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OCR for page 15
1
The New Biology
Brightly colored cells can be followed as they move, their structural changes
can be monitored, and even their internal chemistry is visible with advanced
imaging techniques. Such a wide variety of features is now readily observed with
specific fluorescent probes and a fluorescence microscope and with computer-
imaging methods. This new ability is illustrated on the cover of this report, where
cells migrating into a wound are shown. The biochemical, physical, and data-
processing techniques that allow such pictures represent just some of the many
new research tools that have revolutionized biology and allowed us to observe and
begin to understand what is happening inside living organisms and their cells.
This report attempts to elucidate the present state of biology and to predict
some of this science's goals and research opportunities. Such an attempt is filled
with uncertainties, for biological research is dynamic and scientific breakthroughs
unpredictable. Our primary objectives are to show the currently exciting activity
in biology and to explore foreseeable research opportunities; we fully appreciate
the explosive nature of biological research and the near impossibility of anticipat-
ing the many directions that may assume central importance in the immediate
future.
We are afforded some help in anticipating the future by our recognition of the
unity of biology. Valuable information on intractable research systems can be
gained by drawing direct parallels from more tractable research systems. For
example, although substantial differences exist among yeasts, plants, and animals,
their mechanisms of gene expression at the molecular level are strikingly similar.
As a result, each new bit of information obtained by studying yeasts and other
model organisms has a good chance of being useful for understanding many other
experimental systems. The principles of physics, chemistry, and biology that
apply to living systems, be they entire ecosystems, unicellular organisms, or
15
OCR for page 16
16
OPPORTUNITIES IN BIOLOGY
individual organelles, operate at the core of biological function. The main role for
biologists today is to elucidate these basic principles and determine how they are
modified to produce the diverse world we inhabit.
Divisions Between Traditional Disciplines Are Being Removed
Over the past two decades, contemporary biology research has been launched
into an era in which many new biological principles can be determined and
studied experimentally. Quantum leaps in understanding have been made in such
areas as enzyme catalysis, molecular recognition, transmembrane signaling, ge-
netics, and organismal relationships. With these advances, disciplines such as
molecular, cellular, and developmental biology have become impossible to sepa-
rate, so that the borders between traditional fields of study have become largely
artificial. Similarly, the organismal sciences, such as ecology, are now closely
linked to physiology, behavior, and molecular biology. These developments
reflect a synergism among disciplines that is unprecedented in the history of
biological research. An example is the discovery and characterization of an
important new class of antibiotics from the skin of the clawed African frog,
Xenopus laevis. Here, the observation that these frogs resist infection led rapidly
to the isolation of the protein antibiotic, the sequencing of this protein and its
complementary DNA (cDNA), and now to the possibility of controlling infec-
tions by using the antibiotic.
Spectacular advances are being made in determining the molecular structure of
proteins and nucleic acids by physical methods such as x-ray crystallography and
nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Here too, techniques of molecular
biology are being used, allowing scientists to analyze the effects of designed
changes in the amino acid sequence of enzymes on structure and catalytic func-
tion. In the future, the results from these studies will have direct application to the
development of improved agriculture and health care by guiding the production of
modified preexisting enzymes as well as the production of other new molecules
that can be used as therapeutic drugs.
Advances made in determining ways in which organisms interact have revolu-
tionized the study of ecology. For example, the pheromones, or chemical signals,
of insects and mammals have been shown to play crucial roles in the organisms'
biology. Pheromones influence the attraction of mates, the recognition of specific
mating groups, and the synchronization of biological cycles. Recently, phero-
mones have been exploited to alter the behavior of pest organisms in agroecosys-
tems to bring about their control without the use of synthetic chemical insecti-
cides.
A recent application of the techniques of molecular biology has made it
possible to monitor the fate of microorganisms released into the environment and
has thus contributed to our understanding of ecological principles. Molecular
markers produced by recombinant DNA techniques are being developed to facili
OCR for page 17
THE NEW BIOLOGY
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late the determination of organismal spread and survival. Such findings have both
theoretical and practical applications.
Great advances should be seen in health care, with the development of power-
ful new therapeutic drugs and improved methods of diagnosis. Some of the
world's greatest health problems will reach critical levels in the next two decades.
The disease most discussed is acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), but
other problems may be of equal importance, such as atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's
disease, and many forms of cancer. We can expect significant advances through
improved diagnosis and treatment. Recombinant DNA techniques will help
OCR for page 18
18
OPPORTUNITIES IN BIOLOGY
greatly in the development of improved vaccines and in the development of
specific DNA probes that can be used for carrier detection. In addition, these
techniques make possible the commercial production of powerful cell-regulating
molecules such as growth factors. It is hoped that these compounds will have an
important role to play in the therapy of many intractable diseases.
The genomes of several different types of organisms, including human beings,
should be mapped and sequenced by early in the next century. Advances cur-
rently being made in the automation of DNA handling and sequencing should
greatly facilitate this effort. The enormous amount of sequence information then
available will provide an invaluable tool for the medical sciences, as well as for
basic biology. Obstacles in program funding and organization are being dealt
with and must be overcome before such a project can be camed out efficiently.
The characterization and protection of the world's biological diversity will be
an important issue during the next two decades. The destruction of the tropical
forests, resulting in the loss of species habitat, is largely responsible for the
accelerated rate of species extinction. Efforts are now being mounted to slow this
extinction rate through improved land management and through such methods as
the application of the principles of conservation biology and the formation of seed
banks and other collections of living organisms. In addition, biologists are trying
to understand more completely the interactions of the organisms that live in rain-
forest ecosystems. International cooperation is vital for these efforts to succeed.
It is crucial that the United States provide leadership and support in this area.
Agriculture should experience many significant changes in the next two de-
cades. There is an urgent need to make American agriculture more efficient
through research. Good prospects exist to realize benefits from biotechnology in
animal and crop agriculture. The production of transgenic agricultural organisms
with desirable simple agronomic traits, such as herbicide resistance, has already
been accomplished. Scientists are making considerable progress in the produc-
tion of transgenic organisms with more complex traits, such as drought tolerance.
Obstacles to the transfer of complex traits should be overcome with increased
basic research on gene expression and regulation.
This report identifies many of the research opportunities that currently exist in
biology and attempts to predict some of those that may emerge in the near future.
This task is difficult, since biological research is progressing so rapidly. The
report takes the reader through the disciplines of biology from molecular structure
and function to evolution and diversity, while stressing the interdisciplinary
approach taken by most biologists today. After a discussion of basic research, the
report then addresses the applications of biological research in medicine, agricul-
ture, and other areas. The report concludes with recommendations on the infra-
structure needs of future biological research.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
living organisms
