What constitutes sustainable development?
More than 6 billion people inhabit the earth today. Feeding them, keeping them healthy and providing them with energy are true global challenges. Fundamental research is performing ground-work for solving these challenges. In health, one aspect of the work here involves chronic diseases, which kill many millions of people each year. But work is also concentrating on the no less dangerous infectious diseases, such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Research is focusing on finding the molecular causes of diseases and developing targeted therapies and tailored medicines. Yet in the long run, particularly in societies with aging populations and falling birth rates, preventive measures play a leading role in avoiding illness. The foreseeable dwindling of fossil fuels and the consequences of unrestrained carbon emissions on the climate are encouraging new ideas for generating energy. This includes research into nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium, development of new technologies for gener
