B. Alberts - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by B. Alberts
Science, 2009
This week marks the launch of the new AAAS journal Science Translational Medicine . I am very ple... more This week marks the launch of the new AAAS journal Science Translational Medicine . I am very pleased that we were able to recruit Elias A. Zerhouni, the distinguished former director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, to be its chief scientific adviser, and Katrina L. Kelner, until recently the Deputy Editor for Biological Sciences at Science , to be its editor. As Zerhouni writes in his editorial, the goals of this journal, and of translational medicine more broadly, are to speed the rate at which the astounding recent advances in our basic understanding of biological mechanisms are exploited for preventing and treating human disease. *
Science, 2009
Senator Ted Kennedy's recent death from malignant glioma, an incurable brain tumor, reminds u... more Senator Ted Kennedy's recent death from malignant glioma, an incurable brain tumor, reminds us of the terrible toll that cancer takes on humanity. The United States alone experiences nearly 1.5 million new cases of cancer each year, resulting in more than 500,000 annual deaths, and about one-fourth of us will die in this way. Jim Watson, of DNA double-helix fame, argues that because of our new profound understandings of the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease, it's finally time to launch a real war on cancer. * I agree. But for success in such a project, we will need to expand the scope of “cancer research” funding, so as to include far more than work with cancer cells themselves.
Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1976
Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1994
A Role for T w o DNA Helicases in the Replication of T4 Bacteriophage DNA*
Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1984
The gene 45 protein from bacteriophage T4 has been purified and is crystallized. This protein is ... more The gene 45 protein from bacteriophage T4 has been purified and is crystallized. This protein is part of the T4 DNA replication complex. The crystallized protein is active in complementation assays. X-ray diffraction analysis is in progress; data are measured for the native and several heavy atom derivatives. The crystals diffract to about 3.5-A resolution.
The EMBO Journal, 1994
2Corresponding author Communicated by J.B.Gurdon In virtually all eukaryotes the centromeric regi... more 2Corresponding author Communicated by J.B.Gurdon In virtually all eukaryotes the centromeric regions of chromosomes are composed of heterochromatin, a specialized form of chromatin that is rich in repetitive DNA sequences and is transcriptionally relatively silent. The Drosophila GAGA transcription factor binds to GA/CT-rich sequences in many Drosophila promoters, where it activates transcription, apparently by locally altering chromatin structure and allowing other transcription factors access to the DNA. Here we report the paradoxical finding that GAGA factor is associated with specific regions of heterochromatin at all stages of the cell cycle. A subset of the highly repetitive DNA sequences that make up the bulk of heterochromatin in D.melanogaster are GA/CT-rich and we find a striking correlation between the distribution of GAGA factor and this class of repeat. We propose that GAGA factor binds directly to these repeats and may thereby play a role in modifying heterochromatin structure in these regions. Our observations demonstrate for the first time that a transcriptional regulator can associate with specific DNA sequences in a fully condensed mitotic chromosome. This may help explain how the distinctive character of a committed or differentiated cell can be maintained during cell proliferation.
