Achievements of the National Plant Genome Initiative and New Horizons in Plant Biology
Achievements of the National Plant Genome Initiative and New Horizons in Plant Biology

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2008-03-20

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 0309134218

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Life on Earth would be impossible without plants. Humans rely on plants for most clothing, furniture, food, as well as for many pharmaceuticals and other products. Plant genome sciences are essential to understanding how plants function and how to develop desirable plant characteristics. For example, plant genomic science can contribute to the development of plants that are drought-resistant, those that require less fertilizer, and those that are optimized for conversion to fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. The National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI) is a unique, cross-agency funding enterprise that has been funding and coordinating plant genome research successfully for nine years. Research breakthroughs from NPGI and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Arabidopsis 2010 Project, such as how the plant immune system controls pathogen defense, demonstrate that the plant genome science community is vibrant and capable of driving technological advancement. This book from the National Research Council concludes that these programs should continue so that applied programs on agriculture, bioenergy, and others will always be built on a strong foundation of fundamental plant biology research.

Achievements of the National Plant Genome Initiative and New Horizons in Plant Biology
Achievements of the National Plant Genome Initiative and New Horizons in Plant Biology

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2008-04-20

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13: 0309114187

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Life on Earth would be impossible without plants. Humans rely on plants for most clothing, furniture, food, as well as for many pharmaceuticals and other products. Plant genome sciences are essential to understanding how plants function and how to develop desirable plant characteristics. For example, plant genomic science can contribute to the development of plants that are drought-resistant, those that require less fertilizer, and those that are optimized for conversion to fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. The National Plant Genome Initiative (NPGI) is a unique, cross-agency funding enterprise that has been funding and coordinating plant genome research successfully for nine years. Research breakthroughs from NPGI and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Arabidopsis 2010 Project, such as how the plant immune system controls pathogen defense, demonstrate that the plant genome science community is vibrant and capable of driving technological advancement. This book from the National Research Council concludes that these programs should continue so that applied programs on agriculture, bioenergy, and others will always be built on a strong foundation of fundamental plant biology research.

A New Biology for the 21st Century
A New Biology for the 21st Century

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2009-11-20

Total Pages: 113

ISBN-13: 0309147867

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Now more than ever, biology has the potential to contribute practical solutions to many of the major challenges confronting the United States and the world. A New Biology for the 21st Century recommends that a "New Biology" approach-one that depends on greater integration within biology, and closer collaboration with physical, computational, and earth scientists, mathematicians and engineers-be used to find solutions to four key societal needs: sustainable food production, ecosystem restoration, optimized biofuel production, and improvement in human health. The approach calls for a coordinated effort to leverage resources across the federal, private, and academic sectors to help meet challenges and improve the return on life science research in general.

America's Energy Future
America's Energy Future

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2010-01-15

Total Pages: 736

ISBN-13: 0309116023

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For multi-user PDF licensing, please contact customer service. Energy touches our lives in countless ways and its costs are felt when we fill up at the gas pump, pay our home heating bills, and keep businesses both large and small running. There are long-term costs as well: to the environment, as natural resources are depleted and pollution contributes to global climate change, and to national security and independence, as many of the world's current energy sources are increasingly concentrated in geopolitically unstable regions. The country's challenge is to develop an energy portfolio that addresses these concerns while still providing sufficient, affordable energy reserves for the nation. The United States has enormous resources to put behind solutions to this energy challenge; the dilemma is to identify which solutions are the right ones. Before deciding which energy technologies to develop, and on what timeline, we need to understand them better. America's Energy Future analyzes the potential of a wide range of technologies for generation, distribution, and conservation of energy. This book considers technologies to increase energy efficiency, coal-fired power generation, nuclear power, renewable energy, oil and natural gas, and alternative transportation fuels. It offers a detailed assessment of the associated impacts and projected costs of implementing each technology and categorizes them into three time frames for implementation.

Review of the Department of Energy's Genomics: GTL Program
Review of the Department of Energy's Genomics: GTL Program

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2006-04-19

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13: 0309180716

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) promotes scientific and technological innovation to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States. Recognizing the potential of microorganisms to offer new energy alternatives and remediate environmental contamination, DOE initiated the Genomes to Life program, now called Genomics: GTL, in 2000. The program aims to develop a predictive understanding of microbial systems that can be used to engineer systems for bioenergy production and environmental remediation, and to understand carbon cycling and sequestration. This report provides an evaluation of the program and its infrastructure plan. Overall, the report finds that GTL's research has resulted in and promises to deliver many more scientific advancements that contribute to the achievement of DOE's goals. However, the DOE's current plan for building four independent facilities for protein production, molecular imaging, proteome analysis, and systems biology sequentially may not be the most cost-effective, efficient, and scientifically optimal way to provide this infrastructure. As an alternative, the report suggests constructing up to four institute-like facilities, each of which integrates the capabilities of all four of the originally planned facility types and focuses on one or two of DOE's mission goals. The alternative infrastructure plan could have an especially high ratio of scientific benefit to cost because the need for technology will be directly tied to the biology goals of the program.

Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass
Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2010-01-24

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 0309137128

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The transportation sector cannot continue on its current path: The volatility of oil prices threatens the U.S. economy, the large proportion of oil importation threatens U.S. energy security, and the massive contribution of greenhouse gases threatens the environment. The development of domestic sources of alternative transportation fuels with lower greenhouse emissions is now a national imperative. Coal and biomass are in abundant supply in the United States and can be converted to liquid fuels that can be combusted in existing and future vehicles. Their abundant supply makes them attractive candidates to provide non-oil-based liquid fuels to the U.S. transportation system. However, there are important questions about the economic viability, carbon impact, and technology status of these options. Liquid Transportation Fuels from Coal and Biomass provides a snapshot of the potential costs of liquid fuels from biomass by biochemical conversion and from biomass and coal by thermochemical conversion. Policy makers, investors, leaders in industry, the transportation sector, and others with a concern for the environment, economy, and energy security will look to this book as a roadmap to independence from foreign oil. With immediate action and sustained effort, alternative liquid fuels can be available in the 2020 time frame, if or when the nation needs them.

Sustainable use of Genetic Diversity in Forage and Turf Breeding
Sustainable use of Genetic Diversity in Forage and Turf Breeding

Author: Christian Huyghe

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2010-06-10

Total Pages: 566

ISBN-13: 9048187060

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Grassland produces feed for livestock, improves soil fertility and structure, protects water resources and may contribute to climate change mitigation through carbon storage and to biodiversity preservation. It simultaneously maintains sustainable economic outputs for farmers and provides ecosystem services. Turf similarly c- siderably contributes to our environment by adding beauty to our surroundings, providing a safe playing surface for sports and recreation. The species diversity present in most grasslands and turfs is a functional div- sity contributing to the previously mentioned agronomic and environmental bene?ts. The species belong to different functional groups and the adequate species com- sition may maximise the agronomic performance through a higher production and a better quality and the environmental bene?ts through symbiotic nitrogen ?xation or sources of pollen and nectar to pollinators. In a given grassland or turf, the genetic diversity available in each variety contributes to this economic and environmental performance, but also to the stability of these performances including the stability of the resistance against pathogens and pests. Natural grasslands share many species with the sown swards. They may be regarded as favourable sites for in situ preservation of genetic diversity as well as valuable sources of diversity for breeding.

Changes in the Sheep Industry in the United States
Changes in the Sheep Industry in the United States

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2008-10-26

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 0309121612

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The U.S. sheep industry is complex, multifaceted, and rooted in history and tradition. The dominant feature of sheep production in the United States, and, thus, the focus of much producer and policy concern, has been the steady decline in sheep and lamb inventories since the mid-1940s. Although often described as "an industry in decline," this report concludes that a better description of the current U.S. sheep industry is "an industry in transition."

Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2009-01-21

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 0309177766

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Increased agricultural productivity is a major stepping stone on the path out of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, but farmers there face tremendous challenges improving production. Poor soil, inefficient water use, and a lack of access to plant breeding resources, nutritious animal feed, high quality seed, and fuel and electricity-combined with some of the most extreme environmental conditions on Earth-have made yields in crop and animal production far lower in these regions than world averages. Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia identifies sixty emerging technologies with the potential to significantly improve agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Eighteen technologies are recommended for immediate development or further exploration. Scientists from all backgrounds have an opportunity to become involved in bringing these and other technologies to fruition. The opportunities suggested in this book offer new approaches that can synergize with each other and with many other activities to transform agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Molecular Techniques in Crop Improvement
Molecular Techniques in Crop Improvement

Author: Shri Mohan Jain

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2009-11-05

Total Pages: 759

ISBN-13: 9048129672

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This book provides comprehensive information on the latest tools and techniques of molecular genetics and their applications in crop improvement. It thoroughly discusses advanced techniques used in molecular markers, QTL mapping, marker-assisted breeding, and molecular cytogenetics.