Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN
What is AAAS?
The American Association for the Advancement of Science, “Triple A-S” (AAAS), is an international non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science around the world by serving as an educator, leader, spokesperson and professional association. In addition to organizing membership activities, AAAS publishes the journal Science, as well as many scientific newsletters, books and reports, and spearheads programs that raise the bar of understanding for science worldwide.
AAAS History
Founded in 1848, AAAS serves some 261 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of one million. The non-profit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy; international programs; science education; and more. For the latest research news, log onto EurekAlert!, the premier science-news Web site, a service of AAAS.
AAAS is a global organization, with offices in Washington, D.C. and Cambridge, U.K., and award-winning news correspondents reporting from an array of countries. The U.S. headquarters facility, designed by renowned architect Henry N. Cobb of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, was dedicated in September 1997 as the William T. Golden Center for Science and Engineering, in honor of the Association’s long-time treasurer. In 2009, the AAAS headquarters facility became the first existing, not newly constructed facility in the District of Columbia to earn a gold-level certification through the U.S. Green Building Council‘s Leadership Environmental & Energy Design program.
Membership and Programs
Open to all, AAAS membership includes a subscription to Science. Four primary program areas fulfill the AAAS mission:
AAAS Mission
AAAS seeks to “advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people.” To fulfill this mission, the AAAS Board has set these broad goals:
- Enhance communication among scientists, engineers, and the public;
- Promote and defend the integrity of science and its use;
- Strengthen support for the science and technology enterprise;
- Provide a voice for science on societal issues;
- Promote the responsible use of science in public policy;
- Strengthen and diversify the science and technology workforce;
- Foster education in science and technology for everyone;
- Increase public engagement with science and technology; and
- Advance international cooperation in science.
Symposia – The Science of Uncertainty in Genomic Medicine
Friday, February 15, 2013: 10:00 AM-11:30 AM
Room 313 (Hynes Convention Center)
The notion of “personalizing” health care through the use of an individual’s genetic code has attracted considerable enthusiasm and investment. Impressive examples, confirmed through formal studies of clinical validity and utility, suggest that we have only scratched the surface of applications to treat disease more precisely, identify risk factors for complex disease, and guide preventative measures. As the cost of sequencing entire exomes and genomes falls, the opportunities for people around the world to take possession of their entire genetic code will proliferate. However, one irony of the precise determination of all 3.2 billion nucleotide pairs is the lack of understanding of the meaning of many sequence variations. More than 1,500 single nucleotide variations are associated with risks for more than 200 complex diseases, but despite their commercialization, these account for a small proportion of heritability. Thus, in both translational science and clinical practice, the substantial uncertainty in interpreting genomic information serves as an important barrier to application. Coping with uncertainty can be addressed quantitatively, but how the information is understood, presented, and interpreted has best been addressed qualitatively. Transdisciplinary teams of professionals may be best suited to study the many facets of uncertainty in genomic medicine.
Organizer:
Reed E. Pyeritz, University of Pennsylvania
Co-Organizer:
Shili Lin, Ohio State University
Moderator:
Reed E. Pyeritz, University of Pennsylvania
Speakers:
Giovanni Parmigiani, Harvard Medical School
How Useful Is It to Know Your Genome?
James P. Evans, University of North Carolina
Genomics in Clinical Medicine: Navigating the Spectrum from Certainty to Uncertainty
ert C. Green, Partners Center for Personalized Genetic Medicine
A Data-Driven Pathway to Genomic Medicine
Friday, February 15, 2013
Room 313 (Hynes Convention Center)
Robert C. Green , Partners Center for Personalized Genetic Medicine, Boston, MA
Physicians and other health care professionals, including medical geneticists, have little understanding or experience in applying information about a person’s entire genome to risk prediction for complex diseases. We have been studying what patients are interested in knowing and how they would like data presented and discussed.