Science (New York, N.Y.), Jan 4, 2008
IN RECENT YEARS, I HAVE HEARD THE ARGUMENT THAT WE ALREADY KNOW ENOUGH about fundamental biologic... more IN RECENT YEARS, I HAVE HEARD THE ARGUMENT THAT WE ALREADY KNOW ENOUGH about fundamental biological mechanisms to cure cancer, and that the best way to improve cancer outcomes would be to focus nearly all of our cancer research resources on applying what we know to develop therapies. This would be a mistake. To make my point, I describe two of many examples where a much deeper understanding of fundamental mechanisms seems almost certain to improve cancer treatments. Of necessity, I omit many other promising ways of attacking this disease. Cancer arises when the descendants of just one of our more than ten thousand billion cells proliferate out of control, eventually interfering with normal body functions. Since so many cells are at risk, the most amazing thing about cancer to me is how many years it usually takes to develop the disease. One major obstruction to the proliferation of cancerous cells is the phenomenon of apoptosis, which causes nearly all of our cells to kill themselves whenever they start to behave aberrantly. A complicated cellular signaling network determines the balance between the pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins inside animal cells. Each of our many cells is constantly sensing its external and internal environment and will sacrifice itself (for our own good) if it is either not correctly located or not behaving normally. Without mechanisms of this type, the evolution of large complex organisms such as ourselves would probably not have been possible, because the tumors caused by cancerlike diseases would have overtaken us early in life. Tumors arise after a long process of random mutation followed by multiple rounds of selection for those cells able to proliferate best. One change selected for is in apoptotic mechanisms, which will be altered in different ways in different tumors. Imagine that we could determine why the cells in an individual's tumor incorrectly compute that they need not kill themselves, as normal cells would do in their condition. If we understood the fundamental mechanisms by which cells make these decisions, we would stand an excellent chance of creating a tailored mixture of drugs that causes the tumor cells to compute differently, so that they commit suicide without harming normal cells. Another promising strategy takes advantage of the fact that essentially all cancer cells have acquired a defect in some aspect of their "DNA metabolism," often some aspect of DNA repair that causes them to become highly mutable. This genetic instability of cancer cells is selected for early in tumor development, because only such cells can evolve the multiple additional changes, including defects in apoptosis, that are necessary for most cell types to become malignant. Cells that are too genetically unstable will die. Therefore, a treatment that blocks a particular DNA repair process can be lethal for a cancer cell, while sparing normal cells. If we could determine why the cells in a particular individual tumor are genetically unstable (for example, which DNA repair protein has been altered during the evolution of that tumor), we might be able to design drugs that kill the cells in that cancer highly selectively, with little harm to normal cells. These examples of rational approaches to cancer therapy were only a dream until recently. But by targeting these types of alterations in cancer cells, researchers have made impressive progress and are thus much closer to being able to design highly selective therapies based on the critical molecular defects in an individual tumor. But for most tumors, this type of approach is still hit or miss, because oncologists are severely hampered by an inadequate understanding of the fundamental processes that are altered in a particular tumor. My conclusion: If I were the czar of cancer research, I would give a higher priority to recruiting more of our best young scientists to decipher the detailed mechanisms of both apoptosis and DNA repair, and I would give them the resources to do so.
DNA Synthesis in Vitro, 1973
Nucleic Acid-Protein Recognition, 1977
The Journal of cell biology, 1995
CP190, a protein of 1,096 amino acids from Drosophila melanogaster, oscillates in a cell cycle-sp... more CP190, a protein of 1,096 amino acids from Drosophila melanogaster, oscillates in a cell cycle-specific manner between the nucleus during interphase, and the centrosome during mitosis. To characterize the regions of CP190 responsible for its dynamic behavior, we injected rhodamine-labeled fusion proteins spanning most of CP190 into early Drosophila embryos, where their localizations were characterized using time-lapse fluorescence confocal microscopy. A single bipartite 19-amino acid nuclear localization signal was detected that causes nuclear localization. Robust centrosomal localization is conferred by a separate region of 124 amino acids; two adjacent, nonoverlapping fusion proteins containing distinct portions of this region show weaker centrosomal localization. Fusion proteins that contain both nuclear and centrosomal localization sequences oscillate between the nucleus and the centrosome in a manner identical to native CP190. Fusion proteins containing only the centrosome loca...
The Journal of cell biology, 1989
One of the first signs of cell differentiation in the Drosophila melanogaster embryo occurs 3 h a... more One of the first signs of cell differentiation in the Drosophila melanogaster embryo occurs 3 h after fertilization, when discrete groups of cells enter their fourteenth mitosis in a spatially and temporally patterned manner creating mitotic domains (Foe, V. E. and G. M. Odell, 1989, Am. Zool. 29:617-652). To determine whether cell residency in a mitotic domain is determined solely by cell position in this early embryo, or whether cell lineage also has a role, we have developed a technique for directly analyzing the behavior of nuclei in living embryos. By microinjecting fluorescently labeled histones into the syncytial embryo, the movements and divisions of each nucleus were recorded without perturbing development by using a microscope equipped with a high resolution, charge-coupled device. Two types of developmental maps were generated from three-dimensional time-lapse recordings: one traced the lineage history of each nucleus from nuclear cycle 11 through nuclear cycle 14 in a sm...
