A Workshop to address the Grand Challenge: How Organisms Walk the Tightrope Between Stability and Change?

对生物学来说，理解生命系统的复杂性及其工作原理是一项重大挑战。目前，我们还不清楚复杂生命系统的哪些特性使它们能够灵活地应对环境，而不是那些不能在不破坏整个系统的情况下改变的特性。对于必须应对当前和未来气候变化的有机体来说，这一点尤为重要。例如，动物发挥功能所必需的许多过程都与温度有关。即使是温度的微小变化也可能扰乱个体的发育或功能，从而影响人类赖以生存的物种和系统。一些生物成功地适应了环境的变化，而另一些生物却无法适应环境变化并走向灭绝。该项目将支持将于2012年11月在弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿举行的一个重要讲习班。这次研讨会的目标是解决这一重大挑战问题，确定关键的研究和信息需求，并促进在解决这一问题方面取得进展所需的合作。这次研讨会将汇集来自非常广泛的领域的科学家，他们通常不会进行互动，这样他们就可以将各自领域的专业知识带给其他人，建立桥梁并开发共同的语言。这一努力将使知识和解决方案得以转移，并确定我们需要新信息的关键领域，这些信息将构成解决这些关键问题所需的新研究的基础。为了确保包括来自广泛领域的最优秀的科学家，将于2012年8月在纽约州冷泉港召开一个指导委员会，以挑选研讨会参与者，制定研讨会的具体议程，并事先与参与者进行沟通，以便他们来到研讨会时为手头的工作做好充分准备。这次研讨会的更广泛的影响包括对这一研究问题的中心关注，该问题已被确定为组织生物学中的一项重大挑战。研讨会和指导委员会将包括不同的科学家，包括来自大大小小机构的科学家、在科学界代表性不足的群体的成员以及各种研究领域的成员。这个研讨会将被用来制定一个研究议程，以解决21世纪有机生物学家面临的这个重要问题。

Understanding the complexity of living systems and how they work is a major challenge for biology. At present, we do not understand what properties of complex living systems allow them to be flexible, and change in response to the environment, versus those that cannot change without disrupting the whole system. This is particularly important for organisms that must deal with current and future climate change. For example, many of the processes that are essential for animals to function are temperature dependent. Even small changes in temperature could disrupt development or functioning of individuals, thereby affecting species and systems on which humans depend. Some organisms successfully adapt to environmental change, while others cannot and go extinct. This project will support an important workshop that will be held in November 2012 in Arlington, Virginia. The goals of this workshop are to address this grand challenge question, to identify key research and information needs, and facilitate the collaborations that will be needed to make progress addressing this question. This workshop will bring together scientists from very wide ranging fields who do not normally interact so that they can bring the expertise of their fields to others, build bridges and develop a common language. This effort will allow knowledge and solutions to be transferred, and identify key areas where we need new information that will form the basis of new research that is needed to address these critical questions. To make sure that the best scientists from a broad range of fields are included, there will be a steering committee that will meet in August 2012 in Cold Spring Harbor, NY to select workshop participants, set the specific agenda of the workshop, and communicate with participants beforehand so that they come to the workshop fully prepared for the work at hand. The broader impacts of this workshop include the central focus on this research question that has been identified as a Grand Challenge in Organismal Biology. The workshop and the steering committee will include a diversity of scientists including those from small and large institutions, members of groups underrepresented in the sciences, and a diversity of research areas. This workshop will be used to develop a research agenda to address this important question facing organismal biologists in the 21st century.