Opportunities in Biology (1989) / Chapter Skim
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12. Biology Research Infrastructure and Recommendations
12. Biology Research Infrastructure and Recommendations
Pages 403-424
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From page 403... ...
U.S. Scientists Are Finding It Increasingly Difficult to Maintain Their Leading Position in Biological Research On He basis of the number of publications and citation rates, the United States continues to be the dominant force in biological research.
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From page 404... ...
The United States has long encouraged and benefited from international cooperation in biological research. As other countries increasingly emerge as valuable sources of quality research, this policy of cooperation should be strengthened.
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From page 405... ...
. Support for around 70 percent of the total number of biology students comes from federal and university sources ARC, unpublished data, 1986~.
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406 o by 4000 3000 In ~ 2000 a)
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From page 407... ...
In 1986, NIGMS provided funds for approximately 55 percent of all NIH predoctoral trainees and for about 9 percent of all NIH postdoctoral trainees, the rest of the support being divided among the other units of NIH (William Pittlick, NIH, personal communication, 1987~. In total, about one-third of the predoctoral training positions are in molecular and cell biology.
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From page 408... ...
Despite impressive advances and great opportunities in biology, we are rapidly approaching a crisis in training biological researchers. Current levels of support appear inadequate in the light of the shortages of trained personnel predicted for the late l990s (see Employment section)
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From page 409... ...
receiving Ph.D.s in this field has changed little, with minorities receiving between 7 and 8 percent of the degrees in 1975 and 1987.8 to The exact percentage of Ph.D.s awarded to minority groups is difficult to determine since the number of Ph.D.s reported with unknown ethnic or visa status is large. The number of foreign students receiving doctorates in the life sciences has remained constant at about 2Q percent between 1962 and 1987.8 In the life sciences, the visa status of foreign students has also remained fairly constant, with about 4 percent of all students having permanent and 16 percent having temporary visas.8 This is in contrast to engineering, where the number of students with temporary visas has increased from 18 to 41 percent of total students between 1962 and 1987.8 Every attempt should be made to encourage complete representation of members of minority groups in the biological sciences.
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From page 410... ...
This is especially important for research in structural biology, which provides an atomic level of analysis for much of modern molecular biological research. Similarly, evolution and diversity, systematics, population biology, and ecosystem studies require an increasingly interdisciplinary approach that includes training in molecular biology, computer sciences, and mathematics.
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From page 411... ...
Ecological and Evolutionary Sciences Require More Scientists Trained in a Greater Variety of Subjects and More Manpower in General The broad interdisciplinary nature of the modern training required in ecological and evolutionary sciences must be recognized. Not only should evolutionary biologists be conversant with the rapidly developing areas of genetics, molecular biology, cell biology, and biomechanics, but they must also function in the evolutionary framework of thought that emphasizes variation, interaction, history, and the question of why rather than merely how an organism functions as it does.
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From page 412... ...
Many outstanding biology departments at private universities have no plant scientists on their faculties. The lack of plant scientists in many biology departments and the consequent lack of exposure of many biology students to the plant sciences seriously limits cross-fertilization by interdisciplinary activity and also limits the influx of talented scientists and students into plant biology research.
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From page 413... ...
Of the 94 companies responding to the survey, health care accounted for 66 percent of the total spent, whereas plant agriculture-the next highest area in terms of research and development expenditures-accounted for only 13 percent of the total. The biotechnology industry employed approximately 8,000 scientists and engineers in 1986, which is an increase of 12 percent from
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From page 414... ...
Attempts should be made to enhance university training programs at these levels, especially in biotechnology-related areas (biochemistry, cell biology, microbiology, immunology, molecular genetics, and bioprocess engineering)
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From page 415... ...
Therefore, modern biologists must have a source of research funds adequate to meet the high costs of equipment and research supplies. The amount of money spent on equipment for the life sciences at colleges and universities increased about 10 percent between 1983 and 1984 and 18 percent between 1985 and 1986.S The total amount spent for research equipment at colleges and universities was $318 million in 1986.5 Results from a national survey,~4 is which focused on equipment costing from $10,000 to $1 million, indicated that, in biology, approximately 35 percent of actively used research equipment systems are located in shared facilities.~4 The 1983 national stock of such academic research equipment in the biological sciences and deparunents of medicine was estimated to have an aggregate original cost of $555 million and a replacement cost (in constant 1982 dollars)
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From page 416... ...
To what extent could the funding of individual investigators be made more stable and longer term? Biological research is becoming more complex and therefore more expensive, and long-term commitments are often required if the desired results are to be obtained.
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From page 417... ...
The driving force is the individual investigator staking career and reputation on the pursuit of novel insights with the funding agency more or less supporting these individual efforts. Therefore, research opportunities that merit funding should rise from within the research community, from individual investigators, and should not be predetermined.
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From page 418... ...
Industry Funding and Research Is Playing an Increasing Role in Basic Biological Research Besides being a key employer of biologists, industry contributes substantially to important basic discoveries and is increasingly involved in funding extramural research projects, both basic and applied, at universities. Industrial support and research collaborations with the academic community provide a mechanism for more rapidly converting basic biological discoveries to the solutions of major industrial and social research and development problems.
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From page 419... ...
The organization and mechanisms of federal grant support of research in evolutionary biology and diversity should be seriously examined, especially since opportunities are being lost so rapidly. Plant Sciences Require a Stronger Funding Base to Ma~czmzze the Current Interest and Excitement in This Area The funds available to support basic plant sciences on a competitive basis are very limited.
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From page 420... ...
The basic conditions for growth and experimental study have often not been defined. LARGE DATA BASES AND REPOSITORIES Problems in Information Handling Are Becoming Critical The exponential increase in biological data has produced information backlogs and overwhelmed data bases.
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From page 421... ...
Collections of living organisms, such as those housed in zoos, botanical gardens, aquaria, seed banks, and tissue culture centers, urgently require increased funding for their proper preservation. The particular strains of organisms used for specific biological experiments should be preserved for future studies; genetic material that has the potential of enhancing either scientific research or the economic potential of our industry likewise merits preservation.
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From page 422... ...
Also, NSF seems committed to keeping their support for centers at 10 percent of the foundation budget. Therefore, it appears that NSF-funded individual investigators will not experience new funding shortages as a result of the creation of NSF centers.
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From page 423... ...
1985. Academic Research Equipment and Equipment Needs in the Biological and Medical Sciences.
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