From Emerging Basic Science Toward Solutions for People’S Wellbeing
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EM AD IA C S A C I A E PONTIFICIAE ACADEMIAE SCIENTIARVM ACTA 25 I N C T I I F A I R T V N M O P Edited by Joachim von Braun Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo TRANSFORMATIVE ROLES OF SCIENCE IN SOCIETY: FROM EMERGING BASIC SCIENCE TOWARD SOLUTIONS FOR PEOPLE’S WELLBEING Plenary Session 12-14 November 2018 Casina Pio IV Vatican City LIBRERIA EDITRICE VATICANA VATICAN CITY 2020 Transformative Roles of Science in Society: From Emerging Basic Science Toward Solutions for People’s Wellbeing Pontificiae Academiae Scientiarvm Acta 25 The Proceedings of the Plenary Session on Transformative Roles of Science in Society: From Emerging Basic Science Toward Solutions for People’s Wellbeing 12-14 November 2018 Edited by Joachim von Braun Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo EX AEDIBVS ACADEMICIS IN CIVITATE VATICANA • MMXX The Pontifical Academy of Sciences Casina Pio IV, 00120 Vatican City Tel: +39 0669883195 • Fax: +39 0669885218 Email: [email protected] • Website: www.pas.va The opinions expressed with absolute freedom during the presentation of the papers of this meeting, although published by the Academy, represent only the points of view of the participants and not those of the Academy. ISBN 978-88-7761-114-7 © Copyright 2020 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, pho- tocopying or otherwise without the expressed written permission of the publisher. PONTIFICIA ACADEMIA SCIENTIARVM LIBRERIA EDITRICE VATICANA VATICAN CITY “Today, both the evolution of society and scientific changes are taking place ever more rapidly, each following the other. It is im- portant that the Pontifical Academy of Sciences consider how these interconnected changes require a wise and responsible commitment on the part of the entire scientific community. The splendid ivory tower security of early modern times has given way, in many, to a salutary unrest, for which today’s scientists are more easily open to religious values and can glimpse, beyond the achievements of science, the richness of the spiritual world of peoples and the light of divine transcendence. The scientific com- munity is a part of society, and must not be considered separate and independent; indeed, it is called to serve the human family and its integral development”. Pope Francis, Address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, 12 November 2018 6 Transformative Roles of Science in Society Transformative Roles of Science in Society 7 8 Transformative Roles of Science in Society Contents Address of His Holiness Pope Francis..................................................... 14 Introduction and Overview Joachim von Braun .................................................................................. 17 Final Conference Statement ................................................................... 21 Programme .............................................................................................. 32 List of Participants .................................................................................. 37 BLOCK 1 | SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT OF A SET OF LARGE GLOBAL HUMANITIES ISSUES SESSION I | Population and Science Approaches World Population Trends and the Rise of homo sapiens literata Wolfgang Lutz .......................................................................................... 43 The Complementary Nature of Scientific Experimentation and Thought Experiments Werner Arber and Marcel Weber ............................................................... 68 SESSION II – Climate and Energy Energy for the Nine Billion Steven Chu | Presentation available at: http://www.pas.va/content/accademia/en/ publications/acta/acta25/chu.html Energies for the Future Carlo Rubbia | Presentation available at: http://www.pas.va/content/accademia/en/ publications/acta/acta25/rubbia.html What Must Be Sustained to Enable Sustainable Improvements in People’s Well-Being? William C. Clark | Presentation available at: http://www.pas.va/content/accademia/en/ publications/acta/acta25/clark.html Transformative Roles of Science in Society 9 CONTENTS Where on Earth Are We Heading: Miocene or Pliocene? Hans Joachim Schellnhuber and Lila Warszawski ....................................... 77 SESSION III – Health The Revolution of Personalized Medicine – Bioethical Obstacles on the Road of Technological Advances Aaron J. Ciechanover | Presentation available at: http://www.pas.va/content/accademia/ en/publications/acta/acta25/ciechanover.html Organ Transplants Francis L. Delmonico ................................................................................ 