Life Sciences and Related Fields Trends Relevant to the Biological Weapons Convention (2011) / Chapter Skim
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4 Integration of Multiple Disciplines in Life Sciences Research
4 Integration of Multiple Disciplines in Life Sciences Research
Pages 81-92
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From page 81... ...
The importance of integrating contributions drawn from these multiple disci plines and applying them to life sciences challenges has been recognized in a variety of recent reports and articles (NRC, 2009b, 2010a, 2011c; Sharp et al., 2011) , and was illustrated by many of the presentations during the Beijing workshop.
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From page 82... ...
[w] e can harness the historic convergence between life sciences and physical sciences that's underway today; undertaking public projects–-in the spirit of the Human Genome Project -- to create data and capabilities that fuel discoveries in tens of thousands of labora tories; and identifying and overcoming scientific and bureaucratic bar riers to rapidly translating scientific breakthroughs into diagnostics and therapeutics that serve patients.
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From page 83... ...
4.2 EXAMPLES OF AREAS IN THE LIFE SCIENCES THAT REFLECT THE CONVERGENCE OF MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES The Beijing workshop clearly reflected the multidisciplinary and integrative nature of modern life sciences research and highlighted the grow ing diversity of fields relevant to the future of the BWC. Although areas covered during the workshop are discussed in greater detail in Chapters
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From page 84... ...
As a result, the integra tion of multiple disciplines to create novel delivery systems and biomaterials is likely to continue as a significant area of interest in the life sciences.
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From page 85... ...
In this fashion, synthetic biologists seek to apply principles of engineering design drawn from areas such as electronic circuit construction to living systems. Although many challenges remain, the field integrates physical sciences and engineering approaches with those in the life sciences with the goal of ultimately creating novel biological applications.
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From page 86... ...
For example, several species of gastrointestinal bacteria produce and secrete enterotoxins, which gen erally act by altering ion permeability across the membranes of cells in the intestine and cause vomiting and diarrhea. Botulinum toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, on the other hand, interferes with release of the signaling molecule acetylcholine at junctions between nerve and muscle cells and causes paralysis.
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From page 87... ...
4.4.2 Biological Regulators Bioregulators are small molecules that modulate physiological function, for example by activating or inhibiting enzymes, binding to cellu lar receptors and activating signaling pathways, and influencing DNA regulation. These substances act as neurotransmitters and hormones and are frequently based on or derived from individual amino acids and small peptides.
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From page 88... ...
. Both chemical synthesis using nucleotide building blocks (to assemble nucleic acids such as DNA and create synthetic genetic material)
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From page 89... ...
As science advances, it is also increasingly possible to design metabolic pathways in biological systems that can produce additional types of chemical drugs. Research exploring terpenoid biosynthetic pathways, for example, enabled the metabolic engineering of yeast to produce the antimalarial drug precursor artemisinic acid (Ro et al., 2006)
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From page 90... ...
and at the 2007 international scientific workshop convened by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) prior to the Second CWC Review Conference (Balali-Mood et al., 2008)
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From page 91... ...
4.4 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES RELATED TO THE INTEGRATION OF DISCIPLINES IN THE LIFE SCIENCES For many years, discussions of relevant S&T areas for the BWC have involved more than the traditional microbial threat agents that were the focus of national offensive biological weapons programs prior to the treaty's entry into force in 1975. The increasing integration of the physical, engineering, and mathematical sciences with the biological sciences con tinues to expand the scope of these discussions.
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From page 92... ...
might contribute to the consideration of the future challenges to both treaties posed by advances in S&T, including future threat agents and their meth ods of production. Despite these potential challenges, the integration of diverse perspectives and the convergence of multiple disciplines in the life sci ences remains an exciting trend.
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