Science, 2012
The start of 2012 provides an opportunity to take stock of where we have been and where we are go... more The start of 2012 provides an opportunity to take stock of where we have been and where we are going at Science . Internet technology has been rapidly changing the way that scientists access information. This has advantages, allowing new content to be noticed around the globe as soon as it is published. But it also has disadvantages, making it easy for a scientist to receive only preselected information focused on his or her specialty. Because innovative breakthroughs often come from the intersection of disparate ways of thinking, scientists need to continually expose themselves to a broad range of disciplines and approaches. They also must work together as a community to build the strong scientific enterprise needed to create the paradigm-breaking innovations that will be required by an ever-more crowded and resource-limited world. How can we promote the wide-ranging conversations that will be necessary to meet these critical challenges?
Science, 2010
Policies that offer incentives for individuals and institutions can unintentionally induce harmfu... more Policies that offer incentives for individuals and institutions can unintentionally induce harmful behaviors. One such perverse incentive encourages U.S. universities, medical centers, and other research institutions to expand their research capacities indefinitely through funds derived from National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants. A reliance on the NIH to pay not only the salaries of scientists but also the overhead (or indirect) costs of building construction and maintenance has become a way of life at many U.S. research institutions, with potential painful consequences. The current trajectory is unsustainable, threatening to produce a glut of laboratory facilities reminiscent of the real estate bust of 2008 and, worse, a host of exhausted scientists with no means of support.
Science, 2013
I have seven grandchildren, and I worry about their future. The nation that I was raised in, the ... more I have seven grandchildren, and I worry about their future. The nation that I was raised in, the United States, has clearly lost its way at a time when the world badly needs wise leadership. Nations with a long-term view are making huge investments in their infrastructure—transportation, water, energy, waste, and recreation. And they have a laserlike focus on supporting science and engineering research with government resources. As examples, Germany, China, and South Korea come to mind. Meanwhile, the United States is living off its past. Not only do we face a crumbling infrastructure * but our federal investments in fundamental long-term R&D have been stagnant, dropping from 1.25% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 1985 to 0.87% in 2013. † Now, on top of that comes a mindless budget "sequester" that will make the situation considerably worse, causing the U.S. National Science Foundation to announce last week that it may award 1000 fewer research grants in 2013 than it...
Science, 2011
THE GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THAT IT WILL HENCEFORTH APPOINT THE president of the ... more THE GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THAT IT WILL HENCEFORTH APPOINT THE president of the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) and also, directly or indirectly, appoint the majority of academy members. In response, TÜBA's members have threatened to resign and establish a new academy that is independent of the government.* What happens next could dramatically affect Turkey's future, both because strong merit-based research in science and technology is a critical driver of modern economies, and because Turkey-like all other nations-will need to support and retain its native talent in order to prosper in the highly competitive world of the 21st century. Turkey increased its support of R&D sixfold from 1995 to 2007, reaching a current investment rate of about 0.7% of gross domestic product. In order for these resources to be well spent, it is critical that Turkey maintain an environment for science that encourages creativity and rewards excellence. Unfortunately, for the past decade Turkey's scientists have been increasingly subjected to counterproductive topdown management. Teachers are reportedly "facing increasing pressure not to teach modern theories of evolution." ‡ And new laws have placed the granting of tenure at universities in the hands of the governmentcontrolled Council for Higher Education. Today, many academic scientists are afraid to openly express their opinions on these issues. This is not the type of environment in which science can thrive, and it is likely to encourage Turkey's most talented scientists to seek careers in nations that offer much greater autonomy. TÜBA was established only in 1993, but it has already been an important force for promoting excellence in both science and science education in Turkey. For example, it has empowered young scientists through the development of a Young Academy and has focused on creating high-quality inquiry-based science education for children. Its expert guidance will be essential in the future for improving the effectiveness of the government's increasing support for science and technology, a critical function that depends on TÜBA's ability to tell the truth to government, independent of political considerations. An "academy" whose members are largely appointed by government cannot play this role effectively. Wherever they function well, academies play a major part in defi ning scientifi c excellence for a nation. Thus, for example, a scientist who has been elected to membership in the U.S. National Academy of Sciences will often be offered increased responsibilities at her or his home institution and receive leadership offers elsewhere. In part for this reason, the process of identifying possible new members and screening them through the election process is taken very seriously, requiring extensive effort from previously elected members. I know of no effective academy that selects its members in a different way. The fact that scientists themselves select their fellow academy members ensures that scientifi c excellence will be the primary criterion used to select members, and it also provides the independence from government required for each academy to provide unbiased scientifi c advice to its nation. This is why the world's association of academies, the InterAcademy Panel, has sent letters to the prime minister and the president of Turkey urging the government of Turkey to "reconsider its decision and restore TÜBA's previous governance structure and autonomy." § A nation can expect to be successful today only if it strives to create a meritocracy, in which positions of leadership and responsibility are distributed to the most outstanding individuals, irrespective of social class or personal connections. A strong, merit-based, independent national academy of sciences does not guarantee that science will thrive in a nation. But it is the best tool that I know of to make this possible.
