U nderstanding the origins of the current global health crisis resulting from the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, demands attention beyond the immediate needs of stopping its spread, caring for those suffering from COVID-19, finding medical interventions, and protecting healthcare workers.There will be more global health crises in the future, along with other global challenges, such as those arising from biodiversity loss and climate change.Society must do a better job of investing in scientific research and incorporating what is learned into responsible and forward-looking public policy-decisions guided by fact and not wishful or magical thinking.Our public institutions, particularly national governments and international treaties, must prioritize preparation and planning for the catastrophes and emergencies that science has warned of for decades.The recent report in Nature Medicine by Andersen and colleagues (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0820-9) demonstrates that the evolutionary origin of the SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, is likely from bats (and not manipulation by humans with sinister intent).The virus probably jumped to humans though one of two evolutionary processes: either natural selection in the animal host before zoonotic transfer to humans or natural selection in humans after zoonotic transfer.Under the first scenario, there is the heightened risk of future reemergence events.The second scenario suggests a lower risk, because it would require the same mutations to occur, an event of low probability.The origins of this pandemic cannot be adequately understood without consideration of evolutionary and ecological principles.Zoonotic transfer is more likely when there is a breakdown of boundaries between human and natural ecosystems, a consequence of the landscape changes and the disruption of ecosystem services that might act as checks to potential disease transfer from wild animals to humans, livestock, or pets.This emphasizes that the study and understanding of pandemics and sustainable human prosperity requires quantitative approaches inherent within the biological sciences and specifically practiced by the fields represented by AIBS member organizations.Since the fall of 2019, when SARS-CoV-2 emerged, it has spread worldwide across climatic zones and through agricultural and urban areas, infecting people without distinction.It is a global crisis that requires a global response.It is important that the World Health Organization continue to mobilize and coordinate international action in response to COVID-19.Coordination and a commitment to the common good is key.As UN Secretary-General António Guterres has stated, "coordinated, decisive, and innovative policy action is needed from the world's leading economies."As recent metrics highlight, there has been a growing investment in scientific research and development across the globe, particularly in China.The world, as never before, has the greatest infrastructure and talent pool to address this current global health crisis.Of concern, however, is that information may not be freely exchanged and that necessary collaborations may not be enabled as some countries may opt to pursue a nationalist approach to secure geopolitical and economic advantage in the wake of the crises.Governments must coordinate understanding of the pandemic, including the development of a vaccine.Our governments must work, too, to build the infrastructure needed to foster timely scientific exchange and the conversion of scientific information into responsible public policy-both domestically and internationally, for the current and future crises.

I t has been said that one should never let a good crisis go to waste.There are always lessons to be learned and opportunities to be seized.Of late, there is certainly no lack of serious crises facing society.There is also no lack of crises confronting the scientific enterprise-particularly, professional societies and related research and science education organizations.Prior to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, scientific societies were challenged by myriad threats.Any of these issues individually has the potential to influence the vitality and sustainability of a field's professional associations.Taken together and in conjunction with economic, cultural, and social disruptions arising from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, a perfect storm has formed that will fundamentally alter organizations that have for centuries incubated new fields of study, disseminated vetted scientific information, fostered networking and communities of shared interests through annual meetings, and educated and mentored the next generation of scientists.Prior to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific societies were endeavoring to identify how to sustainably operate journals in a business and communications environment characterized by chaos, conflicting international regulation, and often untested business models-some of which require highvolume rather than high-quality publication.Many journal editors were struggling to convince overburdened scholars to review manuscripts.Some organizations were struggling to identify strategies for engaging current members while trying to attract a new generation.Then, there are the challenges of engaging internationally.For most societies in the biological sciences, particularly in fields associated with organismal biology, ecology, and evolution, there was a recognition that these fields do not reflect the diversity of society.These are significant challenges, any of which threatens the sustainability of a nonprofit scientific society or research organization.The significance of these issues, however, was amplified in 2020 when scientific societies were forced to begin canceling scientific conferences with significant budget ramifications, when student and early career researchers began to question whether to continue in academia given growing insecurity about employment and funding, and riskaverse volunteer governing board members were challenged to rapidly make decisions about the future of their organization with limited information.The American Institute of Biological Sciences is helping our member organizations tackle these and other challenges.In June, we launched Building Resilient Societies.This online discussion and resource-sharing series helps leaders of scientific societies and related organizations identify resources and strategies that will empower them as they work to reposition their organizations to sustainably and effectively serve their fields into the future.The series has begun to explore the factors that help make organizations resilient, how to increase diversity and inclusion while combating bias, and how best to plan meetings in an era of uncertainty.Future programs are being planned now.Let us not waste the crises now confronting scientific societies.Let us seize this opportunity to make the changes needed to build more resilient scientific societies.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biz140.].

F or nearly the first 2 years of the Trump Administration, the scientific community expressed concern that the position of director of the

U nderstanding the factors that have shaped the biological sciences is important.Insights gained from our history can and should be an integral part of the education and training of future biologists.Moreover, an appreciation of the historical dimensions of the biological sciences enhances our understanding of the intersection of science and society, including how science shapes-and is shaped-by society.As dedicated readers of BioScience are aware, our journal publishes insightful articles on the history of biology.Indeed, we have a category of article-Biology in History-dedicated specifically to this topic.Through other sections of BioScience, such as Thinking of Biology, Professional Biologist, and our monthly Feature news article, we share content that highlights significant developments and ethical dimensions of biology.Collectively, these articles contribute valuable insights that provide color and context to the history of biology.There is a need for additional perspective and context that will help scientists more fully appreciate their profession and historians of science gather data that will contribute to new scholarship on the twentieth and twenty-first century history of the biological sciences.To this end, with this issue of BioScience, the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is launching a new section: In Their Own Words.Each month, we will bring you a new interview with a trailblazer in or a leader of the biological sciences community.In addition to a print interview, we will share the audio interview that was the basis for the published article, because we think hearing directly from a person in their own voice offers additional perspectives.Each audio interview will be available as an episode of our BioScience Talks Podcast series (http://bioscience-talks.aibs.org/in-their-own-words-ritacolwell-0).It is AIBS's pleasure to announce that our first In Their Own Words interview is with a distinguished scientist who is both a trailblazer and leader of the community: Rita Colwell.She has contributed greatly to biology as a past president of AIBS and as a member of the BioScience editorial board.As you will learn from her conversation with BioScience senior editor James Verdier, her contributions to science go well beyond her service to AIBS.From helping to provide new

AIBS) is committed to promoting informed decision-making that advances the biological sciences for the benefit of science and society.One of the innovative ways in which we achieve this goal is by cultivating the next generation of leaders within the scientific community through programs such as our Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award.This year marks the 16th anniversary of the AIBS Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award program.Launched in 2003, the program annually recognizes outstanding graduate students in the biological sciences who demonstrate an aptitude for working at the intersection