{"title":"Books by Board on Life Sciences","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780309274005","title":"Physics of Life","description":"\u003cp\u003eBiological physics, or the physics of living systems, has emerged fully as a field of physics, alongside more traditional fields of astrophysics and cosmology, atomic, molecular and optical physics, condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, particle physics, and plasma physics.  This new field brings the physicist's style of inquiry to bear on the beautiful phenomena of life. The enormous range of phenomena encountered in living systems - phenomena that often have no analog or precedent in the inanimate world -  means that the intellectual agenda of biological physics is exceptionally broad, even by the ambitious standards of physics.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhysics of Life is the first decadal survey of this field, as part of a broader decadal survey of physics.  This report communicates the importance of biological physics research; addresses what must be done to realize the promise of this new field; and provides guidance for informed decisions about funding, workforce, and research directions.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56232932639093,"sku":"9780309274005","price":46.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309274005_3b32b503-604c-495b-814e-4b122920948b.jpg?v=1786012670"},{"product_id":"9780309733359","title":"The Age of AI in the Life Sciences","description":"\u003cp\u003eArtificial intelligence (AI) applications in the life sciences have the potential to enable advances in biological discovery and design at a faster pace and efficiency than is possible with classical experimental approaches alone. At the same time, AI-enabled biological tools developed for beneficial applications could potentially be misused for harmful purposes. Although the creation of biological weapons is not a new concept or risk, the potential for AI-enabled biological tools to affect this risk has raised concerns during the past decade.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis report, as requested by the Department of Defense, assesses how AI-enabled biological tools could uniquely impact biosecurity risk, and how advancements in such tools could also be used to mitigate these risks. The Age of AI in the Life Sciences reviews the capabilities of AI-enabled biological tools and can be used in conjunction with the 2018 National Academies report, Biodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology, which sets out a framework for identifying the different risk factors associated with synthetic biology capabilities.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56419557081461,"sku":"9780309733359","price":17.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309733359_97d8af4d-b080-43a8-8bbe-8c478b6d33ee.jpg?v=1786012701"},{"product_id":"a-survey-of-attitudes-and-actions-on-dual-use-research-in-the-life-sciences","title":"A Survey of Attitudes and Actions on Dual Use Research in the Life Sciences","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe same technologies that fuel scientific advances also pose potential risks—that the knowledge, tools, and techniques gained through legitimate biotechnology research could be misused to create biological weapons or for bioterrorism. This is often called the dual use dilemma of the life sciences. Yet even research with the greatest potential for misuse may offer significant benefits. Determining how to constrain the danger without harming essential scientific research is critical for national security as well as prosperity and well-being.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book discusses a 2007 survey of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) members in the life sciences about their knowledge of dual use issues and attitudes about their responsibilities to help mitigate the risks of misuse of their research.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOverall, the results suggest that there may be considerable support for approaches to oversight that rely on measures that are developed and implemented by the scientific community itself. The responses also suggest that there is a need to clarify the scope of research activities of concern and to provide guidance about what actions scientists can take to reduce the risk that their research will be misused by those with malicious intent.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466516439413,"sku":"9780309125109","price":87.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309125109.jpg?v=1785654574"},{"product_id":"evaluation-of-the-health-and-safety-risks-of-the-new-usamriid-high-containment-facilities-at-fort-detrick-maryland","title":"Evaluation of the Health and Safety Risks of the New USAMRIID High-Containment Facilities at Fort Detrick, Maryland","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Frederick, Maryland, is designed to handle pathogens that cause serious or potentially lethal diseases, which require the research performed on them be contained to specialized laboratories. In 2007 a decision was made to expand those facilities causing concern among area residents that public health and safety risks, and strategies to mitigate those concerns were not adequately considered in the decision to go forward with the expansion. In \u003cem\u003eEvaluation of the Health and Safety Risks of the New USAMRIID High Containment Facilities at Fort Detrick, Maryland \u003c\/em\u003ea group of experts in areas including biosafety, infectious diseases, industrial hygiene, environmental engineering, risk assessment and epidemiology, explored whether measures were being taken to ensure prevention and mitigation of risk to the health and safety of workers and the public. They also assessed whether the procedures and regulations employed meet accepted standards of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEvaluation of the Health and Safety Risks of the New USAMRIID High Containment Facilities at Fort Detrick, Maryland \u003c\/em\u003eevaluates the health and safety aspects of the environmental impact statement developed to support the construction of the new laboratories and explores the institute's operating requirements, medical and emergency management response plans and communication and cooperation with the public. The book recommends that USAMRIID continue to set high standards for advancing security, operational, and biosurety measures, and that additional measures be taken to provide assurance that experienced medical professionals are readily available to consult on unusual infectious diseases. It also suggests that USAMRIID expand its two-way communications with the public.