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.

The exponentially increasing amounts of biological data along with comparable advances in computing power are making possible the construction of quantitative, predictive biological systems models. This development could revolutionize those biology-based fields of science. To assist this transformation, the U.S. Department of Energy asked the National Research Council to recommend mathematical research activities to enable more effective use of the large amounts of existing genomic information and the structural and functional genomic information being created. The resulting study is a broad, scientifically based view of the opportunities lying at the mathematical science and biology interface. The book provides a review of past successes, an examination of opportunities at the various levels of biological systemsâ€" from molecules to ecosystemsâ€"an analysis of cross-cutting themes, and a set of recommendations to advance the mathematics-biology connection that are applicable to all agencies funding research in this area.

The exponentially increasing amounts of biological data along with comparable advances in computing power are making possible the construction of quantitative, predictive biological systems models. This development could revolutionize those biology-based fields of science. To assist this transformation, the U.S. Department of Energy asked the National Research Council to recommend mathematical research activities to enable more effective use of the large amounts of existing genomic information and the structural and functional genomic information being created. The resulting study is a broad, scientifically based view of the opportunities lying at the mathematical science and biology interface. The book provides a review of past successes, an examination of opportunities at the various levels of biological systemsâ€" from molecules to ecosystemsâ€"an analysis of cross-cutting themes, and a set of recommendations to advance the mathematics-biology connection that are applicable to all agencies funding research in this area.

Although its importance is not always recognized, theory is an integral part of all biological research. Biologists' theoretical and conceptual frameworks inform every step of their research, affecting what experiments they do, what techniques and technologies they develop and use, and how they interpret their data. By examining how theory can help biologists answer questions like "What are the engineering principles of life?" or "How do cells really work?" the report shows how theory synthesizes biological knowledge from the molecular level to the level of whole ecosystems. The book concludes that theory is already an inextricable thread running throughout the practice of biology; but that explicitly giving theory equal status with other components of biological research could help catalyze transformative research that will lead to creative, dynamic, and innovative advances in our understanding of life.

"This book addresses the challenges that face science and mathematics education if it is to be relevant to 21st century citizens, as well as the ways that outstanding specialists from several countries around the world think it should deal with those challenges. Starting with the issue of science and mathematics teacher education in a changing world, it moves on to deal with innovative approaches to teaching science and mathematics. It then discusses contemporary issues related to the role played by technology in science and mathematics education, the challenges of the STEM agenda, and ways of making science and mathematics education more inclusive. Finally, it focuses on assessment issues, as the success of science and mathematics education depends at least in part on the purposes for which, and ways in which, students' learning is assessed. There is a worldwide trend towards providing meaningful science and mathematics education to all children for the sake of literacy and numeracy development and a need to produce enough science and technology specialists. This trend and need, coupled with the concern raised by students' disengagement in these two knowledge areas and the role that technology may play in countering it, put increasingly high demands on teachers. As shown in this book, science and mathematics education may offer a unique contribution in developing responsible citizens by fostering skills required in order to assume wider responsibilities and roles, focusing on personal, social and environmental dimensions. For instance, it offers unique insights into how teachers can build on students' complicated and interconnected real-worlds to help them learn authentic and relevant science and mathematics. Additionally, the book highlights potential positive relationships between science and mathematics, which are often envisaged as having a conflicting relationship in school curricula. By uncovering the similarities between them, and by providing evidence that both areas deal with issues that are relevant for citizens' daily lives, the book explores ways of linking and giving coherence to science and mathematics knowledge as components of everyday life settings. It also provides directions for future research on the educational potential of interconnecting science and mathematics at the different educational levels. Therefore, this is a worthwhile book for researchers, teacher educators and schoolteachers. It covers theoretical perspectives, research-based approaches and practical applications that may make a difference in education that is relevant and inclusive for citizens in the 21st century"--

Advances in computer science and technology and in biology over the last several years have opened up the possibility for computing to help answer fundamental questions in biology and for biology to help with new approaches to computing. Making the most of the research opportunities at the interface of computing and biology requires the active participation of people from both fields. While past attempts have been made in this direction, circumstances today appear to be much more favorable for progress. To help take advantage of these opportunities, this study was requested of the NRC by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy. The report provides the basis for establishing cross-disciplinary collaboration between biology and computing including an analysis of potential impediments and strategies for overcoming them. The report also presents a wealth of examples that should encourage students in the biological sciences to look for ways to enable them to be more effective users of computing in their studies.