A New Biology for the 21st Century (2009) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 1-8
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, and Department of Energy (DOE) asked the National Research Council's Board on Life Sciences to convene a committee to examine the current state of biological research in the United States and recommend how best to capitalize on recent technological and scientific advances that have allowed biologists to integrate biological research findings, collect and interpret vastly increased amounts of data, and predict the behavior of complex biological systems.
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• Are changes needed in biology education -- to ensure that biology majors are equipped to work across traditional subdisciplinary boundaries, to provide biology curricula that equip physical scientists and engineers to take advantage of advances in biological science, and to provide nonscientists with a level of biological understanding that gives them an informed voice regarding relevant policy proposals? Are alternative degree programs needed or can biology departments be organized to attract and train students able to work comfortably across disciplinary boundaries?
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The committee expects that such efforts would include projects at different scales, from individual laboratories, to collaborations involving many participants, to consortia involving multiple institutions and types of research. Many scientists in the United States are already practicing the integrated and interdisciplinary approach to biology that the committee has called the New Biology.
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What is needed is the New Biology, combining the knowledge base of ecology with those of organismal biology, evolutionary and comparative biology, climatology, hydrology, soil science, and environmental, civil, and systems engineering, through the unifying languages of mathematics, modeling, and computational science. This integration has the potential to generate breakthroughs in our ability to monitor ecosystem function, identify ecosystems at risk, and develop effective interventions to protect and restore ecosystem function.
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The New Biology can accelerate fundamental understanding of the systems that underlie health and the development of the tools and technologies that will in turn lead to more efficient approaches to developing therapeutics and enabling individualized, predictive medicine. Finally, in the chapter entitled "Putting the New Biology to Work," the committee proposes that a national initiative dedicated to addressing challenges like those described for the areas of food, the environment, energy, and health would provide a framework whereby the U.S.
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• Approaches that integrate a wide range of scientific disciplines, and draw on the strengths and resources of universities, federal agencies, and the private sector will accelerate progress toward making this potential a reality. • The best way for the United States to capitalize on this scientific and technological opportunity is to add to its current research portfolio a New Biology effort that will accelerate understanding of complex biological systems, driving rapid progress in meeting societal challenges and advancing fundamental knowledge.
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Recommendation 2: The committee recommends that the national New Biology Initiative be an interagency effort, that it have a timeline of at least 10 years, and that its funding be in addition to current research budgets. Finding 3 • Information is the fundamental currency of the New Biology.
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Recommendation 4 The committee recommends that the New Biology Initiative devote resources to programs that support the creation and implementation of interdisciplinary curricula, graduate training programs, and educator training needed to create and support New Biologists.
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