In the second half of the 20th century, great progress has been made in all fields of life science, especially in molecular biology, which has revolutionized the position of life science in natural science. Many scientists believe that life science will become the leading discipline of natural science in the future, and even predict that 2 1 century will be the century of biology. Although there are still different opinions on these conclusions, there is no doubt that life science will continue to flourish in the 2 1 century, and its great promotion to natural science is no less than that of physics in the 19 century and the first half of the 20th century. If life science benefited from the introduction of concepts, methods and technologies of physics, chemistry and mathematics in the past, then in the future, life science will give positive feedback and reward to other disciplines of natural science in a unique way. When the 2 1 century comes, some far-sighted scientists, thinkers and politicians will solve many increasingly serious human social problems, such as population, earth environment, food, resources and health, and they all hope for the progress of life science and biotechnology.

2.08 Life science will become the leading discipline of natural science in 2 1 century.

The discovery of DNA double helix structure model, the establishment of "central rule" of genetic information transmission and the establishment of DNA recombination technology in 1950s fundamentally changed the face of life science. The combination of molecular biology and genetics will determine the complete sequence of 3 billion base pairs (genetic code) of human genome in 10- 15 years. There are about 65438+ million genes in human cells. Up to now, 20% of the "working draft" of the human genome has been sequenced, and the accuracy and completion rate have reached 99.99%. In the future, a large number of new important genes will be discovered and clarified continuously, such as genes controlling memory and behavior, genes controlling cell aging and programmed death, new oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes, and genes related to a large number of diseases. These achievements will be used to serve human health.

After 1970s, with the development of molecular biology and the emergence of bioengineering represented by genetic engineering, it is possible for biotechnology to improve the traits and quality of organisms purposefully through precise cutting and purposeful recombination of DNA strands. So far, the achievements of bioengineering have shown attractive prospects in production. Although there are still many controversial issues, it is likely to become a new industry in 2 1 century.

Developmental biology will rise rapidly, which will answer an important question that countless scientists have been pursuing for more than 100 years, that is, how fertilized eggs develop into individuals with extremely complex structures and functions through cell division and differentiation, and clarify the orderly program control mechanism in time and space during individual development, thus creating conditions for human beings to completely control the growth and development of animals and plants.

The discovery of RNA molecules with both genetic information function and enzyme function provides a new opportunity to solve the problem of how life originated, which has been stagnant for decades. 2 1 century, people will try to synthesize organisms in the laboratory. Biotechnology can be used to amplify the DNA of ancient organisms or freeze-dried corpses preserved in special environments, reveal their genetic codes, establish gene banks of extinct organisms, and study the evolution and classification of organisms.

The rise of neuroscience indicates another peak of life science. The brain is an extremely complex advanced structural system, which contains 10 1 1 cells. At the beginning of the 20th century, there will be a major breakthrough in the study of brain function from the molecular level to the behavioral level, and there will also be significant progress in clarifying the mechanisms of learning, memory, thinking, behavior and emotion.

Ecology may be a science that directly serves the human living environment and plays an important role in the sustained and coordinated development of the national economy. One example is the decision-making basis provided by the theory and practice of ecology for the construction of the Three Gorges Reservoir in China. Protecting biodiversity is one of the most urgent tasks of life science at present. According to reliable data, there are about 65,438+000 species of life extinct on the earth every day, many of which died before being recognized by human beings. This is undoubtedly a disaster for mankind. The research results of ecology and biodiversity protection and utilization will guide human beings to follow the laws of nature and actively protect their living environment, otherwise human material civilization and spiritual civilization will be disastrous.

In line with the rapid development of life science, developed countries and some international organizations have successively put forward huge life science research plans, such as the international geosphere and biosphere plan, the human genome mapping and sequencing plan, the human frontier science plan, the brain decade and the research on the utilization and protection of biodiversity. Among them, the drawing and sequencing of the human genome alone has a budget as high as $3 billion.

Due to the development of life science, the demand for talents has surged. In recent years, in addition to more and more physicists, chemists and technical scientists attracted to the field of biological research, in the United States, for example, in recent years, among the 480,000 doctoral degree recipients, 5 1% are engaged in life sciences. Excellent young scientists have flowed to the forefront of life science, which is the driving force and source of the prosperity of life science in the 2/kloc-0 century.

2.08.2 265438+Main branches and development trends of life sciences in the early 20th century

In 1980s, far-sighted biologists listed molecular biology (including molecular genetics), cell biology, neurobiology and ecology as the four basic disciplines of current biological science, which undoubtedly correctly reflected the general trend of modern life science. Genetics (mainly molecular genetics) is not only the leading discipline in biological science at present, but also will remain its core position in life science for many years to come.

Some scientists have long predicted that the combination of molecular biology, cell biology and genetics will promote the vigorous development of developmental biology, and thus put forward that developmental biology will become the "new master" of life science in 2 1 century, and this prediction has gradually become a reality.

