FROM MOLECULES TO MEDICINE The human genome is the complete set of genetic instructions found in the nucleus of most cells on 23 pairs of chromosomes that are long strands of DNA. Each gene is a segment of DNA that carries the blueprints for a specific molecule, usually a protein. When there is a mistake in the order of chemical bases that "Visible Humans" have transformed the teaching and practice of medicine. A 59-year-old comprise the DNA cod- Over many years, the list of human diseases that genetic component. By developing and making widely available the tools for locating and rapidly sequencing genes, the Human Genome Project an ambitious international research effort is accelerating the progress of molecular medicine. The Human Genome Project, funded by NIH, DOE, and several international partners, is helping scientists gain a genetic understanding of disease and also of healthy processes, such as growth, development, and how the immune system recognizes a foreign invader. Once the genetic basis of a disease is discovered, scientists have a better chance of defeating it. One example is prevention based on detection of a genetic predisposition to an inherited disorder such as colon cancer. Individuals who inherit certain mutations on chromosomes 2 or 3 have a 70 to 80 percent chance of developing a particular type of colon cancer. They may benefit from eating a high-fiber, low-fat diet and from scheduling annual colon exams starting at THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION'S NEW MAJOR SCIENTIFIC FACILITIES National Nanofabrication Users Network (Nodes in California; New York; Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.); operational in 1994. Network providing electronic access to fabrication equipment and expertise on nanoscale materials and devices. Gemini Observatories (Hawaii, Chile); to be completed in 2000. New-generation 8-meter optical/infrared telescopes with matching facilities in Northern and Southern Hemispheres. National Radio Astronomy Observatory/Greenbank Telescope (West Virginia); to be completed in 1998 World's largest and most versatile steerable radio telescope. National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO)/WIYN Telescope (Arizona); completed in 1993. Telescope for optical and infrared astronomy. NOAO/Global Oscillation Network (worldwide); completed in 1995. Network of telescopes to monitor the Sun. National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center (Puerto Rico); to be completed in 1997. Upgrade for planetary astronomy and upper atmosphere studies. National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (Florida; New Mexico); began operations in 1993. Science and engineering research on materials. Cornell Electron Storage Ring (New York); to be completed in 1999. Upgrade for high energy physics and synchrotron radiation experiments. Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (Louisiana and Washington); to be completed in 2001. Will study gravitational waves to test Einstein's theory of gravitation and to open a new type of astronomy. age 30, an age considerably younger than that recommended for the general population. Another disease that can now be detected by testing a blood specimen is cystic fibrosis, the most common lethal hereditary disease among Caucasians. The first human gene therapy trials are under way in Federally approved clinical trials. Understanding the course of cystic fibrosis at its most elementary level already has led to the development and approval of a drug that dramatically lessens its severity and improves the quality of life for those suffering from it. The ethical, legal, and social issues associated with human genome research are being addressed in parallel with the scientific exploration and in a manner that encourages maximum public involvement. In addition, President Clinton established the National Bioethics Advisory Commission and charged it to consider as one of its first priorities the appropriate use and management of genetic information. Our policies and regulations need to keep pace with knowledge that promises such great rewards in disease prevention and cure. LEARNING AND HUMAN POTENTIAL The current revolution in information and communications technologies is creating demands for new human learning skills and interaction modes. Merely being able to read, write, and calculate is no longer sufficient. Everyone needs to master the skills required to extract and integrate relevant information and use it for complex decision-making and problem-solving. The Federal government has supported much of the research on how humans learn, process information, and then use that information to solve problems. Recent decades have seen dramatic advances in our understanding of human learning, from the level of neurochemistry and brain structure to the whole person. Neuroscientists, engineers, and computer scientists have developed new tools to provide insights into how human memory organizes different kinds of information. Psychologists and linguists are characterizing cognitive phenomena and mental processes ever more thoroughly. Artificial intelligence researchers have replicated mechanisms for learning and decision-making that have widespread applicability. Education researchers have developed cognitive-based methods that significantly improve students' thinking skills through research-based teaching. Engineers and computer scientists have developed intelligent systems that can learn from their environments and operate complex systems safely and reliably. All this progress