Science, 2012
We at Science have once again had the challenge of choosing 10 scientific accomplishments to high... more We at Science have once again had the challenge of choosing 10 scientific accomplishments to highlight in this final issue of the year. Our 10 choices reveal that 2012 has been a remarkable one for the physics of particles (the Higgs boson, neutrinos, and Majorana “quasiparticles”), as well as for biological discovery (the production of eggs from stem cells, the derivation of some modern human genes from Denisovan ancestors, and the greatly enhanced cataloging of human genetic regulation). Three technological breakthroughs also appear on our list: functional brain/machine interfaces, TALENS as a tool for genetic engineering, and the x-ray laser determination of a protein structure. And finally, there is one feat of physics and engineering virtuosity: the Curiosity rover's remarkably precise, gentle, “sky crane” landing on Mars.
Science, 2009
For science to thrive, it is crucial that the scientific community encourage the bold ambitions a... more For science to thrive, it is crucial that the scientific community encourage the bold ambitions and innovative spirit of young researchers. In my own area of science, the United States could do much more to support this important goal. U.S. biomedical science is a large and important research enterprise that currently includes over 100,000 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Of these, only a select few will go on to become independent research scientists in academia. Assuming that the system supporting this career path works well, these will be the individuals with the most talent and interest in such an endeavor: young people well positioned to make the scientific breakthroughs that societies need to survive and thrive. But the current system squanders the creativity and energy of these exceptionally gifted young people through a funding process that forces them to avoid risk-taking and innovation.
Science, 2009
This week marks the launch of the new AAAS journal Science Translational Medicine . I am very ple... more This week marks the launch of the new AAAS journal Science Translational Medicine . I am very pleased that we were able to recruit Elias A. Zerhouni, the distinguished former director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, to be its chief scientific adviser, and Katrina L. Kelner, until recently the Deputy Editor for Biological Sciences at Science , to be its editor. As Zerhouni writes in his editorial, the goals of this journal, and of translational medicine more broadly, are to speed the rate at which the astounding recent advances in our basic understanding of biological mechanisms are exploited for preventing and treating human disease. *
Science, 2009
Senator Ted Kennedy's recent death from malignant glioma, an incurable brain tumor, reminds u... more Senator Ted Kennedy's recent death from malignant glioma, an incurable brain tumor, reminds us of the terrible toll that cancer takes on humanity. The United States alone experiences nearly 1.5 million new cases of cancer each year, resulting in more than 500,000 annual deaths, and about one-fourth of us will die in this way. Jim Watson, of DNA double-helix fame, argues that because of our new profound understandings of the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease, it's finally time to launch a real war on cancer. * I agree. But for success in such a project, we will need to expand the scope of “cancer research” funding, so as to include far more than work with cancer cells themselves.
Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1976
Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1994
A Role for T w o DNA Helicases in the Replication of T4 Bacteriophage DNA*
Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1984
The gene 45 protein from bacteriophage T4 has been purified and is crystallized. This protein is ... more The gene 45 protein from bacteriophage T4 has been purified and is crystallized. This protein is part of the T4 DNA replication complex. The crystallized protein is active in complementation assays. X-ray diffraction analysis is in progress; data are measured for the native and several heavy atom derivatives. The crystals diffract to about 3.5-A resolution.
