Transcript presentation source - BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium

BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium
Biocomplexity
Project
http://bioquest.org
Biocomplexity
Physical
Social
Biological
Biocomplexity
“It is not enough to explore and chronicle the
enormous diversity of the world’s ecosystems.
We must do that--but also reach beyond, to
discover the complex chemical, biological and
social interactions in our planet’s systems. From
these subtle but very sophisticated interactions
and interrelationships, we can tease out the
principles of sustainability.”
Rita Colwell,
Director of the National Science Foundation
Biocomplexity
“…concepts from natural and social
sciences are integrated to make
environmental and evolutionary issues
clearer for policy makers, the public
and, yes, even ourselves.”
Alan Covich,
President of the American Institute of Biological
Sciences
Biocomplexity in
Multiple Dimensions
Biological
Social
Environmental
Integration
Collaboration
Rotate
Topical axis
Add
Conceptual axis
Interdisciplinary
Scalability
BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium, 2002
http://bioquest.org
Biocomplexity
•…the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
•…search for the universalities underlying the vast
diversity of phenomena.
•…come to grips with diseases like malaria, West
Nile…where there is a human-animal interface.
•…working across scales and looking for nonlinear
relationships.
•…integrating across scales ranging from the gene to the
landscape.
•…a balanced study of all aspects of living organisms.
Biocomplexity
Addresses questions such as:
•Do the physical arrangement of genes in our DNA and
neurons in our brains share patterns with the
underground network of bacteria, fungi, and plant roots
that nourish the planet, and can computers be used to
explore such large-scale networks?
•How do current property laws and age-old cultural norms
affect the rate of deforestation in tropical regions?
•What is the mechanism by which human activities affect
species diversity?
NSF 2000 Solicitation for grant proposals in Biocomplexity
Metabolic Rate
Elephant
Shrew
Mammals
Mitochondria
Respiratory
Complex
Cell
Geoffrey B. West, et al.
Santa Fe Institute
Strength to Mass Relationship
Geoscience Digital Library, NRAO, CERN
National Science Foundation
Biocomplexity
Tools of the trade:
• Remote sensing
• Geographic Information Systems
• Computer-based modeling
• Bioinformatics
• Data mining from databases in the
public domain
• Others?
Biocomplexity in Education
Addresses significant contemporary issues
• Requires collaboration, integration and an
interdisciplinary approach
• Employs multiple modes of understanding and
learning
• Engages students in a diversity of techniques
and hands-on inquiry
• Allows for participation in contemporary
scientific research (questions and results)
•
BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium, 2002
http://bioquest.org
Larry Gonick and Mark Wheelis