The New Biology for the 21st Century: Societal Grand Challenges and the Role of Agriculture in Achieving Them

Investigations of biological processes are reaching an inflection point, where the very discoveries and technologies that are revealing astonishing and daunting complexity are at the same time suggesting routes to a deep understanding of that complexity. Moreover, that deep understanding can potentially be harnessed and focused to address inspiring but urgent societal issues surrounding food, energy, environment and health. Transformative advances in agriculture will be crucial for each of these issues. Those bold advances will require integrated efforts of biologists with physical scientists, engineers and mathematicians, coordinated programs that bridge multiple government agencies, and productive collaborations between academia, government and the private sector.