IMPLEMENTING THE NEW BIOLOGY
Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment
SUMMARY OF A WORKSHOP JUNE 3-4, 2010
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by the United States Department of Energy, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
PLANNING COMMITTEE ON ACHIEVING RESEARCH SYNERGIES FOR FOOD/ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT CHALLENGES: A WORKSHOP TO EXPLORE THE POTENTIAL OF THE “NEW BIOLOGY”
KEITH YAMAMOTO (Chair),
University of California, San Francisco
VICKI L. CHANDLER,
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Palo Alto, CA
CHRISTOPHER B. FIELD,
Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington, D.C.
JEFFREY I. GORDON,
Washington University, St. Louis, MO
PEDRO A. SANCHEZ,
The Earth Institute of Columbia University, New York, NY
CHRISTOPHER R. SOMERVILLE,
University of California, Berkeley; and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Staff
ADAM P. FAGEN, Senior Program Officer
JO L. HUSBANDS, Scholar, Senior Project Director
FRANCES E. SHARPLES, Senior Director,
Board on Life Sciences
PAULA TARNAPOL WHITACRE, Consultant Science Writer and Principal,
Full Circle Communications, LLC
BOARD ON LIFE SCIENCES
KEITH R. YAMAMOTO (Chair),
University of California, San Francisco, California
BONNIE L. BASSLER,
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
VICKI L. CHANDLER,
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Palo Alto, California
SEAN EDDY,
HHMI Janelia Farm Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia
MARK D. FITZSIMMONS,
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, Illinois
DAVID R. FRANZ,
Midwest Research Institute, Frederick, Maryland
DONALD E. GANEM,
University of California, San Francisco, California
LOUIS J. GROSS,
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
JO HANDELSMAN,
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
CATO T. LAURENCIN,
University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut
BERNARD LO,
University of California, San Francisco, California
ROBERT M. NEREM,
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
CAMILLE PARMESAN,
University of Texas, Austin, Texas
MURIEL E. POSTON,
Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York
ALISON G. POWER,
Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
BRUCE W. STILLMAN,
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York
CYNTHIA WOLBERGER,
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
MARY WOOLLEY,
Research!America, Alexandria, Virginia
Staff
FRANCES E. SHARPLES, Director
JO L. HUSBANDS, Scholar/Senior Project Director
JAY B. LABOV, Senior Scientist/Program Director for Biology Education
KATHERINE BOWMAN, Senior Program Officer
MARILEE K. SHELTON-DAVENPORT, Senior Program Officer
INDIA HOOK-BARNARD, Program Officer
ANNA FARRAR, Financial Associate
CARL-GUSTAV ANDERSON, Senior Program Assistant
AMANDA MAZZAWI, Senior Program Assistant
SAYYEDA AYESHA AHMED, Program Assistant
Acknowledgments
This workshop summary has been reviewed in draft form by persons chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purposes of this review are to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published summary as sound as possible and to ensure that the summary meets institutional standards of objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following for their participation in the review of this summary:
Jeffery L. Dangl, University of North Carolina
Jeffrey I. Gordon, Washington University School of Medicine
Ann Reid, American Academy of Microbiology
Pedro Sanchez, Columbia University
Richard Sayre, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Christopher R. Somerville, University of California, Berkeley
Keith R. Yamamoto, University of California, San Francisco
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse, nor did they see the final draft of, the workshop summary before its release. Responsibility for the final content of this summary rests entirely with the authors and the National Research Council.
Direct and in-kind support for the workshop was provided by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy, National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
A New Biology for the 21st Century was supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