85 The Three-Dimensional Architecture of the Human Genome: Understanding the Physical Mechanisms Controlling Gene Expression José Nelson Onuchic ................................................................................ 90 Contemporary Challenges in Medical Usage of Antibiotics Giuseppe Cimicata, Tanaya Bose, Gil Fridkin, André Rivalta, Moshe Peretz, Anat Bashan and Ada Yonath ............................................... 97 SESSION IV – Ecology and Biosystems What Should We Try to Do in an Age of Extinction? Peter H. Raven ........................................................................................105 Science in a Post-Truth World: Hope for People and the Ocean Jane Lubchenco | Presentation available at: http://www.pas.va/content/accademia/en/ publications/acta/acta25/lubchenco.html BLOCK 2. FRONTIERS IN SCIENCE DISCIPLINES SESSION V – Physics Constants of Nature and Their Applications Klaus von Klitzing | Presentation available at: http://www.pas.va/content/accademia/en/ publications/acta/acta25/vonklitzing.html Basic Research and a Moral Responsibility of Scientists Daniel Kleppner ...................................................................................... 117 10 Transformative Roles of Science in Society CONTENTS Making the Revolutions of Quantum Technology Deliver for People and Planet Massimo Inguscio | Presentation available at: http://www.pas.va/content/accademia/en/ publications/acta/acta25/inguscio.html Science Addressing Questions Not Easily Addressed by “the” Scientific Method. The Origins of Life Steven A. Benner .................................................................................... 123 SESSION VI – Astronomy, Space The Global Sensing Revolution Will Marshall .......................................................................................... 165 Small Satellites – Bringing Space Within Reach Martin N. Sweeting ................................................................................ 168 Exoplanets and Beyond Sara Seager ............................................................................................. 177 Our Place in Space and Time John D. Barrow ....................................................................................... 188 SESSION VII – Biology, Genetics, Bio-Chemistry, Chemistry Stem Cells and Tissue Regeneration Helen M. Blau ........................................................................................ 199 The Role of Microscopy in Improving the Human Condition Robert Eric Betzig ................................................................................. 214 On Gene Biology and Evolution Takashi Gojobori | Presentation available at: http://www.pas.va/content/accademia/en/ publications/acta/acta25/gojobori.html The CRISPR-Cas Technique for Human Gene Editing and its Impact on Society Rafael Vicuña ......................................................................................... 221 Transformative Roles of Science in Society 11 CONTENTS Wnt Signaling as a Regulator of Cellular Endocytosis and Protein Stability Edward M. De Robertis, Nydia Tejeda-Muñoz and Lauren Albrecht ...... 227 Dependence Receptors: Transforming an Original Mechanism for Cell Death Into a Novel Anti-Cancer Strategy in Patients with Advanced Cancers Patrick Mehlen ...................................................................................... 239 From Basic Research on Polymeric Protein Models to the Most Used Drug Against Multiple Sclerosis Michael Sela ........................................................................................... 258 Principles and Prospects of Cancer Immunotherapy Thierry Boon-Falleur ............................................................................ 260 BLOCK 3. TRANSFORMATIVE ROLES OF SCIENCE IN SOCIETIES SESSION VIII – Future Science Policy – Reflections from Representatives of Science Organizations, Policy Makers, Religious Communities and Academicians The European Research Council (ERC) – Science Ecosystem, Structural Impact, Interdisciplinarity Jean Pierre Bourguignon ......................................................................... 265 How Scholarship and Science Can Provide Advice to the Political Sphere Georg Schütte ....................................................................................... 269 Promoting Inclusive Innovation in Latin America Lino Barañao .......................................................................................... 274 On Trust in Science, Resilience, Co-existence and Hope Rev. Antje Jackelén ................................................................................. 277 Transformative Science? Transformative University? Jürgen Mittelstraß .................................................................................. 282 El futuro ecológico de las grandes ciudades Cardinal Lluís Martínez Sistach ..............................................................