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Life Sciences and Related Fields: Trends Relevant to the Biological Weapons Convention (2011)

Chapter: Appendix B: National and International Scientific Organizations Relevant to the BWC

« Previous: Appendix A: Committee Member Biographies
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: National and International Scientific Organizations Relevant to the BWC." National Research Council. 2011. Life Sciences and Related Fields: Trends Relevant to the Biological Weapons Convention. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13130.
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Appendix B

National and International
Scientific Organizations
Relevant to the BWC

THE CONVENING ORGANIZATIONS FOR THE WORKSHOP

IAP—the Global Network of Science Academies (formerly the Inter-Academy Panel on International Issues), founded in 1993, is a global network of 104 science academies in partnership designed “to help its members develop the tools they need to participate effectively in science policy discussions and decision making.” The current co-chairs are Canada and the African Academy of Sciences. More information about IAP can be found on its website at http://www.interacademies.net/. The IAP executive council established a Biosecurity Working Group (BWG) in 2004 to coordinate its activities; its current members are the academies of China, Cuba, Nigeria, Poland (chair), the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB), founded in 1955, unites biochemists and molecular biologists in 66 countries that belong to the Union as Adhering or Associate Adhering Bodies, representing biochemical societies, national research councils, or academies of sciences. The Union is devoted to promoting research and education in biochemistry and molecular biology throughout the world and gives particular attention to areas where the subject is still in its early development. It achieves this in several ways. For example, every three years the Union sponsors an International Congress of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; co-sponsorship of these Congresses by regional organizations of biochemistry and molecular biology is an increasing trend. These Congresses are major international meetings where current

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: National and International Scientific Organizations Relevant to the BWC." National Research Council. 2011. Life Sciences and Related Fields: Trends Relevant to the Biological Weapons Convention. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13130.
×

research in all fields of biochemistry and molecular biology is considered. Thousands of individual research projects are presented in poster sessions, and leading investigators from many nations survey their fields and describe their own research in symposia and plenary lectures. Since 1992 IUBMB has also sponsored IUBMB Conferences and Special Meetings, held in the years between the International Congresses. Further information is available online at http://www.iubmb.org.

The International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) is one of the 29 Scientific Unions of the International Council for Science (ICSU). It was founded in 1927 as the International Society of Microbiology, and became the International Association of Microbiological Societies affiliated to the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) as a division in 1967. It acquired independence in 1980 and became a Union Member of ICSU in 1982. IUMS currently has 113 member societies and 14 associate members representing more than 100 countries. Members are national societies and associations for microbiologists, and associate members are other institutions with an interest in microbiological and connected sciences. IUMS’s objectives are to promote the study of microbiological sciences internationally; initiate, facilitate, and coordinate research and other scientific activities that involve international cooperation; ensure the discussion and dissemination of the results of international conferences, symposia, and meetings and assist in the publication of their reports; represent microbiological sciences in ICSU; and maintain contact with other international organizations. Further information is available online at http://www.iums.org.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was founded in Beijing on November 1, 1949. As the nation’s highest academic institution in natural sciences, supreme scientific and technological advisory body, and national comprehensive research and development center in natural sciences and high technologies, it consists of the academic divisions and various subordinate institutions. It currently has 694 members. At present, there are six academic divisions, functioning as the national scientific think-tank, providing advisory and appraisal services on issues stemming from the national economy, social development, and science and technology progress. Today’s CAS has 12 branch offices, 117 institutes with legal entity, more than 100 national key laboratories and national engineering research centers, and about 1,000 field stations throughout the country. CAS has made a series of major scientific breakthroughs in basic and cutting-edge research, bio-medical sciences, strategic high-technology, and research on sustainable development, thus making important contributions to China’s economic development, social progress and national security. In 2009, the Science & Technology in China: A Roadmap to 2050 series outlined major

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: National and International Scientific Organizations Relevant to the BWC." National Research Council. 2011. Life Sciences and Related Fields: Trends Relevant to the Biological Weapons Convention. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13130.
×

scientific issues and critical technical problems in China’s modernization process, and made suggestions on how to resolve them, ensuring the contribution of science and technology in realizing China’s modernization goals by 2050. CAS also attaches great importance to international cooperation and exchanges, reinforcing strategic partnerships with key research institutions through high-level exchange visits and organizing high-level strategic for a and academic symposia on frontier research. Further information is available online at http://english.cas.cn/.

