Science & Development Bulletin monitors science development and highlights the role
of science and technology in establishing knowledge-based economy in the Islamic world.
European Commission and Egypt's Ministry of Trade and Industry have agreed to establish an Egyptian-European network for technology and innovation making Egypt the first Arab country to join a European programme aimed at promoting science-based industrial competitiveness.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development has signed an agreement with the Iraqi government to map out a strategy using science, technology and innovation for developing Iraq's economy.
Researchers have developed a a vertical completely drained pilot scale constructed wetland planted with Amaranthus hybridus for domestic wastewater treatment
Scientists have developed a novel, needle-less, non-toxic, cheap, effective delivery method that was able to produce strong, sustained immune responses against Hepatitis B in animals making it suitable for poor countries.
The report indicated that Iran substantially increased its share of world papers showing a ten-fold increase to almost 7,000 papers over the last year which in turn will increase Iran's output and research impact further
Growth of intellectual property rights depends on the level of technological development and most Islamic countries are seen as marginalised and scientifically lagging least-developed countries. This has led some experts in the region to call for a system-wide approach to make IP rights supportive to local knowledge-based industry with low innovation capacity and avoid its negative effects including restrictive access to new knowledge as well as the high price of new technologies imposed by a strong IP regime.
Arab information technology experts have welcomed a recent development in internet governance that could allow the use of Arabic script website addresses, saying it will help to protect Arabic culture, remove the language barrier and reduce the digital and knowledge gap between the Arab world and the developed countries. However, they raised some intellectual property considerations as well as technical and cyberspace security concerns.