There is no doubt that molecular biology (including molecular genetics) plays a mainstream role in life science and its great role in promoting the development of the whole life science. Cell is the basic structure and functional unit of life activities, and cell biology, as a basic subject of biological science, must be paid attention to.

Many biological scientists believe that the rise of neuroscience or brain science will represent the next peak of life science development, and then it will promote the rise of cognitive science and behavioral science.

Ecology may be the most direct service to human living environment and plays an important role in the sustained and coordinated development of the national economy.

A. Molecular biology

Molecular biology is a subject that studies the nature and laws of life phenomena at the molecular level. Nucleic acid and protein (some people think that there is sugar) are the most basic substances in life, so the research on the structure and function of nucleic acid and protein will remain the main content of future molecular biology research. Protein is the main undertaker of life activities. Almost all life activities depend on protein (including enzymes). Protein's research on molecular structure and function will not only clarify the peptide chain structure formed by amino acids in a certain order, but also pay special attention to the specific three-dimensional spatial structure of peptide chain formation in the future, because the biological function of protein is closely related to its spatial configuration, and nucleic acid is the carrier and transmitter of genetic information, which is transmitted from DNA to RNA and then to protein. Known as the "central rule" of genetic information transmission, it is the core of molecular biology (molecular genetics) research. Its basic problems have been relatively clear, and the focus of current research is:

① After about 10- 15 years, the complete sequence (genetic code) of 3 billion base pairs in the human genome can be detected, which is a milestone work;

② The research on all levels of gene expression regulation in eukaryotes is still a task for a long time to come. The concepts, methods and techniques of molecular biology and the infiltration of various disciplines are forming many new disciplines, such as molecular genetics, cell molecular biology, neuromolecular biology, molecular taxonomy, molecular pharmacology and molecular pathology. Therefore, the leading role of molecular biology in life science will continue.

B. Genetics

Genetics has its own independent discipline system than molecular biology, but modern genetics and molecular biology are inseparable and cross-cutting, and it is difficult to completely separate them.

Some famous geneticists call genetics heredity, because modern genetics mainly studies the transmission and expression of genetic information. The information carried by genes is determined by the structure of genes, and the expression of information is realized by the function of genes, so genetics studies the structure and function of genes. From the perspective of genetics, the mechanism of all life phenomena will ultimately be related to the structure and function of genes. Therefore, genetics will remain the core discipline and driving force of life science in the future.

It is estimated that there are about 65438+ ten thousand genes in human cells, and so far less than 5% genes have been clarified, so it will be an important task to discover and clarify new genes related to important life activities and diseases in the next few decades.

C. cell biology

As early as the 1920s, Wilson, a famous biologist, put forward the famous saying that "all key biological problems must be found in cells", which still has a deep connotation. Both weismann and Morgan tried to establish a unified theory of heredity, development and evolution on the basis of cell research, although they didn't find a specific solution at that time. However, the importance of knowledge about cells in biological science is obvious. Cell is the basic unit of structure and function of all life activities, and cell biology is a science that studies the basic laws of cell life activities. Cell structure, cell metabolism, cell inheritance, cell proliferation and differentiation, cell information transmission and cell communication are the main research contents of cell biology. Although the content of cell biology research in the future is comprehensive, it may be summarized as two basic points:

First, how genes and gene products control cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, aging and other important life activities, which involves a brand-new problem, how to transmit signals inside and outside cells; The second is how biological molecules such as gene products-protein molecules are constructed and assembled into the structure of cells, and how the orderly life activities of cells are exercised.

In the next 20 years or so, it is expected to make important progress and breakthroughs in the following issues:

Chromosome is the main executor of genetic information storage, replication and expression, and its structure and function may be clarified at different structural levels.

② The research on cytoskeleton (including nuclear skeleton and chromosome skeleton) will be fully developed.

The combination of cell biology, molecular biology and genetics will make an important breakthrough in the study of cell differentiation mechanism and lay the foundation for the rapid development of developmental biology.

④ Explain the mechanism of cell senescence and programmed cell death from a deeper level.

⑤ Combining cell and molecular biology with other disciplines, the ideal of artificially assembling organisms may be gradually realized.

D. genetic biology

How to develop from a fertilized egg into an individual with complex structure and function through cell division and differentiation is an unsolved major problem in life science and a major problem in developmental biology. The breakthrough achievements and accumulated knowledge in molecular biology, genetics and cell biology in recent decades have created conditions for solving this major problem, which is also the reason why developmental biology will develop rapidly in the future.

Now the basic problem to be solved in developmental biology is how to selectively express the specific protein of cell genes according to a certain temporal and spatial relationship, so as to control cell differentiation and individual development. It is expounded that gene control of embryo development at multiple levels is not only a matter of single gene, but also includes a series of procedures to regulate the connection and cooperation of genes in time and space, thus dominating development. Although this is a difficult subject, it has made a breakthrough in recent years. It is estimated that developmental biology will go further along this road in the future and expect to achieve fruitful results.