Information about the U.S. National Research Council and National Academy of Sciences is available in the front matter of the report.

OTHER INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATIONS

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) serves to advance the worldwide aspects of the chemical sciences and to contribute to the application of chemistry in the service of humankind. As a scientific, international, nongovernmental, and objective body, IUPAC can address many global issues involving the chemical sciences.

IUPAC was formed in 1919 by chemists from industry and academia. Over nearly nine decades, IUPAC has succeeded in fostering worldwide communications in the chemical sciences and in uniting academic, industrial, and public-sector chemistry in a common language. IUPAC has long been recognized as the world authority on chemical nomenclature, terminology, standardized methods for measurement, atomic weights, and many other critically evaluated data. IUPAC continues to sponsor major international meetings that range from specialized scientific symposia to CHEMRAWN (CHEMical Research Applied to World Needs) meetings with societal impact. During the Cold War, IUPAC became an important instrument for maintaining technical dialogue among scientists throughout the world.

IUPAC is an association of bodies, National Adhering Organizations, which represent the chemists of different member countries. There are 45 National Adhering Organizations, and 20 other countries are also linked to IUPAC in the status of Associate National Adhering Organizations. Almost 1,000 chemists throughout the world are engaged on a voluntary basis in the scientific work of IUPAC, primarily through projects, which are components of eight divisions and several other committees. Further information is available online at http://www.iupac.org.

The International Council for Science (ICSU), founded in 1931, is a nongovernmental organization representing a global membership that includes both national scientific bodies (111 members) and international scientific unions (29 members). As its website notes: “Because of its broad

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: National and International Scientific Organizations Relevant to the BWC." National Research Council. 2011. Life Sciences and Related Fields: Trends Relevant to the Biological Weapons Convention. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13130.
×

and diverse membership, the Council is increasingly called upon to speak on behalf of the global scientific community and to act as an advisor in matters ranging from ethics to the environment.” Approximately a dozen of ICSU’s unions can be considered to be part of the “life sciences”—reflecting the breadth and fragmentation of the field, unlike the single unions for physics and chemistry. ICSU also has a standing Committee on Freedom and Responsibility in the Conduct of Science. Further information may be found online at http://www.icsu.org.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: National and International Scientific Organizations Relevant to the BWC." National Research Council. 2011. Life Sciences and Related Fields: Trends Relevant to the Biological Weapons Convention. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13130.
×
Page 139
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: National and International Scientific Organizations Relevant to the BWC." National Research Council. 2011. Life Sciences and Related Fields: Trends Relevant to the Biological Weapons Convention. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13130.
×
Page 140
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: National and International Scientific Organizations Relevant to the BWC." National Research Council. 2011. Life Sciences and Related Fields: Trends Relevant to the Biological Weapons Convention. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13130.
×
Page 141
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: National and International Scientific Organizations Relevant to the BWC." National Research Council. 2011. Life Sciences and Related Fields: Trends Relevant to the Biological Weapons Convention. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13130.
×
Page 142
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During the last decade, national and international scientific organizations have become increasingly engaged in considering how to respond to the biosecurity implications of developments in the life sciences and in assessing trends in science and technology (S&T) relevant to biological and chemical weapons nonproliferation. The latest example is an international workshop, Trends in Science and Technology Relevant to the Biological Weapons Convention, held October 31 - November 3, 2010 at the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing.

Life Sciences and Related Fields summarizes the workshop, plenary, and breakout discussion sessions held during this convention. Given the immense diversity of current research and development, the report is only able to provide an overview of the areas of science and technology the committee believes are potentially relevant to the future of the Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (BWC), although there is an effort to identify areas that seemed particularly ripe for further exploration and analysis. The report offers findings and conclusions organized around three fundamental and frequently cited trends in S&T that affect the scope and operation of the convention:

  • The rapid pace of change in the life sciences and related fields;
  • The increasing diffusion of life sciences research capacity and its applications, both internationally and beyond traditional research institutions; and
  • The extent to which additional scientific and technical disciplines beyond biology are increasingly involved in life sciences research.

The report does not make recommendations about policy options to respond to the implications of the identified trends. The choice of such responses rests with the 164 States Parties to the Convention, who must take into account multiple factors beyond the project's focus on the state of the science.

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