Promoting 21st Century Biology

A recent report by the National Research Council highlights the need for a new direction in biological research. "A New Biology for the 21st Century: Ensuring the United States Leads the Coming Biology Revolution," released in September 2009, calls for an interdisciplinary "New Biology" approach to solving broad societal problems in the coming century.

Integrating knowledge from sub-disciplines within biology and amongst biology and the various natural, social, and physical sciences, mathematics, and engineering presents exciting opportunities for discovery. New Biology "will permit deeper understanding of biological systems, which will both lead to biology-based solutions to societal problems and also feed back to enrich the individual scientific disciplines that contribute new insights," according to the report.

The report identified four major research goals:

• Generate food plants to adapt and grow sustainably in changing environments;
• Understand and sustain ecosystem function and biodiversity in the face of rapid change;
• Expand sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels; and
• Understand individual health.

To achieve these goals, the report calls for the establishment of an interagency "National New Biology Initiative" that would prioritize collaborative and transformative sciences, and that would receive funding beyond current federal research budgets. Additionally, the Initiative recommends allocating resources to interdisciplinary training of graduate students and educators.

The AIBS Public Policy Office is working with various stakeholders to explore the opportunities and challenges presented by this report.

Click here to read AIBS' comments on President Obama's Grand Challenges of the 21st Century.

To read the report on New Biology, please visit the National Academies Press.