EPILOGUE 



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courses, where the next generation of biologists is trained in the use of 

 modern biological techniques and the value of marine organisms. To make 

 this possible, we will seek over the next decade to raise endowment funds 

 to cover course expenses that are not covered by current tuition or grants 

 from foundations and the government. 



We intend to enlarge the year-round research program and provide 

 additional up-to-date laboratoiy space to accommodate the increased year- 

 round staff. The expanded year-round programs will provide a stable base 

 for summer programs of research and education. We anticipate developing 

 a year-round critical mass in neurobiology, cell biology, and developmental 

 biology, all udth a common theme of molecular evolution. These areas will 

 complement our already strong and still expanding year-round Ecosystems 

 Center. The expanded year-round programs vvdll share the modern ap- 

 proaches of molecular biology and molecular genetics. 



The development of genetic engineering has brought a scientific rev- 

 olution that is dominating the last quarter of our century in much the way 

 physics dominated tlie first quarter. Genetic engineering has made possible 

 new kinds of biological experiments that yield precise information about the 

 basic mechanisms of life. Our new ability to compile libraries of genetic 

 information has made it possible to compare organisms and to explore the 

 evolution of life on a level that is providing new understandings of health 

 and disease. 



The powerful new tools of molecular biology can be used to work on 

 a wide range of biological problems — from general questions of phylogeny 

 to very specific questions, such as of the origins of neural receptor sites. 

 Recognizing the power and range of molecular biology, we intend to 

 develop, in cooperation wdth our sister institution, the Woods Hole Ocean- 

 ographic Institution, a center for molecular evolution that wall serve as the 

 basic platform on which to integrate the disciplines of neurobiology, cell 

 biology, and developmental biology. 



Along with the exciting across-the-board advances in late twentieth- 

 century biology, anotlier recent development holds great promise for the 

 MBL: the growdng recognition that many biological disciplines can be 

 studied through the use of marine models, which offer good views into 

 basic life processes and reduce the need for use of warm-blooded animals 

 in research. Easy to study, inexpensive, elegantly simple and remarkably 

 diverse, marine plants and animals are attracting increasing interest from 

 federal agencies and private foundations. With its long history of educational 

 and research programs and its continuing reputation as the nation's pre- 

 mier marine laboratoiy, the MBL will remain in tiie vanguard of biological 

 research. 



We plan to develop facilities and expertise for culturing, rearing, and 

 studying the genetics of those marine animals that are so valuable as 