The Architecture of the Cell Nucleus
Friday, February 15, 2013: 10:00 AM-11:30 AM
Room 203 (Hynes Convention Center)
The cell nucleus in humans and other higher organisms is filled with chromatin, the protein-DNA complex in which the genome is packaged. However, the arrangement of chromatin within the nucleus is not random. Entire specific regions of the genome are localized near the nuclear periphery; others are sequestered in “organelles” such as the nucleolus. In each case, the location may control the activity of the gene. Certain chromosomes contain genes that control sex-specific features of the organism. Genes on these chromosomes may be specifically silenced or activated by structures that propagate and extend over the entire chromosome. It has been known for a long time that the expression of genes is controlled by DNA sequence elements located close to the genes themselves. However, striking results obtained over the last several years show that important contributions to this regulation are also made by DNA sequences far away from the target gene: within the nucleus, distant sites on chromatin make many specific and preferred long-range contacts. Many of these are associated with previously unsuspected regulatory pathways. All these results lead to a revised view of the nucleus, which contains both complex networks of interacting sites and highly organized substructures.
Organizer:
Gary Felsenfeld, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Moderator:
Gary Felsenfeld, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Speakers:
Mitzi Kuroda, Harvard Medical School
Chromosome-Specific Targeting of Dosage Compensation in Drosophila
Thomas A. Misteli, National Cancer Institute
Nuclear Architecture and Disease
Job Dekker, University of Massachusetts Medical School
New Frontiers in Single Molecule Detection and Single Cell Analysis
Saturday, February 16, 2013: 8:30 AM-11:30 AM
Room 206 (Hynes Convention Center)
Single molecule detection (SMD) and single cell analysis (SCA) offer unique opportunities for detection of biomarkers for early disease diagnosis, for ultrasensitive assessing of environmental impacts, and for probing distinctive functions of individual molecules in single live cells. Smart functions of single live cells have also inspired designs of intelligent bio-inspired devices. At the cellular level, a small number of biomolecules can induce drastic cellular responses and lead to disease, emphasizing the importance of molecular detection of trace amounts of biomolecules in single live cells. This symposium is structured to showcase the latest advances in SMD and SCA and their applications.
Organizer:
X. Nancy Xu, Old Dominion University
Moderator:
X. Nancy Xu, Old Dominion University
Speakers:
Robert Singer, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Following Single mRNA Molecules in Living Cells and Tissues
George Church, Harvard Medical School
Linda B. McGown, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Investigating Protein Capture at Aptamer‑Coated Surfaces
X. Nancy Xu, Old Dominion University
Nanoparticle Biosensors for Mapping Single‑Molecule Functions in Single Live Cells
Scott Fraser, California Institute of Technology
Imaging the Cellular and Molecular Dynamics That Pattern Embryos
Xiaowei Zhuang, Harvard University
Single‑Molecule and Super‑Resolution Imaging of Cells and Tissues
Confluence of Streams of Knowledge: Biotechnology and Nanotechnology
How Macro-Evolutionary Studies Call for an Extended Synthesis
Sunday, February 17, 2013: 8:30 AM-11:30 AM
Room 203 (Hynes Convention Center)
When Eldredge and Gould formulated the punctuated equilibria theory, they put several macroevolutionary phenomena on the agenda that were not addressed by the early population geneticists and the founders of the Modern Synthesis. Their theory provides alternative scientific interpretations for the mode and tempo of evolution. Occurring gaps in the fossil record, or the lack of evidence for the existence of intermediate species, are understood as real. And some (living) fossils do not appear to undergo any significant evolutionary change for millions of years, which necessitates the study of stasis. Acknowledging that evolution can occur faster or slower than predicted by Neodarwinians has consequences for how we define species and for determining the levels of evolution. Macroevolutionary studies provide different species concepts and argue that evolution can occur at levels higher than the pheno- or genotype. Today, multiple scholars investigate the causes of evolutionary stasis as well as punctuations, macroevolutionary trends, and how evolution occurs at different hierarchies. In recent years, evidence for macroevolution is also provided from within the field of molecular biology, and the pattern of punctuated equilibrium has been proven to be present in neontological and even sociocultural evolutionary phenomena. The session will examine how macroevolutionary studies call for an extension of the Modern Synthesis and which methodologies and techniques enable the study of macroevolutionary events.