has applications in education reforms, medicine, psychotherapy, and management. The NSF is now emphasizing the need for coordinated, interdisciplinary research that integrates knowledge about human and machine learning, creativity, communication, real-time feedback, and decision-making. With the introduction of educational technologies into schools, it is urgent that we develop a solid research base for educational strategies and pedagogy, and learn how to use modern tools to increase the learning of all students. A broad Administration initiative will tackle the development of children from infancy to adulthood, as this period is extraordinarily important to giving each person the best start in life. Key research questions at this knowledge frontier include: What relationships exist among learning, intelligence, and creativity? How can we use technology effectively to optimize each child's ability to learn and create? What effects do multimedia technologies have on children's development? What role does nutrition play in enhancing a child's ability to learn? What nutrients are required for optimal cognitive development and peak functioning? Contributions will come from research sponsored by the NIH, the Department of Education, USDA, NSF, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Understanding gained will help us optimize the learning, nutrition, and health of our children in the twenty-first century. INVESTING IN MODERN SCIENTIFIC Just as Olympic-caliber athletes need the finest equip- Thanks to farsighted, bipartisan investments, the United States today has an array of major scientific facilities that are the envy of the world. Federally funded facilities serve tens of thousands of scientists and students performing world-class experiments in widely diverse fields. NASA provides the Hubble Space Telescope, numerous other satellites, and space probes carrying specialized devices for astronomy, astrophysics, and observations of our own and other planets. The NSF supports sea-going research vessels for study of the world's oceans, ground-based observatories for astronomy, diverse facilities for physical sci THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S NEW MAJOR SCIENTIFIC FACILITIES Advanced Light Source (California); completed in 1994. Provides soft x-ray beams. Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (Virginia); completed in 1995. Makes it possible to explore the innermost structure of the atom's nucleus. Advanced Photon Source (Illinois); completed in 1996. Produces exceptionally intense hard x-rays. Environmental and Molecular Sciences Laboratory (Washington); to be completed in 1997. Advances the fundamental science essential to develop more cost-effective environmental clean-up methods. Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (New York); to be completed in 1999. Will provide ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions to study matter and energy at extremely high density and temperature, as it existed in the early universe. B-Factory (California); to be completed in 1998. Will explore why antimatter is so rare in the universe. Fermilab Main Injector (Illinois); to be completed in 1999. Will determine the properties of the newly discovered top quark. Exceptionally intense x-rays open new vistas of research in materials science, chemistry, physics, biotechnology, and medicine. The environmental, geological, agricultural, and planetary sciences also benefit from the Department of Energy's Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago. With this third generation x-ray source, researchers can study objects thousands of times smaller than can be seen with conventional optical techniques. Exposure times are fast enough to produce images of chemical and biological molecules as they react. Scientists can gain new knowledge to create new materials tailored to specific applications in such areas as superconductors, semiconductors, polymers, pharmaceuticals, and catalysts. ence and materials research, supercomputers for university researchers, widely shared data sets for the social and behavioral sciences, and research stations in Antarctica. The national laboratories of DOE build and operate leading-edge particle accelerators, neutron sources, supercomputers, and numerous specialized instruments for research in physical, chemical, materials, environmental, and biological sciences. The DOC supports a fleet of research vessels for oceanography, provides access to undersea research platforms, and operates a cold neutron source as well as the tools needed to develop new precision standards. Two unique biocontainment facilities for research on emerging pathogens are operated by DOD. The NIH sponsors Regional Primate Research Centers, an Internet-accessible archive of genetic code sequences, the "Visible Human" digital library, and other shared resource networks and biomedical research facilities. The USGS operates a data center that archives and makes avail able all land remote sensing data gathered by Federal agencies. The Administration's commitment to scientific infrastructure renewal is demonstrated by the number and diversity of facilities recently completed or under construction with NSF or DOE support. (See box on new facilities.) Via a dynamic synergism, the creation and operation of these state-of-the-art facilities is a multidisciplinary, state-of-the-art science and engineering challenge in its own right. In most cases, access to these facilities is awarded to qualified scientists and engineers on the basis of peer-reviewed