Workshop on Evolution and Development; May 10-13, 1998; Washington, DC

在被认为是现代生物科学的早期，进化论是一个核心和指导原则。然而，随着生物学研究在方法上变得越来越简单化，这种关注在很大程度上失去了。事实上，在本世纪初，发展和遗传学这两个进化的基本力量各走各的道路，这两个领域的进化考虑在很大程度上被忽视了。遗传学和发育生物学的最新进展重新引起了人们对进化的兴趣，因为研究人员现在手头有必要的工具来提问，更重要的是回答关键问题。科学家们现在对真核基因的分子结构以及它们是如何调控的有了明确的了解。此外，发展遗传学的新兴领域为基因控制个体发生过程的方式提供了真正的见解。但也许过去10到15年中最重要的发现是，在非常广泛的系统发育谱中，用于调节发育的基因非常保守。因此，科学家们被驱使从一个新的角度来看待进化过程，他们必须问一问“同样的潜在分子机制是如何导致如此广泛的形态的”。从表面上看，这个问题似乎相当令人望而生畏，然而，如上所述，可以使用工具来真正深入了解形态变化的潜在机制，正是这种可能性为拟议的“进化和发展”研讨会提供了理论基础。有人建议将“该领域的专家”聚集在一起，让他们介绍他们的实验室正在进行的事情。这应该有助于科学地界定该领域的现状。研讨会的第二项任务将是试图洞察研究正在或应该朝着什么方向发展。虽然未来总是很难预测，但希望选定的科学家小组能够提出他们在这一领域的看法，并希望能够达成共识。

Evolution was a central and guiding principal in the early days of what is regarded as the modern biological sciences. However as investigations in biology became ever more reductionist in their approach this focus was, to a large extent, lost. Indeed in the early part of this century the fields of development and genetics, the two underlying forces of evolution, went their separate ways and evolutionary considerations in these two fields were largely ignored. Recent advances in both genetics and developmental biology have produced a renewed interest in evolution because researchers now have at hand the necessary tools to ask and more importantly answer critical questions. Scientists now have a firm picture of the molecular structure of eukaryotic genes and how they are regulated. Moreover, the burgeoning field of Developmental Genetics has provided real insights into the way in which genes control the ontogenic process. But perhaps the most significant finding of the last 10 to 15 years is that the genes utilized to regulate development are very highly conserved across a very wide phylogenetic spectrum. Thus scientists have been driven to a new perspective of the evolutionary process and must ask "How is it that the same underlying molecular machinery can result in such a broad spectrum of morphologies". On the face of it this question appears rather daunting, however as noted above the tools are available to actually gain real insights into the underlying mechanism of morphological change, and it is this possibility that provides the rationale for the proposed workshop on "Evolution and Development." It is proposed that "experts in the field" be brought together and have them present what is ongoing in their laboratories. This should help to define the current status of the field scientifically. The second task of the workshop will be to try to gain some insight into where research is or should be heading. While it is always difficult to predict the future it is hoped that the selected group of scientists will be able to provide their views in this area and that a consensus can be achieved.