Excerpt

The potential dual use of life sciences knowledge, tools, and techniques reinforces the need for the scientific community to be aware of the norms of responsible and appropriate scientific conduct, as well as international and national legal requirements. Over the past decade, national and international scientific organizations having become increasingly engaged in issues related to the responsibilities of the scientific community to help reduce the risks of misuse of life sciences research (Bowman et al., 2011; IAP, 2005; NRC, 2004, 2006a, 2009a, c, 2011a; OECD, 2004; Royal Society and Wellcome Trust, 2004; WHO, 2005, 2007a). Scientists can also play a useful role in communicating with policy makers and civil society to help them understand the nature, applications, and potential positive and negative implications of developments in their field. Perspectives from the scientific community can contribute to discussions of how to create the best mix of policies and practices to achieve safety and security without unduly hampering global scientific progress for beneficial applications. This is the motivation and foundation for the workshop and the committee's report.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• COMMITTEE ON TRENDS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY RELEVANT TO THE BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION: AN INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP
• BOARD ON LIFE SCIENCES
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Summary
  • S.1 INTRODUCTION
  • S.2 PACE OF S&T DEVELOPMENTS
  • S.3 DIFFUSION OF RESEARCH AND CAPACITY
  • S.4 INTEGRATION OF LIFE SCIENCES WITH OTHER DISCIPLINES
  • S.5 DRIVERS AND ROADBLOCKS
  • S.6 LOOKING AHEAD: FUTURE APPROACHES TO MONITORING S&T TRENDS FOR THE BWC
  • S.7 CONCLUSIONS
• 1. Introduction
  • 1.1 BACKGROUND
  • 1.2 THE BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION AND S&T
  • 1.3 ADVISING ABOUT S&T: THE GROWING ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATIONS
  • 1.4 POTENTIAL POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE APPLICATIONS OF ADVANCES IN THE LIFE SCIENCES
  • 1.5 ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
• 2. The Pace of Developments in the Life Sciences
  • 2.1 ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
  • 2.2 ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES
  • 2.3 SUMMARY REMARKS ON CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNTIES RELATED TO THE PACE OF S&T DEVELOPMENTS
• 3. Diffusion of Life Sciences Research Capacity and Applications
  • 3.1 GLOBAL R&D CAPACITY AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
  • 3.2 DISEASE SURVEILLANCE AND RESPONSE SYSTEMS: A RESEARCH AREA THAT EXEMPLIFIES GLOBAL LIFE SCIENCES CAPACITY AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION RELEVANT TO THE BWC
  • 3.3 MICROBIAL FORENSICS: AN OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF GROWING INTERNATIONAL S&T CAPACITY TO SUPPORT THE BWC
  • 3.4 DOING LIFE SCIENCES RESEARCH OUTSIDE TRADITIONAL INSTITUTIONS
• 4. Integration of Multiple Disciplines in Life Sciences Research
  • 4.1 THE BREADTH OF RELEVANT FIELDS IN THE LIFE SCIENCES AND THE CONVERGENCE OF THE LIFE SCIENCES WITH OTHER DISCIPLINES
  • 4.2 EXAMPLES OF AREAS IN THE LIFE SCIENCES THAT REFLECT THE CONVERGENCE OF MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES
  • 4.3 THE CONVERGENCE OF CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGY
  • 4.4 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES RELATED TO THE INTEGRATION OF DISCIPLINES IN THE LIFE SCIENCES
• 5. Monitoring and Assessing Trends in Science and Technology
  • 5.1 DRIVERS AND ROADBLOCKS FOR S&T DEVELOPMENT
  • 5.2 THE RELEVANCE OF S&T TO THE BWC: LOOKING BEYOND ARTICLE I
  • 5.3 ROLE OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY
  • 5.4 SUMMING UP: THE COMMITTEE’S FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
• References
• APPENDIXES
  • Appendix A Committee Member Biographies
  • Appendix B National and International Scientific Organizations Relevant to the BWC
  • Appendix C Workshop Agenda and Participants

In cooperation with: Chinese Academy of Sciences, IAP—the Global Network of Science Academies, International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, International Union of Microbiological Societies

This project was supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation under Award 2009-12-14, Chinese Academy of Sciences, IAP—the Global Network of Science Academies, U.K. Global Partnership Programme under Award 2010072600092647, U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency through TASC under Award 7500080708, U.S. Department of State under Award SAQMMA10M2776, U.S. National Institutes of Health under Award N01-OD-4-2139 (Task Order 236), and U.S. National Academies.

The views expressed herein are those of the authors, and the content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.