National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×

Image

Reflections on the National
Science Foundation’s
Understanding the
Rules of Life Program

_____________

Carol Berkower, Rapporteur

Board on Life Sciences

Division on Earth and Life Studies

Proceedings of a Workshop Series

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×

NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001

This activity was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-70262-1
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-70262-3
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/27020

This publication is available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu.

Copyright 2023 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and National Academies Press and the graphical logos for each are all trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation’s Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27020.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. John L. Anderson is president.

The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.

The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.

Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×

Consensus Study Reports published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine document the evidence-based consensus on the study’s statement of task by an authoring committee of experts. Reports typically include findings, conclusions, and recommendations based on information gathered by the committee and the committee’s deliberations. Each report has been subjected to a rigorous and independent peer-review process and it represents the position of the National Academies on the statement of task.

Proceedings published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine chronicle the presentations and discussions at a workshop, symposium, or other event convened by the National Academies. The statements and opinions contained in proceedings are those of the participants and are not endorsed by other participants, the planning committee, or the National Academies.

Rapid Expert Consultations published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are authored by subject-matter experts on narrowly focused topics that can be supported by a body of evidence. The discussions contained in rapid expert consultations are considered those of the authors and do not contain policy recommendations. Rapid expert consultations are reviewed by the institution before release.

For information about other products and activities of the National Academies, please visit www.nationalacademies.org/about/whatwedo.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×

PLANNING COMMITTEE ON UNDERSTANDING THE RULES OF LIFE PROGRAM—SCIENTIFIC ADVANCEMENTS AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES: A WORKSHOP SERIES

DAVID SHAW (Chair), Provost and Executive Vice President, Mississippi State University

DENNIS E. DISCHER (NAE/NAM), Robert D. Bent Professor, University of Pennsylvania

KOSTANTINOS T. KONSTANTINIDIS, Richard C. Tucker Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology

JENNIFER MARTINY, Professor, University of California, Irvine

MARGARET MCFALL-NGAI (NAS), Director, Division of Biosphere Sciences and Engineering, Carnegie Institution for Science

CONNIE J. MULLIGAN, Professor, University of Florida

RANDY J. NELSON, Professor and Chair, Department of Neuroscience, West Virginia University

KEEGAN SAWYER, Project Manager, KeyLogic Associates

COREY J. WILSON, Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology

Staff

KAVITA M. BERGER, Director, Board on Life Sciences

CAMILLA YANDOC ABLES, Study Director, Senior Program Officer

JESSICA DE MOUY, Research Associate

CHRISTL A. SAUNDERS, Program Coordinator

Consultants

CAROL BERKOWER, Science Writer

ANNE FRANCES JOHNSON, Editor

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×

This page intentionally left blank.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×

Reviewers

This Proceedings of a Workshop Series was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings:

DANIEL BOLNICK, University of Connecticut

DENNIS DISCHER (NAS/NAM), University of Pennsylvania

HOLLIE PUTNAM, University of Rhode Island

DANIEL TALMAGE, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by DAVID D. MOORE (NAS). He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteur and the National Academies.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×

This page intentionally left blank.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×

Acronyms and Abbreviations

3D three-dimensional
AD anaerobic digesters
AI artificial intelligence
ATP adenosine triphosphate
C3 plants in which the initial product of the assimilation of carbon dioxide through photosynthesis is 3-phosphoglycerate, which contains three carbon atoms
ChIP-seq chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing, a method used to analyze protein interactions with DNA
CO2 carbon dioxide
DEB dynamic energy budget
DNA deoxyribonucleic acid
F1 filial 1, the first filial generation plant or animal offspring resulting from a cross-mating of distinctly different parental types
Hi-C a high-throughput genomic and epigenomic technique method for analyzing chromatin interactions
K-12 elementary and secondary school grades kindergarten through grade 12
LC-MS/MS liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with mass spectrometry
LTER long-term ecological research
mRNA messenger RNA
N2O nitrous oxide
ncRNA non-coding RNA
NIH National Institutes of Health
NSF National Science Foundation
PCR polymerase chain reaction
PI principal investigator
RNA ribonucleic acid
RNA-seq RNA sequencing
rRNA ribosomal RNA
SNP single nucleotide polymorphism
STEM science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×
TEK traditional ecological knowledge
tRNA transfer RNA
URoL Understanding the Rules of Life
URoL:EN URoL: Emergent Networks program
URoL:MIM URoL: Microbiome Interactions and Mechanisms program
URoL:MTM URoL: Microbiome Theory and Mechanisms program
YTH YTH (protein domain), a member of the YTH family that has been shown to selectively remove transcripts of meiosis-specific genes expressed in mitotic cells
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×
Page R1
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×
Page R2
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×
Page R3
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×
Page R4
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×
Page R5
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×
Page R6
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×
Page R7
Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×
Page R8
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×
Page R9
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×
Page R10
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×
Page R11
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27020.
×
Page R12
Next: The National Science Foundation's Big Ideaon Understanding the Rules of Life »
Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series Get This Book
×
 Reflections on the National Science Foundation's Understanding the Rules of Life Program: Proceedings of a Workshop Series
Buy Paperback | $23.00 Buy Ebook | $18.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

In 2016, the National Science Foundation (NSF) established a five-year program on Understanding the Rules of Life (URoL) to identify generalizable rules that govern biological systems at micro and macro levels. At the request of NSF, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a series of workshops to explore the achievements of the URoL program. Presenters and participants discussed integration of multi-disciplinary, systems-level approaches, broader implications for studying highly complex systems, future scientific questions and future societal needs, and the production of generalizable rules that apply to different fields and scales. This publication summarizes the presentation and discussion of the workshop.

READ FREE ONLINE

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!