competitions, where the proposed research is judged for its quality and importance. The growing National Information Infrastructure and High Performance Computing and Communications programs are now making possible the remote use and operation of facilities, and also the nearly instantaneous distribution of data to scientific collaborators around the nation and world. Even students and teachers in school classrooms can now use the Internet to access fresh data sets, images, and information. Development of the Next Generation Internet and other technological innovations is bringing experiments at major scientific facilities into the home laboratories and offices of the user scientists. Such amazing computational power and interconnectivity were made possible first by fundamental scientific advances, from which high technology resulted. Now, in a compelling example of how science and technology reinforce each other, these computers are used in the creation of new science in diverse fields from materials and drug design, to the internal structure of protons and neutrons, to the large scale structure and dynamics of oceans and atmospheres. Over the years, Federal budget pressures prevented some scientific facilities from operating fully and effectively. To improve our national research productivity, this Administration launched, with bipartisan support, the Scientific Facilities Initiative in FY 1996. As a result, investments in research at the targeted DOE facilities, together serving more than 15,000 scientists and engineers, are buying substantially more science operations than in previous years. Full utilization enables maximum benefit and continuing returns from our sizeable national investment. As we near the twenty-first century, there are important areas of the scientific frontier where American facilities have fallen behind, or where no adequate tools now exist. For example, with our neutron science facilities aging, we need to upgrade current facilities and to construct a next-generation neutron source to advance our materials research agenda. To continue unraveling questions associated with understanding the origins of the universe and our place in it, new ground-based telescopes, space observatories, and planetary missions are needed. Our South Pole research station supports unique and crucial research programs for several scientific fields, but needs renewal. At many universities throughout the country, research equipment is inadequately funded to keep pace with the state-of-the-art. Both the caliber of the research, as well as the education of students, suffers. When budgets get tight, infrastructure investments tend to be deferred. But shortchanging these needs erodes our capability and performance in the long term, and handicaps America's scientists and engineers. Sustaining leadership across the frontiers of knowledge requires investments to maintain and renew our research infrastructure. With projected budget constraints, it will take time to satisfy all the needs indicated above. Nevertheless, we must commit to continued renewal through strategic planning that phases our facilities investments to maximize research productivity. PARTNERING TO ADVANCE THE FRONTIERS OF SCIENTIFIC Within the United States, many players sharing common goals in these times of constrained resources are partnering to sponsor or pursue research programs in their area of mutual interest. The Administration has enthusiastically encouraged and supported research partnerships of all types. Such collaborations combine the resources of industry, academia, nonprofit organizations, and all levels of government to advance knowledge, promote education, strengthen institutions, and develop human resources. UNIVERSITY-GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPS The compact between government and universities aimed at advancing science and technology in the national interest goes back well over a century, when the Land Grant universities were founded. In the last 50 years, this partnership has become the core of our world-class science and technology enterprise. Over half of the Federal investment in basic research goes to universities, where it supports the training of young scientists and engineers and the creation of new knowledge. American research universities are recognized internationally for the quality of advanced education of the next generation of scientists and engineers. Our professors, courses, and research opportunities are unsurpassed in all fields of science and technology. International students flock to our campuses to obtain their scientific degrees, some remaining here to enrich our workforce, and others returning home to launch their careers. The human networks created in this way crisscross the globe, maintained and enhanced through advanced electronic communications links. Research and education lie at the heart of this Administration's investment in America's future. These investments are essential for our nation's prosperity, security, and quality of life in the knowledge-driven society of the twenty-first century. The Administration's investments in this area are significant, with about $13 billion annually awarded to U.S. universities for research, in addition to considerable support provided directly for technical education. To sustain our national level of innovation over the long term, we must become more focused and thus more efficient, and we must prioritize our activities. The changes needed to effect such improvements stress our societal institutions, including higher education. |