Biology & Health of Climate Change

The world is experiencing many of Climate Change’s physical effects, from monster storms to glacial melting to uncontrollable fires. But what are its biological effects and what impacts will climate change have on human well-being? Today, science has limited knowledge about how to mitigate the negative effects of increased temperature on biology; and society lacks biotechnological tools to begin addressing detrimental impacts. 

The Whitehead Initiative on Biology, Health, and Climate Change (WIBHC) seeks to change that by substantially expanding our knowledge about detrimental impacts on health, agriculture, and other essential natural systems – and  spark new biomedical and biotech interventions that will help address them. 

Initially, the WIBHC is pursuing several research and development paths, including:

• Plant Biology — projects seeking to create seed-producing plant varieties that are more nutritious, have a higher yield, and are adapted to climate change; to develop methods to synthesize or make more environmentally sustainable the availability of medicines and industrial products that originate in plants; and to develop plants able to sequester large amount of carbon, essentially permanently. 
   
• Infectious Disease — exploration of climate change’s effects on development of infectious organisms and the robustness of the hosts that transmit them; and development of bioengineered methods to prevent vector-based disease transmission.  
   
• Temperature Sensitive Cellular Processes — studies on the molecular mechanisms by which organisms adapt to extreme environmental conditions; and investigation of the effects of temperature increase on cell function and organism reproduction. 

Across these scientific thrusts, the WIBHC is generating new tools and methods to help drive research and development forward. It is initiating scientific collaborations and institutional partnerships. And it is helping inform the public and train future generations of researchers and policymakers.

Learn more about our work on Climate Change —as well as related research in the realms of Cell Dynamics, Genetics & Genomics, Infectious Disease, Plant Biology, and Protein Form & Function.