A New Biology for the 21st Century, Ensuring that the United States Leads the Coming Biology Revolution

这一行动部分资助了美国国家科学院召开一个委员会，讨论“面向21世纪的新生物学”。该项目还得到了美国国立卫生研究院和能源部的资助。它评估了生命科学研究的现状，通过综合和整合取得进展的潜力，以及由此对资助战略、决策、基础设施和教育的影响。该委员会包括约15名成员，代表生物科学的广泛领域，以及在物理、计算科学和工程学方面具有不同机构观点的成员，包括文理学院、私立研究基金会、主要研究型大学和私营行业。该委员会还利用外部专家提供更多领域的专业知识。该委员会计划在2008年11月至2009年8月期间举行5次会议，其中包括2008年12月3日举行的“生物学峰会”，届时主要生物研究资助机构的高级官员将概述生物学研究的潜力以及实现这一潜力所面临的挑战。峰会会议记录将于2009年初发布，随后将于2009年秋季发布委员会关于“如何实现目标”的报告。该项目背后的想法是，生物学即将进行一次伟大的合成。生物学家越来越能够将他们对单个生物“部分”的知识结合到对整体的理解中，并理解生命和物理系统是如何相互交织在一起的。委员会正在考虑的问题包括：哪些基本的生物学问题已经为理解方面的重大进展做好了准备？回答这些问题的实际结果是什么？对这些问题的回答如何才能在不久的将来带来高影响力的应用？联邦机构如何更有效地利用他们在生物研究和教育方面的投资来解决复杂的问题？哪些领域的短期投资最有可能为美国带来可观的长期利益和强大的竞争优势？

This action partially funds the National Academy of Science to convene a committee to address the "New Biology for the 21st Century." The project has also received funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy. It is an appraisal of the current state of life sciences research, the potential for progress through synthesis and integration, and the resultant implications for funding strategies, decision-making, infrastructure and education. The committee includes about 15 members, representing the breadth of the biological sciences, as well as members with expertise in the physical and computational sciences and engineering with different institutional perspectives, including liberal arts colleges, private research foundations, major research universities and private industry. The committee also draws on outside experts for additional areas of expertise. The committee plans 5 meetings between November 2008 and August 2009 including a "Biology Summit" on December 3, 2008 at which senior officials of the major biology research funding agencies will outline the potential of biology research and the challenges in reaching that potential. The Summit proceedings are to be published in early 2009 and followed in the fall, 2009 by the committee's report on "how to get there." The idea underlying the project is that biology is poised for a great synthesis. Biologists are increasingly able to combine their knowledge of individual biological "parts" into an understanding of the whole and to understand how living and physical systems are intertwined. Among the questions the committee is considering are: What fundamental biological questions are ready for major advances in understanding? What would be the practical result of answering those questions? How could answers to those questions lead to high impact applications in the near future? How can federal agencies more effectively leverage their investments in biological research and education to address complex problems? In what areas would near term investment be most likely to lead to substantial long-term benefit and a strong, competitive advantage for the United States?