Now more than ever, biology has the potential to contribute practical solutions to many of the major challenges confronting the United States and the world. A New Biology for the 21st Century recommends that a "New Biology" approach-one that depends on greater integration within biology, and closer collaboration with physical, computational, and earth scientists, mathematicians and engineers-be used to find solutions to four key societal needs: sustainable food production, ecosystem restoration, optimized biofuel production, and improvement in human health. The approach calls for a coordinated effort to leverage resources across the federal, private, and academic sectors to help meet challenges and improve the return on life science research in general.

This volume contains contributions from scientists in the fields of medicinal chemistry and pharmacology. It covers new lead discovery, protein structure-function relationships, pharmacophore studies and bioavailability manipulation.

Political Science/Political Freedom & Security/ Intelligence

Examines a handful of famous ocean explorers and naturalists--including Jacque Cousteau, Thor Heyerdahl, and Rachel Carson, among others--to demonstrate how their work helped shape the way many Americans would think about, and interact with, the ocean.

This collection of papers prepared for the World Future Society's Ninth General Assembly presents long-range visions by outstanding thinkers.

Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for--and in many cases is already affecting--a broad range of human and natural systems. The compelling case for these conclusions is provided in Advancing the Science of Climate Change, part of a congressionally requested suite of studies known as America's Climate Choices. While noting that there is always more to learn and that the scientific process is never closed, the book shows that hypotheses about climate change are supported by multiple lines of evidence and have stood firm in the face of serious debate and careful evaluation of alternative explanations. As decision makers respond to these risks, the nation's scientific enterprise can contribute through research that improves understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change and also is useful to decision makers at the local, regional, national, and international levels. The book identifies decisions being made in 12 sectors, ranging from agriculture to transportation, to identify decisions being made in response to climate change. Advancing the Science of Climate Change calls for a single federal entity or program to coordinate a national, multidisciplinary research effort aimed at improving both understanding and responses to climate change. Seven cross-cutting research themes are identified to support this scientific enterprise. In addition, leaders of federal climate research should redouble efforts to deploy a comprehensive climate observing system, improve climate models and other analytical tools, invest in human capital, and improve linkages between research and decisions by forming partnerships with action-oriented programs.

Written in a conversational style, this book explores today's technologies and the future of manufacturing -- through details of the product design process, rapid prototyping, a survey of manufacturing techniques relevant to today's production of consumer electronics or electromechanical devices, and the field of Biotechnology. It gives readers a broader appreciation of the impact of manufacturing process and not just manufacturing per se. A overview of the broader issues includes: the time to market, development of a new product, launching products into the marketplace, quality control, and the impact of technology on the next generation of products. Chapter topics cover manufacturing analysis; product design, computer aided design, and solid modeling; solid freeform fabrication and rapid prototyping; semiconductor manufacturing; computer manufacturing; metal-products manufacturing; plastics-products manufacturing and system assembly; and biotechnology. For executive education courses, appealing to both engineering and business professionals.