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466544750965,"sku":"9780309151450","price":41.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309151450.jpg?v=1785654602"},{"product_id":"implementing-the-new-biology","title":"Implementing the New Biology","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs the second decade of the 21st century begins, the challenge of how to feed a growing world population and provide sustainable, affordable energy to fulfill daily needs, while also improving human health and protecting the environment, is clear and urgent. Increasing demand for food and energy is projected at the same time as the supply of land and other resources decrease. Increasing levels of greenhouse gasses alter climate, which, in turn, has life-changing implications for a broad range of plant and animal species. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut promising developments are on the horizon—scientific discoveries and technologies that have the potential to contribute practical solutions to these seemingly intractable problems. As described in the 2009 National Research Council book, \u003ci\u003eA New Biology for the 21st Century\u003c\/i\u003e, biological research has experienced extraordinary scientific and technological advances in recent years that have allowed biologists to collect and make sense of ever more detailed observations at ever smaller time intervals. With these advances have come increasingly fruitful collaborations of biologists with scientists and engineers from other disciplines. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eA New Biology for the 21st Century\u003c\/i\u003e called for a series of workshops to provide concrete examples of what New Biology research programs could look like. The present volume summarizes the first of those workshops, \u003ci\u003eImplementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466551533941,"sku":"9780309161947","price":41.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309161947.jpg?v=1785654609"},{"product_id":"toward-precision-medicine","title":"Toward Precision Medicine","description":"\u003cp\u003eMotivated by the explosion of molecular data on humans-particularly data associated with individual patients-and the sense that there are large, as-yet-untapped opportunities to use this data to improve health outcomes, \u003cem\u003eToward Precision Medicine\u003c\/em\u003e explores the feasibility and need for \"a new taxonomy of human disease based on molecular biology\" and develops a potential framework for creating one.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book says that a new data network that integrates emerging research on the molecular makeup of diseases with clinical data on individual patients could drive the development of a more accurate classification of diseases and ultimately enhance diagnosis and treatment. The \"new taxonomy\" that emerges would define diseases by their underlying molecular causes and other factors in addition to their traditional physical signs and symptoms. The book adds that the new data network could also improve biomedical research by enabling scientists to access patients' information during treatment while still protecting their rights. This would allow the marriage of molecular research and clinical data at the point of care, as opposed to research information continuing to reside primarily in academia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eToward Precision Medicine\u003c\/em\u003e notes that moving toward individualized medicine requires that researchers and health care providers have access to very large sets of health- and disease-related data linked to individual patients. These data are also critical for developing the information commons, the knowledge network of disease, and ultimately the new taxonomy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466570899829,"sku":"9780309222228","price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309222228.jpg?v=1785654628"},{"product_id":"foundational-research-gaps-and-future-directions-for-digital-twins","title":"Foundational Research Gaps and Future Directions for Digital Twins","description":"\u003cp\u003eAcross multiple domains of science, engineering, and medicine, excitement is growing about the potential of digital twins to transform scientific research, industrial practices, and many aspects of daily life. A digital twin couples computational models with a physical counterpart to create a system that is dynamically updated through bidirectional data flows as conditions change. Going beyond traditional simulation and modeling, digital twins could enable improved medical decision-making at the individual patient level, predictions of future weather and climate conditions over longer timescales, and safer, more efficient engineering processes. However, many challenges remain before these applications can be realized.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis report identifies the foundational research and resources needed to support the development of digital twin technologies.  The report presents critical future research priorities and an interdisciplinary research agenda for the field, including how federal agencies and researchers across domains can best collaborate.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466676609397,"sku":"9780309700429","price":27.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309700429.jpg?v=1785654736"},{"product_id":"the-geological-record-of-ecological-dynamics","title":"The Geological Record of Ecological Dynamics","description":"In order to answer important questions about ecosystems and biodiversity, scientists can look to the past geological record—which includes fossils, sediment and ice cores, and tree rings. Because of recent advances in earth scientists' ability to analyze biological and environmental information from geological data, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Geological Survey asked a National Research Council (NRC) committee to assess the scientific opportunities provided by the geologic record and recommend how scientists can take advantage of these opportunities for the nation's benefit. The committee identified three initiatives for future research to be developed over the next decade: (1) use the geological record as a \"natural laboratory\" to explore changes in living things under a range of past conditions, (2) use the record to better predict the response of biological systems to climate change, and (3) use geologic information to evaluate the effects of human and non-human factors on ecosystems. The committee also offered suggestions for improving the field through better training, improved databases, and additional funding.