Talking of the new frontiers in molecular biology, the eminent scientist said that DNA vaccine (injecting the appropriate gene directly into humans rather than the corresponding proteins) had a great potential for the country as these would be cheaper and more heat-stable. He said that though a lot of work was being done in this field all over the world, not a single had come to the market so far.His revelation about the advanced stage of work on DNA vaccine for rabies in India and its chances of becoming the first country to develop a DNA vaccine sent a wave of cheer among the audience. ``We are endeavouring to expedite the process,'' he announced.

Padmanaban, who has scores of awards including the S S Bhatnagar Award and ICMR Award to his credit, briefed with the help of slides how gene therapy, a fallout of research in molecular biology, could cure genetic disorders. The concept was to replace the defective gene with a normal one, he said.