BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium

BiocomplexityProject

http://bioquest.org

BiocomplexityPhysical

Biological

Social

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 inMultiple Dimensions

Biological

Environmental

Social

CollaborationIntegration

Inter-disciplinary Scalability

RotateTopical axis

AddConceptual axis

BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium, 2002http://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.

BiocomplexityAddresses 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

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Mass (log)

Metabolic Rate

RespiratoryComplex

Mitochondria

Mammals

Shrew

Elephant

Cell

Geoffrey B. West, et al.Santa Fe Institute

Strength to Mass Relationship

Geoscience Digital Library, NRAO, CERN

National Science Foundation

BiocomplexityTools 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, 2002http://bioquest.org

Larry Gonick and Mark Wheelis