The EMBO Journal, 1994
2Corresponding author Communicated by J.B.Gurdon In virtually all eukaryotes the centromeric regi... more 2Corresponding author Communicated by J.B.Gurdon In virtually all eukaryotes the centromeric regions of chromosomes are composed of heterochromatin, a specialized form of chromatin that is rich in repetitive DNA sequences and is transcriptionally relatively silent. The Drosophila GAGA transcription factor binds to GA/CT-rich sequences in many Drosophila promoters, where it activates transcription, apparently by locally altering chromatin structure and allowing other transcription factors access to the DNA. Here we report the paradoxical finding that GAGA factor is associated with specific regions of heterochromatin at all stages of the cell cycle. A subset of the highly repetitive DNA sequences that make up the bulk of heterochromatin in D.melanogaster are GA/CT-rich and we find a striking correlation between the distribution of GAGA factor and this class of repeat. We propose that GAGA factor binds directly to these repeats and may thereby play a role in modifying heterochromatin structure in these regions. Our observations demonstrate for the first time that a transcriptional regulator can associate with specific DNA sequences in a fully condensed mitotic chromosome. This may help explain how the distinctive character of a committed or differentiated cell can be maintained during cell proliferation.
Science (New York, N.Y.), Jan 4, 2008
IN RECENT YEARS, I HAVE HEARD THE ARGUMENT THAT WE ALREADY KNOW ENOUGH about fundamental biologic... more IN RECENT YEARS, I HAVE HEARD THE ARGUMENT THAT WE ALREADY KNOW ENOUGH about fundamental biological mechanisms to cure cancer, and that the best way to improve cancer outcomes would be to focus nearly all of our cancer research resources on applying what we know to develop therapies. This would be a mistake. To make my point, I describe two of many examples where a much deeper understanding of fundamental mechanisms seems almost certain to improve cancer treatments. Of necessity, I omit many other promising ways of attacking this disease. Cancer arises when the descendants of just one of our more than ten thousand billion cells proliferate out of control, eventually interfering with normal body functions. Since so many cells are at risk, the most amazing thing about cancer to me is how many years it usually takes to develop the disease. One major obstruction to the proliferation of cancerous cells is the phenomenon of apoptosis, which causes nearly all of our cells to kill themselves whenever they start to behave aberrantly. A complicated cellular signaling network determines the balance between the pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins inside animal cells. Each of our many cells is constantly sensing its external and internal environment and will sacrifice itself (for our own good) if it is either not correctly located or not behaving normally. Without mechanisms of this type, the evolution of large complex organisms such as ourselves would probably not have been possible, because the tumors caused by cancerlike diseases would have overtaken us early in life. Tumors arise after a long process of random mutation followed by multiple rounds of selection for those cells able to proliferate best. One change selected for is in apoptotic mechanisms, which will be altered in different ways in different tumors. Imagine that we could determine why the cells in an individual's tumor incorrectly compute that they need not kill themselves, as normal cells would do in their condition. If we understood the fundamental mechanisms by which cells make these decisions, we would stand an excellent chance of creating a tailored mixture of drugs that causes the tumor cells to compute differently, so that they commit suicide without harming normal cells. Another promising strategy takes advantage of the fact that essentially all cancer cells have acquired a defect in some aspect of their "DNA metabolism," often some aspect of DNA repair that causes them to become highly mutable. This genetic instability of cancer cells is selected for early in tumor development, because only such cells can evolve the multiple additional changes, including defects in apoptosis, that are necessary for most cell types to become malignant. Cells that are too genetically unstable will die. Therefore, a treatment that blocks a particular DNA repair process can be lethal for a cancer cell, while sparing normal cells. If we could determine why the cells in a particular individual tumor are genetically unstable (for example, which DNA repair protein has been altered during the evolution of that tumor), we might be able to design drugs that kill the cells in that cancer highly selectively, with little harm to normal cells. These examples of rational approaches to cancer therapy were only a dream until recently. But by targeting these types of alterations in cancer cells, researchers have made impressive progress and are thus much closer to being able to design highly selective therapies based on the critical molecular defects in an individual tumor. But for most tumors, this type of approach is still hit or miss, because oncologists are severely hampered by an inadequate understanding of the fundamental processes that are altered in a particular tumor. My conclusion: If I were the czar of cancer research, I would give a higher priority to recruiting more of our best young scientists to decipher the detailed mechanisms of both apoptosis and DNA repair, and I would give them the resources to do so.
