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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
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IMPLEMENTING THE NEW BIOLOGY

Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment

SUMMARY OF A WORKSHOP JUNE 3-4, 2010

Paula Tarnapol Whitacre, Adam P. Fagen, Jo L. Husbands, and Frances E. Sharples

Planning Committee on Achieving Research Synergies for Food/Energy/Environment Challenges: A Workshop to Explore the Potential of the “New Biology”

Board on Life Sciences

Division on Earth and Life Studies

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS

Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
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Washington, DC 20001

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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International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-16194-0

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
×

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.


www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
×

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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
×

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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
×

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.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
×

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.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
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Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2010. Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13018.
×
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As the second decade of the 21st century begins, the challenge of how to feed a growing world population and provide sustainable, affordable energy to fulfill daily needs, while also improving human health and protecting the environment, is clear and urgent. Increasing demand for food and energy is projected at the same time as the supply of land and other resources decrease. Increasing levels of greenhouse gasses alter climate, which, in turn, has life-changing implications for a broad range of plant and animal species.

But promising developments are on the horizon--scientific discoveries and technologies that have the potential to contribute practical solutions to these seemingly intractable problems. As described in the 2009 National Research Council book, A New Biology for the 21st Century, biological research has experienced extraordinary scientific and technological advances in recent years that have allowed biologists to collect and make sense of ever more detailed observations at ever smaller time intervals. With these advances have come increasingly fruitful collaborations of biologists with scientists and engineers from other disciplines.

A New Biology for the 21st Century called for a series of workshops to provide concrete examples of what New Biology research programs could look like. The present volume summarizes the first of those workshops, Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment.

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