The level of understanding of the complexity of life and the engagement between the science community and the public were questioned during Cranfield University's Repairing the Body conference.
The event featured a line-up of science professionals including Prof Lord Robert Winston and Prof Paul Moss, head of cancer sciences and Cancer Research UK Institute of Studies, University of Birmingham.
Moss stated that 'if life was to be compared to an Aston Martin DB7, we are just at the stage of blowing the dust off the bonnet', whereas Winston questioned the engagement of the science community with the public.
This argument was backed up by Julian Hitchcock, senior associate of life sciences at Field Fisher Waterhouse and director of the East of England Stem Cell Network.
'We are good at science but not good at translating it,' he said.
The event, which was organised and held at Cranfield Health also discussed the gap between research and industry and possible treatment for viral infections to mending the spinal cord through the emerging fields of translational medicine - how research is translated from the laboratory bench into the clinic - and regenerative medicine.