DNA Synthesis in Vitro, 1973
Nucleic Acid-Protein Recognition, 1977
The Journal of cell biology, 1995
CP190, a protein of 1,096 amino acids from Drosophila melanogaster, oscillates in a cell cycle-sp... more CP190, a protein of 1,096 amino acids from Drosophila melanogaster, oscillates in a cell cycle-specific manner between the nucleus during interphase, and the centrosome during mitosis. To characterize the regions of CP190 responsible for its dynamic behavior, we injected rhodamine-labeled fusion proteins spanning most of CP190 into early Drosophila embryos, where their localizations were characterized using time-lapse fluorescence confocal microscopy. A single bipartite 19-amino acid nuclear localization signal was detected that causes nuclear localization. Robust centrosomal localization is conferred by a separate region of 124 amino acids; two adjacent, nonoverlapping fusion proteins containing distinct portions of this region show weaker centrosomal localization. Fusion proteins that contain both nuclear and centrosomal localization sequences oscillate between the nucleus and the centrosome in a manner identical to native CP190. Fusion proteins containing only the centrosome loca...
The Journal of cell biology, 1989
One of the first signs of cell differentiation in the Drosophila melanogaster embryo occurs 3 h a... more One of the first signs of cell differentiation in the Drosophila melanogaster embryo occurs 3 h after fertilization, when discrete groups of cells enter their fourteenth mitosis in a spatially and temporally patterned manner creating mitotic domains (Foe, V. E. and G. M. Odell, 1989, Am. Zool. 29:617-652). To determine whether cell residency in a mitotic domain is determined solely by cell position in this early embryo, or whether cell lineage also has a role, we have developed a technique for directly analyzing the behavior of nuclei in living embryos. By microinjecting fluorescently labeled histones into the syncytial embryo, the movements and divisions of each nucleus were recorded without perturbing development by using a microscope equipped with a high resolution, charge-coupled device. Two types of developmental maps were generated from three-dimensional time-lapse recordings: one traced the lineage history of each nucleus from nuclear cycle 11 through nuclear cycle 14 in a sm...
Science, 2012
The start of 2012 provides an opportunity to take stock of where we have been and where we are go... more The start of 2012 provides an opportunity to take stock of where we have been and where we are going at Science . Internet technology has been rapidly changing the way that scientists access information. This has advantages, allowing new content to be noticed around the globe as soon as it is published. But it also has disadvantages, making it easy for a scientist to receive only preselected information focused on his or her specialty. Because innovative breakthroughs often come from the intersection of disparate ways of thinking, scientists need to continually expose themselves to a broad range of disciplines and approaches. They also must work together as a community to build the strong scientific enterprise needed to create the paradigm-breaking innovations that will be required by an ever-more crowded and resource-limited world. How can we promote the wide-ranging conversations that will be necessary to meet these critical challenges?
Science, 2010
Policies that offer incentives for individuals and institutions can unintentionally induce harmfu... more Policies that offer incentives for individuals and institutions can unintentionally induce harmful behaviors. One such perverse incentive encourages U.S. universities, medical centers, and other research institutions to expand their research capacities indefinitely through funds derived from National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants. A reliance on the NIH to pay not only the salaries of scientists but also the overhead (or indirect) costs of building construction and maintenance has become a way of life at many U.S. research institutions, with potential painful consequences. The current trajectory is unsustainable, threatening to produce a glut of laboratory facilities reminiscent of the real estate bust of 2008 and, worse, a host of exhausted scientists with no means of support.
Science, 2013
I have seven grandchildren, and I worry about their future. The nation that I was raised in, the ... more I have seven grandchildren, and I worry about their future. The nation that I was raised in, the United States, has clearly lost its way at a time when the world badly needs wise leadership. Nations with a long-term view are making huge investments in their infrastructure—transportation, water, energy, waste, and recreation. And they have a laserlike focus on supporting science and engineering research with government resources. As examples, Germany, China, and South Korea come to mind. Meanwhile, the United States is living off its past. Not only do we face a crumbling infrastructure * but our federal investments in fundamental long-term R&D have been stagnant, dropping from 1.25% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 1985 to 0.87% in 2013. † Now, on top of that comes a mindless budget "sequester" that will make the situation considerably worse, causing the U.S. National Science Foundation to announce last week that it may award 1000 fewer research grants in 2013 than it...