Organizer:
Nathalie L. Gontier, University of Lisbon
Co-Organizer:
Emanuele Serrelli, University of Milan-Bicocca
Moderator:
Emanuele Serrelli, University of Milan-Bicocca
Speakers:
David Sepkoski, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
Stephen Jay Gould’s Hierarchical Alternative to Neodarwinism
Douglas H. Erwin, Smithsonian Institution
The Evolution of Evolution: Changing Dynamics in Macroevolution
Derek Turner, Connecticut College
Contingency and the Explanation of Macroevolutionary Trends
Folmer Bokma, Umeå University
Complexity and Limits to Change
Nathalie L. Gontier, University of Lisbon
Punctuated Equilibria: A Universal Pattern in Life and Culture
Alycia L. Stigall, Ohio University
Expanding the Role of Biogeography and Niche Evolution in Macroevolutionary Theory
How Macro-Evolutionary Studies Call for an Extended Synthesis
Sunday, February 17, 2013: 8:30 AM-11:30 AM
Room 203 (Hynes Convention Center)
When Eldredge and Gould formulated the punctuated equilibria theory, they put several macroevolutionary phenomena on the agenda that were not addressed by the early population geneticists and the founders of the Modern Synthesis. Their theory provides alternative scientific interpretations for the mode and tempo of evolution. Occurring gaps in the fossil record, or the lack of evidence for the existence of intermediate species, are understood as real. And some (living) fossils do not appear to undergo any significant evolutionary change for millions of years, which necessitates the study of stasis. Acknowledging that evolution can occur faster or slower than predicted by Neodarwinians has consequences for how we define species and for determining the levels of evolution. Macroevolutionary studies provide different species concepts and argue that evolution can occur at levels higher than the pheno- or genotype. Today, multiple scholars investigate the causes of evolutionary stasis as well as punctuations, macroevolutionary trends, and how evolution occurs at different hierarchies. In recent years, evidence for macroevolution is also provided from within the field of molecular biology, and the pattern of punctuated equilibrium has been proven to be present in neontological and even sociocultural evolutionary phenomena. The session will examine how macroevolutionary studies call for an extension of the Modern Synthesis and which methodologies and techniques enable the study of macroevolutionary events.
Organizer:
Nathalie L. Gontier, University of Lisbon
Co-Organizer:
Emanuele Serrelli, University of Milan-Bicocca
Moderator:
Emanuele Serrelli, University of Milan-Bicocca
Speakers:
David Sepkoski, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science
Stephen Jay Gould’s Hierarchical Alternative to Neodarwinism
Douglas H. Erwin, Smithsonian Institution
The Evolution of Evolution: Changing Dynamics in Macroevolution
Derek Turner, Connecticut College
Contingency and the Explanation of Macroevolutionary Trends
Folmer Bokma, Umeå University
Complexity and Limits to Change
Nathalie L. Gontier, University of Lisbon
Punctuated Equilibria: A Universal Pattern in Life and Culture
Alycia L. Stigall, Ohio University
Expanding the Role of Biogeography and Niche Evolution in Macroevolutionary Theory
Monday, February 18, 2013: 9:45 AM-12:45 PM
Room 300 (Hynes Convention Center)
As scientists are able to understand and manipulate ever-smaller scales of matter, a confluence of research streams in the fields of biotechnology and nanotechnology has enabled such innovations as lab-on-a-chip devices, targeted drug delivery, and other forms of minimally invasive therapy and diagnostics. As an example of the confluence of technology streams, the tissue-engineering field combines advances in developmental biology with engineering and materials methods to replace or improve tissue, organs, and other biological functions. This is not a typical interdisciplinary situation where a cell type can be given over to an engineer or an engineer can guess what kind of scaffold will work in a biological system. Rather, there must be a multidisciplinary collaboration from the start, with all participants having common reference points and language. Although there are challenges for managing research and development at the confluence of research streams, there is also greater opportunity for radical innovation. Research at confluence of biotechnology and nanotechnology is producing great benefits for society — biomedical innovations and clean energy innovations — and is stimulating an emerging industrial sector. In this symposium, the challenges and opportunities of such research will be explored, with implications for the organization of research in universities, research institutes, technology ventures, and multinational organizations.
Organizer:
Elicia M.A. Maine, Simon Fraser University
Co-Organizer:
James M. Utterback, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Moderator:
James M. Utterback, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Speakers:
Robert S. Langer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Challenges and Opportunities at the Confluence of Biotechnology and Nanomaterials
Nathan Lewis, California Institute of Technology
Clean Energy Innovation from the Confluence of Technologies
Sarah Kaplan, University of Toronto
The Process and Practice of Interdisciplinary Research
Elicia M.A. Maine, Simon Fraser University
Global Bio-Nano Firms: Exploiting the Confluence of Technologies
Han Cao, BioNano Genomics Inc.
Commercializing Innovation: Applying Nanotechnology to Genomics
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