Avril D. Woodhead - Böcker

It is delightful but humbling to find my face at the start of these Proceedings--there are innumerable other faces which could equally weIl stand there, from among the band who have fore­ gathered at every gerontology conference since the subject was launched in its present form; but I deeply appreciate being there. Gerontology d. id not grow by accident. Its present standing is the fruit of careful planning, undertaken by European and American scientists back in the 1950's. In those days it was still a "fringe" science, and the conspirators had much the standing of the 1920's Interplanetary Society. The United States itself is the offspring of conspiracy, for when the results of conspiracy are beneficent, the conspirators become Founding Fathers. This has been the case with gerontology. The present meeting is especially gratifying because the papers have been recitals of normal, hard-science investigation. We had to get through the rigors of a long period of semantic argument and a long period of one-shot general theories before this kind of meeting, normal in all other research fields, could take place. It was also necesssary to breed in the menagerie a generation of excellent investigators aware of the theoretical background but unintimidated by it, who share our conviction that human aging is comprehensible and probably controllable, and who go into the laboratory to attack specifics.

Biological processes in the oceans play a crucial role in regulating the fluxes of many important elements such as carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, phosphorus, and silicon. As we come to the end of the 20th century, oceanographers have increasingly focussed on how these elements are cycled within the ocean, the interdependencies of these cycles, and the effect of the cycle on the composition of the earth's atmosphere and climate. Many techniques and tools have been developed or adapted over the past decade to help in this effort. These include satellite sensors of upper ocean phytoplankton distributions, flow cytometry, molecular biological probes, sophisticated moored and shipboard instrumentation, and vastly increased numerical modeling capabilities. This volume is the result of the 37th Brookhaven Symposium in Biology, in which a wide spectrum of oceanographers, chemists, biologists, and modelers discussed the progress in understanding the role of primary producers in biogeochemical cycles. The symposium is dedicated to Dr. Richard W. Eppley, an intellectual giant in biological oceanography, who inspired a generation of scientists to delve into problems of understanding biogeochemical cycles in the sea. We gratefully acknowledge support from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Electric Power Research Institute, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Special thanks to Claire Lamberti for her help in producing this volume.

Physical and chemical agents in the environment damage the DNA of humans, and pose a major threat to human health today, and to the genetic integrity of human populations. Although studies on isolated DNA in vitro, on prokaryotes, on mammalian cells in culture, and on laboratory animals have provided essential background information, it is now possible to study DNA damage and repair in human tissues directly. New techniques of high sensitivity, especially those not requiring radioactive labeling have made possible quantitation of DNA damage and repair, as well as detection of residual, unrepaired DNA lesions . In recent years, several investigators have taken up the challenge of studying damage and repair responses in humans, and we have chosen that work as the special focus of this Symposium. Major advances in under­ standing damage and responses in human skin, in blood cells and in human internal organs indicate three major themes. First, DNA damage levels in human tissues depend not only on the initial exposures, but also on the capapacity of that tissue for repair of the specific lesion type. Second, repair in human tissues may differ quantitatively and qualitatively from that in human cells in culture.

This book is based on the proceedings of the Science Writers Workshop on "Biotechnology and the Human Genome: Innovations and Impacts" held at the Brookhaven National Laboratory on September 14-16, 1987. The aim of this workshop which was sponsored by the Office of Health and Environmental Research of the Department of Energy (DOE) was to provide a forum in which science writers, reporters and other interested individuals could gain a firsthand knowledge about the scope and direction of the human genome initi­ ative and its supportive technologies. The speakers were leaders working in scientific disciplines that are either integral parts of the Department's genome project or that represent important ancillary science. The Department of Energy's human genome initiative is a logical ex­ tension of its long term commitment to investigating genetic damage from exposures to radiations and energy-related chemicals. It will exploit comp­ utational, engineering and biological capabilities within and as well as outside the DOE national laboratories to develop the technologies and re­ sources which will lead to a complete description of the human genome at the molecular level. Knowledge of the entire human genetic map and the genomic sequence will allow investigators to more rapidly and effectively identify genes involved in genetic diseases, individual variabilities including radi­ ation sensitivities, and physiological processes, as well as to make unpre­ cedented inroads into evolutionary relationships.

Biological processes in the oceans play a crucial role in regulating the fluxes of many important elements such as carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, phosphorus, and silicon. As we come to the end of the 20th century, oceanographers have increasingly focussed on how these elements are cycled within the ocean, the interdependencies of these cycles, and the effect of the cycle on the composition of the earth's atmosphere and climate. Many techniques and tools have been developed or adapted over the past decade to help in this effort. These include satellite sensors of upper ocean phytoplankton distributions, flow cytometry, molecular biological probes, sophisticated moored and shipboard instrumentation, and vastly increased numerical modeling capabilities. This volume is the result of the 37th Brookhaven Symposium in Biology, in which a wide spectrum of oceanographers, chemists, biologists, and modelers discussed the progress in understanding the role of primary producers in biogeochemical cycles. The symposium is dedicated to Dr. Richard W. Eppley, an intellectual giant in biological oceanography, who inspired a generation of scientists to delve into problems of understanding biogeochemical cycles in the sea. We gratefully acknowledge support from the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Electric Power Research Institute, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Special thanks to Claire Lamberti for her help in producing this volume.