E. Neuroscience (or Brain Science)

Neuroscience is a discipline group that studies the structure and function of human and animal nervous system (mainly brain), and expounds the activity law of nervous system, especially brain, at the molecular level, neural network level, overall level and even behavioral level. The structure and function of the brain is an extremely complex advanced system, including 10 1 1 cells. It is feeling, exercise, learning, memory, emotion and so on. The rise of neuroscience indicates another peak of life science. Neuroscience or brain science will inevitably promote the rise of cognitive science and behavioral science in the next century. Therefore, it is not unreasonable for countries to invest huge sums of money to support this topic, including the "naming 1990 1 as the year of the brain" signed by the President of the United States.

Predictable breakthroughs in neuroscience in the coming decades may include:

(1) Explain the basis of learning, memory and cognition at all levels from molecules to behaviors;

② A series of genes and gene products related to memory and behavior are about to be discovered and clarified;

③ Significant progress has been made in the study of nerve cell differentiation and nervous system development;

The theoretical progress and breakthrough of brain functions (such as pattern recognition, associative memory and elucidation of thinking logic mechanism) will promote the development of a new generation of intelligent computers and intelligent robots;

⑤ The causes of a series of nervous system diseases and psychosis are expected to be explained in neurobiological research.

F. Morphology (including research on species diversity protection)

Ecology is a science that studies the relationship between living things and their surroundings, including abiotic environment and biological environment. Because the theory and application of ecology are closely related to the world environmental protection, the rational development and protection of resources, and even the continued survival of human beings on the earth, the importance of ecology has become very prominent, especially in the case of the deteriorating environment of the earth. The main task of future ecology is to coordinate the relationship between human activities and the environment. Therefore, the ideas and research contents of the classical disciplines of ecology must constantly adapt to the requirements of human living environment protection and social and economic sustainable development.

The focus of future ecological research may be shown in the following aspects:

① The relationship between the diversity, stability and evolution of ecological communities and human activities;

② The influence of global climate change on the structure and function of ecosystem;

③ The protection and sustainable utilization of biodiversity is also more urgent to protect the living environment of human beings, especially to save endangered species;

④ Urban ecology and economic ecology will develop rapidly;

⑤ Ecological engineering and ecological technology will play a role in national economic construction.

G. Space life sciences

Space environment brings new challenges and opportunities for the development of life science.

2 1 century, human space activities will leave the vicinity of the earth and explore the moon and other solar systems. This requires people to live and work in various environments outside the earth for a long time, first of all, sailing in long-term space vehicles, moon stations and Mars or Phobos stations. Space medicine must make a major breakthrough to solve the physiological problems such as osteoporosis, muscle atrophy and rabbit epidemic function changes encountered in extraterrestrial space for a long time. At the same time, related to the development of DJI is a controlled ecosystem, which creates an environment where people can live for a long time without external supply. These problems are expected to be solved in 265438+1920s-1930s, and some major breakthroughs may be made in space physiology by using traditional Chinese medicine.

The outer space of the earth provides ideal conditions for the study of gravity biology. The influence of gravity conditions on organisms with various hierarchical structures is still the theme of gravity biology in 2 1 century. Future research will focus on cells, green plants, some microorganisms and small animals. In particular, the influence of gravity environment on the morphology, structure, variation and gene expression of mammalian cells will be a hot spot. The academic significance of gravity biology lies in revealing the role of gravity effect in the process of biological evolution, which is a basic problem of natural science. On the other hand, the achievements of gravity biology will be the foundation of space pharmacy and space ecosystem, and the academic and application of gravity biology will be an important topic in the next century, and it is expected to make breakthrough progress in the 1920s and 1930s from 265438 to 2000.

The exploration of extraterrestrial life is an important topic of the origin of life, and the exploration of extraterrestrial intelligent life is a long-term topic. Humans on earth are sending radio waves and receiving signals into outer space. The possible academic and technical gap between aliens and earthlings is not only a danger, but also a major frontier issue of natural science, which will be studied continuously.

2.08.5 265438+Most Possible Breakthrough Fields of Life Sciences in the Early 20th Century

① The complete sequence of the human genome (genetic code) will be determined in 10- 15 years, laying a foundation for decoding all genetic information.

② Important genes related to life activities and important diseases will be discovered one after another, among which genes controlling memory and behavior, genes controlling aging and programmed cell death, a series of genes controlling cell proliferation, and multi-level network regulation genes of embryonic development are particularly noticeable. The discovery of new oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes and the explanation of their biological functions will greatly improve the understanding of the nature of life.

③ Advanced life activities of human beings and animals: Based on the breakthrough in brain science research, we have a deep understanding of the occurrence and activity mechanism of perception, thinking, memory, behavior and emotion.

There will be a comprehensive breakthrough in cancer treatment and the prevention and treatment of AIDS will be controlled.

⑤ On the basis of understanding the origin of primitive life on earth, it is also possible for human beings to synthesize life in the laboratory, which should have the basic characteristics of primitive cells.

In addition, the integration of life science and agricultural science will comprehensively update, expand and innovate modern agriculture.