The Outlook for Science and Technology 1985 (1985) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
I. Recent Progress in Science and Technology
I. Recent Progress in Science and Technology
Pages 5-16
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 5... ...
These modified genes then encode proteins capable of changing a normal cell into a cancer cell; hence, those genes are called oncogenes. Oncogenes were first discovered through studies of animal cells infected by viruses, including the Rous sarcoma virus that 5
|
From page 6... ...
Human oncogenes were discovered by inserting DNA segments from human cancer cells into normal cells in culture. The specific DNA sequences responsible for transforming these recipient cells into cancerous cells human oncogenes are closely related both to normal human genes and to viral oncogenes.
|
From page 7... ...
Research has transformed our view of the endothelium from an apparently simple material with simple tasks to one capable of performing an impressive array of complex functions, among them the regulation of blood pressure, blood clotting, and the growth of new capillaries. The structure of the endothelium has been probed, as have the mechanisms by which materials cross it when moving from blood to tissue.
|
From page 8... ...
However, these same traits adaptability and complex life cycles make parasites attractive for the investigation of such basic biological events as cell growth and differentiation. Thus, work on parasitic diseases has led to advances in molecular biology, immunology, membrane and cellular biology, biochemistry, and pharmacology.
|
From page 9... ...
The need today is for fundamental engineering knowledge-and people to translate that capacity into commercial processes. That translation faces several difficulties: · living organisms can mutate or change genetically, affecting process operations; · biological processes must be completely aseptic; and · these processes usually occur in very dilute, aqueous solutions, so the products have to be separated from large volumes of water; such separations are complicated by the fact that the products are often fragile, hard to purify, and structurally complex.
|
From page 10... ...
Other prospects lie in environmental protection, where biochemical engineering may provide methods of destroying or removing toxic products, and in the use of natural resources, such as the improved recovery of metals from low-grade ores. Advanced Polymeric Composites Bone, wood, and clam shells are natural composites: their structures have properties matched to specific purposes.
|
From page 11... ...
Advances on these and related fronts will amplify the already substantial use of advanced composites. For example, the wider use of composites in the automobile industry will depend on attaining an acceptable balance between processing speed and product quality, a useful technology for joining and repairing composites, and their long-term dimensional stability.
|
From page 12... ...
Examples inclu(le the path taken by an electron traversing a neutron star; a chemical reaction under extreme temperatures and pressures; the forces that give protons and neutrons their structure; the optimal conditions for a fusion reactor; the neural pattern triggered when, say, a finger touches an object; and climate, weather, and other atmospheric phenomena, such as tornadoes and wind shears. Finally, faster computers are vital to national security goals, weapons design, and to assessing phenomena such as "nuclear winter." Information Technology in Prernlleoe F.durntinn ~ -<5 - ~-~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ _ ~ tar The cognitive sciences combining cognitive psychology, linguistics, philosophy, and biology examine how humans process information.
|
From page 13... ...
educational research. This progress offers a major opportunity to create learning systems that can help students to acquire the knowledge and cognitive skills necessary for effective work ant!
|
From page 14... ...
The molecular basis of such signaling is now accessible, and the perspectives of physicists joining with those of biologists are expanding upon a vast array of research questions, such as how nerves conduct information and execute commands. These few examples illustrate continuing traits of physics: enormous diversity, the search for fundamental laws, strong connections to other sciences, and technological and industrial .
|
From page 15... ...
Together with the Solar Optical Telescope, this program can be expected to provide the fundamental underpinning of solar-terrestrial plasma research for the next 10 years. The overall research goal is to synthesize growing knowledge to create a unified and quantitative model of events affecting the sun and the earth: solar wind, or the plasma connection between the sun and the earth; sources of coronal heating and solar flares; and links between solar activity and magnetic storms on earth.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.