Concepts in Biology BIO AC Meeting, Oct. 18-19, 2007
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Transcript of Concepts in Biology BIO AC Meeting, Oct. 18-19, 2007
Concepts in BiologyBIO AC Meeting, Oct. 18-19, 2007
Advancing innovation and competitiveness at the convergence of the life and physical sciences and
engineering
NSF Strategic Goals
Discovery
Learning
Research Infrastructure
Stewardship
Amer. Comp. Init. (ACI)
Fundamental Research
21st Century Workforce
Transformative Facilities & Infrastructure
Quality Merit Review
BIO Priorities
Core Programs, Emerging Frontiers
Broadening participation activities
NEON, Plant Cyber Collaborative, CEIN
Transformative research, organizational change / managing the core
BIO at NSF: Integrating with ACI
21st Century Innovation Will Rely on Biology
Discoveries at all levels of biology will reverberate throughout science and provide the transformational
insights that will lead to practical solutions in seemingly unrelated research areas. (NRC Report)
Biology: Shaping the Future
• The 21st century will be “The Age of Biology” because classic grand challenges are now within reach.
Biological information is exploding Ingenious new toolsNon-biologists are turning to living systems
• BIO will advance the frontiers of knowledge at the intersection of the life and physical sciences and engineering
• Foster ACI relevant initiatives that support discovery at the intersection of the life and physical sciences
• Understanding the “molecular basis of life”
• Discovery – From simple to complex: a single gene change is responsible for generating a more complex multi-chambered heart.
• Discovery - “Small RNAs” are a ubiquitous, potent set of molecules that regulate cellular process including development, pathogen defense and stress response
• “Improving our understanding of global climate variability and change” (OMB/OSTP Letter)
• Discovery – Research into Earth’s ancient climate reveals the importance of the biosphere in driving global change.
Core/ACI
Biology: Shaping the Future
Concepts in Biology• Origins: Use Synthetic Biology to discover the molecular basis
of life and develop and test models of emergent complexity • Energy: Expand knowledge of living energy-transduction
systems to inform the development of new biology-based, renewable energy technologies.
• Adaptation: Discover the underlying mechanisms that enable living organisms to survive, adapt to, and transform their environment.
Managing the Core
Adaptation: Ecological ForecastingDiscovery
Crenarchaeota, the first discovered nitrogen fixing archaea, are emerging as a
major driver of the global carbon and nitrogen cycles
Origins: How, where, and when did life on Earth begin?
• Where did the molecules necessary to begin life originate?
• How did the complex biological chemistry of life* emerge from pre-biotic chemistry and geochemistry?
*Self-contained – The Cell
*Self-sustaining - Energy
*Self-perpetuating - Reproduction and Evolution
• Are there alternative routes to life?
Open system chemistry
Encapsulated, self-sustaining biochemistry
Basic elements
Model Digital WorldsCharles Ofria, Claus O. Wilke (NSF/BIO)
Origins: How, where, and when did life on Earth begin?
?
Life as we know it
Transitions and transformations
Knowledge about the “Last Universal Common Ancestor” for life on Earth will define constraints on the pre-biotic conditions that gave rise to life and will inform our understanding of the onset and early evolution of life.
Can the indispensable requirements for life—including the pre-biotic conditions and steps leading to life—be revealed by Synthetic Biology?
Stanley Miller
PS IETL/C60Au AgITO
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photone-
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Energy: How is energy obtained and used by living systems to sustain life?
What are the systems by which life forms obtain and use energy to sustain life?
Understanding the wide variety of energy transduction systems will inspire and enable the development of biology-based technologies capable of delivering sustainable, renewable, efficient energy.
Assemble the basics
Biofuels
Applied
Photosynthesis
Barry Bruce ( NSF/BIO)
Agrivida NSF/ENG SBIR
Chloroplast
Energy: How is energy obtained and used by living systems to sustain life?
The discovery of new life forms on Earth will enhance our knowledge of self-sustaining energy systems.
A vast microbial world has yet to be incorporated into a fundamental concept of life’s history.