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466770424181,"sku":"9780309095808","price":62.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309095808.jpg?v=1785654831"},{"product_id":"the-astrophysical-context-of-life","title":"The Astrophysical Context of Life","description":"In 1997, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) formed the National Astrobiology Institute to coordinate and fund research into the origins, distribution, and fate of life in the universe. A 2002 NRC study of that program, Life in the Universe: An Assessment of U.S. and International Programs in Astrobiology, raised a number of concerns about the Astrobiology program. In particular, it concluded that areas of astrophysics related to the astronomical environment in which life arose on earth were not well represented in the program. In response to that finding, the Space Studies Board requested the original study committee, the Committee on the Origins and Evolution of Life, to examine ways to augment and integrate astronomy and astrophysics into the Astrobiology program. This report presents the results of that study. It provides a review of the earlier report and related efforts, a detailed examination of the elements of the astrobiology program that would benefit from greater integration and augmentation of astronomy and astrophysics, and an assessment of ways to facilitate the integration of astronomy with other astrobiology disciplines.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466773078389,"sku":"9780309096270","price":41.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309096270.jpg?v=1785654834"},{"product_id":"treating-infectious-diseases-in-a-microbial-world","title":"Treating Infectious Diseases in a Microbial World","description":"Humans coexist with millions of harmless microorganisms, but emerging diseases, resistance to antibiotics, and the threat of bioterrorism are forcing scientists to look for new ways to confront the microbes that do pose a danger. This report identifies innovative approaches to the development of antimicrobial drugs and vaccines based on a greater understanding of how the human immune system interacts with both good and bad microbes. The report concludes that the development of a single superdrug to fight all infectious agents is unrealistic.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466782581109,"sku":"9780309100564","price":49.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309100564.jpg?v=1785654844"},{"product_id":"exploring-the-role-of-antiviral-drugs-in-the-eradication-of-polio","title":"Exploring the Role of Antiviral Drugs in the Eradication of Polio","description":"\u003cp\u003eExploring the Role of Antiviral Drugs in the Eradication of Polio: Workshop Report, is a report of a workshop in which experts evaluated whether an antiviral drug against poliovirus would be helpful in the final stages of the global polio eradication campaign. The World Health Organization currently plans to stop using oral polio vaccine three years after the detection of the last case of transmission of wild polio virus. This is because the vaccine contains live, weakened polio viruses that can spread and revert to virulence in populations that have not been immunized. Under this plan, an antiviral drug could be useful to control any polio outbreaks caused by a vaccine-derived virus that might occur after vaccination ends and the number of unimmunized people in the world steadily increases. The report recommends that planning and development of such drugs should be initiated now. It identifies several promising targets for drug development and outlines the steps needed for planning for clinical trials and regulatory approval.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466787922293,"sku":"9780309101615","price":41.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309101615.jpg?v=1785654850"},{"product_id":"assessing-the-medical-risks-of-human-oocyte-donation-for-stem-cell-research","title":"Assessing the Medical Risks of Human Oocyte Donation for Stem Cell Research","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt is widely understood that stem cell treatments have the potential to revolutionize medicine. Because of this potential, in 2004 California voters approved Proposition 71 to set up a 10-year, $3 billion program to fund research on stem cells. Under the direction of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, this program will pay to build facilities for stem cell research and will fund doctors and scientists to carry out research with the ultimate goal of helping to develop therapies based on stem cells.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor this research to move forward, however, will require a steady supply of stem cells, particularly human embryonic stem cells. Those stem cells are collected from developing human embryos created from eggs—or oocytes—harvested from the ovaries of female donors. Thus much of the promise of stem cells depends on women choosing to donate oocytes to the research effort. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe oocyte donation process is not without risk, however. Donors are given doses of hormones to trigger the production of more eggs than would normally be produced, and this hormone treatment can have various side effects. Once the eggs have matured in the ovary, they must be retrieved via a surgical procedure that is typically performed under anesthesia, and both the surgery and the anesthesia carry their own risks. Furthermore, given the very personal nature of egg donation, the experience may carry psychological risks for some women as well. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith this in mind, in 2006 the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine contracted with the National Academies to organize a workshop that would bring together experts from various areas to speak about the potential risks of oocyte donation and to summarize what is known and what needs to be known about this topic. The Committee on Assessing the Medical Risks of Human Oocyte Donation for Stem Cell Research was formed to plan the workshop, which was held in San Francisco on September 28, 2006. This report is a summary and synthesis of that workshop.