Science, 2011
THE GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THAT IT WILL HENCEFORTH APPOINT THE president of the ... more THE GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THAT IT WILL HENCEFORTH APPOINT THE president of the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA) and also, directly or indirectly, appoint the majority of academy members. In response, TÜBA's members have threatened to resign and establish a new academy that is independent of the government.* What happens next could dramatically affect Turkey's future, both because strong merit-based research in science and technology is a critical driver of modern economies, and because Turkey-like all other nations-will need to support and retain its native talent in order to prosper in the highly competitive world of the 21st century. Turkey increased its support of R&D sixfold from 1995 to 2007, reaching a current investment rate of about 0.7% of gross domestic product. In order for these resources to be well spent, it is critical that Turkey maintain an environment for science that encourages creativity and rewards excellence. Unfortunately, for the past decade Turkey's scientists have been increasingly subjected to counterproductive topdown management. Teachers are reportedly "facing increasing pressure not to teach modern theories of evolution." ‡ And new laws have placed the granting of tenure at universities in the hands of the governmentcontrolled Council for Higher Education. Today, many academic scientists are afraid to openly express their opinions on these issues. This is not the type of environment in which science can thrive, and it is likely to encourage Turkey's most talented scientists to seek careers in nations that offer much greater autonomy. TÜBA was established only in 1993, but it has already been an important force for promoting excellence in both science and science education in Turkey. For example, it has empowered young scientists through the development of a Young Academy and has focused on creating high-quality inquiry-based science education for children. Its expert guidance will be essential in the future for improving the effectiveness of the government's increasing support for science and technology, a critical function that depends on TÜBA's ability to tell the truth to government, independent of political considerations. An "academy" whose members are largely appointed by government cannot play this role effectively. Wherever they function well, academies play a major part in defi ning scientifi c excellence for a nation. Thus, for example, a scientist who has been elected to membership in the U.S. National Academy of Sciences will often be offered increased responsibilities at her or his home institution and receive leadership offers elsewhere. In part for this reason, the process of identifying possible new members and screening them through the election process is taken very seriously, requiring extensive effort from previously elected members. I know of no effective academy that selects its members in a different way. The fact that scientists themselves select their fellow academy members ensures that scientifi c excellence will be the primary criterion used to select members, and it also provides the independence from government required for each academy to provide unbiased scientifi c advice to its nation. This is why the world's association of academies, the InterAcademy Panel, has sent letters to the prime minister and the president of Turkey urging the government of Turkey to "reconsider its decision and restore TÜBA's previous governance structure and autonomy." § A nation can expect to be successful today only if it strives to create a meritocracy, in which positions of leadership and responsibility are distributed to the most outstanding individuals, irrespective of social class or personal connections. A strong, merit-based, independent national academy of sciences does not guarantee that science will thrive in a nation. But it is the best tool that I know of to make this possible.
Science, 2012
We at Science have once again had the challenge of choosing 10 scientific accomplishments to high... more We at Science have once again had the challenge of choosing 10 scientific accomplishments to highlight in this final issue of the year. Our 10 choices reveal that 2012 has been a remarkable one for the physics of particles (the Higgs boson, neutrinos, and Majorana “quasiparticles”), as well as for biological discovery (the production of eggs from stem cells, the derivation of some modern human genes from Denisovan ancestors, and the greatly enhanced cataloging of human genetic regulation). Three technological breakthroughs also appear on our list: functional brain/machine interfaces, TALENS as a tool for genetic engineering, and the x-ray laser determination of a protein structure. And finally, there is one feat of physics and engineering virtuosity: the Curiosity rover's remarkably precise, gentle, “sky crane” landing on Mars.
Science, 2009
For science to thrive, it is crucial that the scientific community encourage the bold ambitions a... more For science to thrive, it is crucial that the scientific community encourage the bold ambitions and innovative spirit of young researchers. In my own area of science, the United States could do much more to support this important goal. U.S. biomedical science is a large and important research enterprise that currently includes over 100,000 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Of these, only a select few will go on to become independent research scientists in academia. Assuming that the system supporting this career path works well, these will be the individuals with the most talent and interest in such an endeavor: young people well positioned to make the scientific breakthroughs that societies need to survive and thrive. But the current system squanders the creativity and energy of these exceptionally gifted young people through a funding process that forces them to avoid risk-taking and innovation.