I question the adequacy of the training in research methods being acquired by the apprentice researchers at China's Beijing Genomics Institute (Nature 464, 7; 2010). My own experience suggests that their scientific maturity may not measure up to that gained through a PhD qualification.

I was forced to abandon my PhD after a year at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology in Kolkata, because of the death of my supervisor. After two years lecturing in an engineering college in West Bengal, I joined the R&D division of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds, which was responsible for introducing India's first genetically modified crop, Bt cotton.

But my career prospects were evidently limited without a doctorate. Eventually, I enrolled at the age of 32 for a PhD at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Besides the stimulation of working with a motivated group of research scholars in a well-funded laboratory, there were lively weekly journal clubs and seminars.

In my view, time-constrained systematic laboratory training is essential for learning how to handle research projects independently. A PhD adds to the time needed to establish a career. But doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants and other professions all have to undergo comparable periods of gestation.