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466794672501,"sku":"9780309103558","price":50.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309103558.jpg?v=1785654857"},{"product_id":"the-limits-of-organic-life-in-planetary-systems","title":"The Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems","description":"The search for life in the solar system and beyond has to date been governed by a model based on what we know about life on Earth (terran life). Most of NASA's mission planning is focused on locations where liquid water is possible and emphasizes searches for structures that resemble cells in terran organisms. It is possible, however, that life exists that is based on chemical reactions that do not involve carbon compounds, that occurs in solvents other than water, or that involves oxidation-reduction reactions without oxygen gas. To assist NASA incorporate this possibility in its efforts to search for life, the NRC was asked to carry out a study to evaluate whether nonstandard biochemistry might support life in solar system and conceivable extrasolar environments, and to define areas to guide research in this area. This book presents an exploration of a limited set of hypothetical chemistries of life, a review of current knowledge concerning key questions or hypotheses about nonterran life, and suggestions for future research.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466798145909,"sku":"9780309104845","price":50.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309104845.jpg?v=1785654861"},{"product_id":"2007-amendments-to-the-national-academies-guidelines-for-human-embryonic-stem-cell-research","title":"2007 Amendments to the National Academies' Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research","description":"In 2005, the National Academies released the report Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, which offered a common set of ethical standards for a field that, due to the absence of comprehensive federal funding, was lacking national standards for research. In order to keep the Guidelines up to date, given the rapid pace of scientific developments in the field of stem cell research, the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee was established in 2006 with support from The Ellison Medical Foundation, The Greenwall Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. This letter report is the committee's first set of amendments to the Guidelines and clarifies earlier recommendations and conclusions, including the criteria for determining which stem cell lines it is acceptable to use. Future deliberations of the committee will address items for which additional information gathering and more extensive debate and discussion will be necessary.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466800144757,"sku":"9780309105590","price":41.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309105590.jpg?v=1785654863"},{"product_id":"applications-of-toxicogenomic-technologies-to-predictive-toxicology-and-risk-assessment","title":"Applications of Toxicogenomic Technologies to Predictive Toxicology and Risk Assessment","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe new field of toxicogenomics presents a potentially powerful set of tools to better understand the health effects of exposures to toxicants in the environment. At the request of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Research Council assembled a committee to identify the benefits of toxicogenomics, the challenges to achieving them, and potential approaches to overcoming such challenges. The report concludes that realizing the potential of toxicogenomics to improve public health decisions will require a concerted effort to generate data, make use of existing data, and study data in new ways—an effort requiring funding, interagency coordination, and data management strategies.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466807878005,"sku":"9780309112987","price":83.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309112987.jpg?v=1785654873"},{"product_id":"signs-of-life-1","title":"Signs of Life","description":"\u003cp\u003eA workshop to assess the science and technology of life detection techniques was organized by the Committee on the Origins and Evolution of Life (COEL) of the Board on Life Sciences (BLS) and the Space Studies Board (SSB). Topics discussed in the workshop included the search for extraterrestrial life in situ and in the laboratory, extant life and the signature of extinct life, and determination of the point of origin (terrestrial or not) of detected organisms.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57573140889973,"sku":"9780309083065","price":41.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309083065.jpg?v=1789395535"},{"product_id":"biodefense-in-the-age-of-synthetic-biology","title":"Biodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology","description":"\u003cp\u003eScientific advances over the past several decades have accelerated the ability to engineer existing organisms and to potentially create novel ones not found in nature. Synthetic biology, which collectively refers to concepts, approaches, and tools that enable the modification or creation of biological organisms, is being pursued overwhelmingly for beneficial purposes ranging from reducing the burden of disease to improving agricultural yields to remediating pollution. Although the contributions synthetic biology can make in these and other areas hold great promise, it is also possible to imagine malicious uses that could threaten U.S. citizens and military personnel. Making informed decisions about how to address such concerns requires a realistic assessment of the capabilities that could be misused.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBiodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology\u003c\/i\u003e explores and envisions potential misuses of synthetic biology. This report develops a framework to guide an assessment of the security concerns related to advances in synthetic biology, assesses the levels of concern warranted for such advances, and identifies options that could help mitigate those concerns.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57573173461365,"sku":"9780309465182","price":59.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780309465182.jpg?v=1789395689"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-board-on-life-sciences.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}