American Museum Of Natural History Holds Symposium On Biodiversity And Human Health Issues

"The Value of Plants, Animals, and Microbes to Human Health" April 17 and 18, 1998

The American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation will co-sponsor a symposium, "The Value of Plants, Animals, and Microbes to Human Health" on April 17 and 18, 1998, to examine the vital role Earth's biological diversity plays in maintaining human health. An international group of scientists, environmentalists, physicians, and other health professionals will explore the importance of plants, animals, and microbes as models for medical research and sources of new medicines. The speakers will also consider the pervasive health hazards created when the ecosystems that support the planet's species are altered, compromised, or destroyed. The public is invited to the discussion of these issues and of their implications for resource management and policy decisions.

Loss of biodiversity is a crucial factor in the emergence and spread of infectious diseases and its protection is therefore critical to human health as well as to maintaining the quantity and quality of our air, food, and water.

"The Value of Plants, Animals, and Microbes to Human Health" will convene a multidisciplinary group of experts to alert the public to the very real threats to human health posed by the destruction of biodiversity, and to forge effective solutions to the degradation of the global environment. Each day of the symposium will include presentations, panel discussions, and audience questions (schedule attached). The content and conclusions of the conference will be published in a variety of electronic and traditional formats.

The symposium is sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health.

For information, including a schedule and fees, please visit the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation's Web site at http://www.amnh.org or call 212-769-5200. Members of the media should contact Elizabeth Chapman at 212-769-5800.

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE
"The Value of Plants, Animals, and Microbes to Human Health"
April 17 and 18, 1998

FRIDAY, APRIL 17
9:15 a.m.
Keynote Address: The Biodiversity Crisis - A Status Report

9:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Species as Sources of New Medicines
The importance of terrestrial and marine species in traditional medicines, antibiotics and other prescription drugs; over-the-counter remedies; and synthetic drugs.
Speakers include:

(Overview) Francesca Grifo, Director, Center for Biodiversity and Conservation,

American Museum of Natural History

David Newman, the National Cancer Institute

Iwao Ojima, State University of New York at Stony Brook

William Fenical, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Robert Gould and Dennis Schmatz, Merck & Co.

2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
The Importance of Species to Medical Research
Research into the prevention and treatment of human diseases - many of them currently untreatable - through study of various species.
Topics include:

• Battling tumors in humans by uncovering information about the immune systems of sharks.
• Developing possible treatments for osteoporosis and kidney disease in humans through understanding the mechanisms that allow bears to hibernate without suffering bone loss or kidney failure.
• Toxins from dart-poison frogs and cone snails, which may provide both new medicines and medical models.
• Newly identified thermophilic bacteria that produce an enzyme that is revolutionizing DNA and RNA research

(Overview) Eric Chivian, Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School

(Panel Moderator) Bruce Bean, Harvard Medical School

Edson X. Albuquerque, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Michael Williams, Abbott Pharmaceuticals

Baldomero M. Olivera, University of Utah, Department of Biology

George Miljanich, Neurex Corporation

Ralph A. Nelson, University of Illinois College of Medicine

John J. Marchalonis, University of Arizona College of Medicine

Gary Ruvkun, Massachusetts General Hospital

Stephen Nold, Michigan State University Center for Microbial Ecology

SATURDAY, APRIL 18
8:45 to 11:45 a.m.
Ecosystems and the Control of Infectious Disease
The causal link between ecosystem alteration and degradation and the emergence and spread of malaria, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hantavirus, hemorrhagic fevers, and Lyme disease.
Speakers include:

(Overview) Paul R. Epstein, Harvard School of Public Health

Richard S. Ostfeld, Institute of Ecosystem Studies

David H. Molyneux, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Jaap Goudsmit, University of Amsterdam Academic Medical Center

Stephen Morse, Columbia University

Joann Burkholder, North Carolina State University

Rita Colwell, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute

1:15 to 3:30 p.m.
Ecosystem Services and Life Support Systems
An assessment of freshwater and marine ecosystem services, and discussion of the impact of biodiversity on a range of subjects, from mental health to agriculture.
Speakers include:

(Overview) Joshua Rosenthal, Biodiversity Program Director,

Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health

Alison G. Power, Cornell University Department of Ecology and Systematics

Sylvia M. LeBlancq, Columbia University School of Public Health

Carl Safina, National Audubon Society

Stephen H. Schneider, Stanford University Department of Biological Sciences

3:50 to 5:10 p.m.
Where Do We Go from Here?
Discussion and recommendations on what individuals, institutions, researchers, governments, and other groups can do to address the problems explored in the symposium.
Speakers Include:

(Overview) Joanne Fox-Prezeworski, Director, Regional Office for North America United Nations Environment Programme

Robert Engelman, Population Action International

Per Wramner, Director General, Swedish Council for Biodiversity

Calestous Juma, Convention on Biological Diversity

5:10 to 6:00 p.m.
Concluding Keynote Address, Towards a New Millennium: Rediscovering our Place in the Natural World
Dr. David Suzuki, Chairman of the David Suzuki Foundation, a non-profit environmental organization based in Canada.