Life as we don’t know it.
Life as we know it.
Mars
EuropaAntarctica
Deep ocean
Kilometers of water
Microbes two miles down derive energy from radiation
Tullis Onstott, Lisa Pratt (NSF/GEO)
Adaptation in the Story of Life: What has survived and how?
How have some life forms survived geological and climate altering events and successfully adapted to a transformed biosphere?
Knowledge of life’s resilience and adaptations to planetary change will require a theoretically and conceptually rich interdisciplinary effort.
Adaptation and survival
Neo Martinez (NSF/BIO)Extinction
Transformations
Adaptation in the Story of Life: What will survive and how?
Understanding life’s resilience and adaptation to planetary change will enable realistic predictions for the future of life on Earth in response to:
• Global climate change – NEON • Human activities• Disruptive events• Fresh water depletion
Choices
Changes
• Global Climate Change• Climate Change and Disruptive Events • Dynamics of Earth’s Water System • Center for the Environmental Implications
of Nanotechnology (CEIN)
BIO Environmental Science
• National Ecological Observatory Network
• Research and development of environmental sensors and sensor networks, cyberinfrastructure, and enabling technologies
• A goal of observing, modeling and analyzing a wide range of complex environmental systems.
Discovery
Restoring marine biodiversity through an ecosystem based
management approach is essential to avoid serious
threats to global food security, costal water quality
and ecosystem stability
National Science FoundationFiscal Year 2008 update
Waiting on a budgetOperating under a continuing resolution
Not unusual for this time of year
FY 2008 Administration’s request is $6.43 Billion, a 6.8 % increase over 2007
Research and Related Activities is $5.13 Billion, a 7.7 % increase over 2007
STATUS: House and Senate appropriation bills provide for R&RA funding similar to the administration request, but differ in extent of increased funding for Education and Human Resource (EHR) programs.
Reflects emphasis on American Competitiveness Initiative
National Science FoundationFiscal Year 2008 update
National Science FoundationFiscal Year 2008 update
$ %FY 2003 Actual (NSF Total) $5,369.34BIO 580.90 607.85 633.00 25.15 4.1%CISE 496.35 526.69 574.00 47.31 9.0%ENG (less SBIR/STTR) 486.39 519.67 566.89 47.22 9.1% SBIR/STTR 99.07 108.88 116.41 7.53 6.9%GEO 703.95 744.85 792.00 47.15 6.3%MPS 1,086.61 1,150.30 1,253.00 102.70 8.9%SBE 201.23 213.76 222.00 8.24 3.9%OCI 127.14 182.42 200.00 17.58 9.6%OISE 42.61 40.61 45.00 4.39 10.8%OPP 390.54 438.10 464.90 26.80 6.1%IA 233.30 231.37 263.00 31.63 13.7%ARC 1.17 1.45 1.49 0.04 2.8%
Research & Related Activities Total $4,449.25 $4,765.95 $5,131.69 $365.74 7.7%36574.0%Totals may not add due to rounding.
FY 2008 R&RA Request by DirectorateFY 2006 Actual
FY 2007 Request
FY 2008 Request
FY 2008 Request
Change over FY 2007 Request
FY 2008 RequestResearch and Related Activities by directorate
Challenges for the Future
• Conveying the message that biology is more than biomedicine
• Creating the Directorate of the future
• Managing novel research infrastructure in the context of long term research priorities National Ecological Observatory Network Plant Cyberinfrastructure
NSF’s RoleGoal: Inspire a new generation of scientists, engineers, and educators to create new knowledge and technologies to sustain life on Earth, adapt to a changing world, and explore our universe.
Why NSF: Success requires collaborative research and education across the range of sciences and engineering uniquely encompassed by NSF.
Chemistry, Geochemistry
Time
Plant biology, Biochemistry
Microbiology,Ecology
Evolution, Astronomy, Astrobiology
Engineering, Synthetic biology, Computational and Mathematical modeling, Nanotechnology
Physical anthropology, Archaeology
End of Presentation