Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-3043, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolution, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5245, USA; Department of Biology and Center for Biodiversity Studies, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN 47809, USA; Department of Integrative Biology, 3060 Valley Life Sciences Building, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3140, USA.
Integr Comp Biol. 2009 Jul;49(1):7-14. doi: 10.1093/icb/icp034. Epub 2009 Jun 4.
A renaissance in organismal biology has been sparked by recent conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and computational advances in the life sciences, along with an unprecedented interdisciplinary integration with Mathematics, Engineering, and the physical sciences. Despite a decades-long trend toward reductionist approaches to biological problems, it is increasingly recognized that whole organisms play a central role in organizing and interpreting information from across the biological spectrum. Organisms represent the nexus where sub- and supra-organismal processes meet, and it is the performance of organisms within the environment that provides the material for natural selection. Here, we identify five "grand challenges" for future research in organismal biology. It is intended that these challenges will spark further discussion in the broader community and identify future research priorities, opportunities, and directions, which will ultimately help to guide the allocation of support for and training in organismal biology.
近年来，生命科学在概念、理论、方法和计算方面取得了新的进展，同时与数学、工程和物理科学进行了前所未有的跨学科融合，这引发了机体生物学的复兴。尽管几十年来生物学问题的研究一直倾向于采用还原论方法，但人们越来越认识到，生物体在组织和解释来自整个生物学范围的信息方面发挥着核心作用。生物体是亚生物体和超生物体过程交汇的枢纽，生物体在环境中的表现为自然选择提供了素材。在这里，我们确定了机体生物学未来研究的五个“重大挑战”。我们希望这些挑战将在更广泛的科学界引发进一步的讨论，并确定未来的研究重点、机会和方向，这最终将有助于指导机体生物学的支持和培训的分配。
