Probing the Revolution in Life Sciences
From the physical and life sciences to tackling diseases and discovering the root of health disparities, the Academy’s programming is diverse and impactful.
Published January 1, 2000
By Merle Spiegel
Academy Contributor
Just as research of the past century gave the world remarkable advances in many areas of science and engineering, the future promises even more stunning progress. The life sciences exemplify the prospects. It is not just a glib headline to claim that research will unravel the function of genes. Yet we remain uneasy about lingering health inequalities and resurgent diseases. The New York Academy of Sciences (the Academy) excels at gathering diverse expertise to solve stubborn problems. Does music provide a window into understanding the brain? How are seemingly separate instruments such as psychology, physics, biology, and the social sciences coming together as an orchestra?
These illustrate questions the Academy asks through cutting-edge, multidisciplinary conferences. Our organization combines the insights of science with the drive to tackle emerging questions that affect our daily lives.
Linking the Physical and the Life Sciences
When biologists began to collaborate with chemists and physicists on techniques to understand the structure and function of molecules, the field of structural biology was born. The Academy was early to recognize the value of cross-fertilization between the physical and life sciences, starting one of the first Discussion Groups that brought together scientists from disparate fields to focus their expertise on the structural underpinnings of living systems. This outstanding group – comprising representatives of industry and academe became so large that it outgrew the Academy’s facility and now meets regularly at The Rockefeller University. With the Academy’s help, it is a renowned component of the research culture of New York City.
Tackling Disease
Understanding disease has historically been one of the goals of biomedical science and an area where science and society share an imperative. The Academy provides strong leadership through conferences and publications that gather and disseminate the scientific community’s most recent advances. The first scientific conference to focus on AIDS, for example, was held by the Academy in 1983. In 1999, we sponsored a conference in Montreal on pediatric AIDS to probe the transmission factors and known treatments for the disease and to chart clinical trials and research targets.
Studying the Roots of Health Disparities
How does social position affect health? Is there a scientific explanation for the observation that “poverty is the worst toxin”? A 1999 Academy conference on “Socioeconomic Status and Health in Industrialized Nations” examined the effects of social ordering on health in humans and animals. “Social class…is one of the most powerful predictors of health, more powerful than genetics, exposure to carcinogens, even smoking,” wrote The New York Times in its coverage of this seminal conference.
Learn more about the Academy’s conferences and events.
