned cow in Latin America. Eight years later he was born Ñandubay Bicentenario, the first horse. He would later copy goats, dogs, cats, zebras and cheetahs.
Milei was congratulated by the company that cloned his dogs and would appoint a cloning expert for Conicet
Its latest development is five genetically edited pigs, also pioneers in the region, born to fulfill Favaloro’s wish: that his descendants multiply by thousands, and thus be able to transplant skin, corneas or nerves to humans. Salamone sees in the cloning a prosperous future, where diabetes is reversed with a single intervention or endangered species are preserved forever. “Nature clones, creates twins. “We channeled that force and made a technology,” he justified in a Interview with Clarionwhere he also confessed his fear of the damaging capabilities of atomic energy and artificial intelligence.
What do you think about the CONICET and how do you imagine your future? Without experience in political management, during these days he defined it as “the most recognized government organization in Latin America” and denied ideas of closure or privatization, although he did anticipate his intention to reduce researchers’ income, in addition to outlining a substantial change in direction: that scientists prioritize productivity and the amount of papers, without excluding the possibility of financing their own work. “When you want to do a research project, you have to “sell it” to get the money,” he justifies.
The president of YPF announced that with Conicet he will inaugurate a lithium battery factory
Against what he considers “regulatory obstacles,” he criticizes the scheme through which the CONICET has participation and I vote in the companies to which it contributes researchers, since it “scares a lot” to the private sector. Along these lines, it will search get investment funds and “create a kind of portfolio of projects that compete, with a horizon set on forming companies start-up” and focus on meritocracy.
Its other objective is reinforce research dedicated to housing, agriculture and climate. “We are putting money in places that don’t belong, when there are people who are not eating,” he said. “We have to become aware that we are in a country that is poor right now, and we must lend a hand.”
MVB JL
#future #CONICET