The National Research Council recently issued a report that suggested ways in which to improve the management of potentially dangerous biomedical research in both academe and private industry, without unduly restricting scientists in their research activities. Here, the author shares her views on the report as well as the estrangement of the academe and the intelligence community. She has also observed the absence of cooperation between academe and the intelligence community across a broad range of subjects. She emphasizes that a rapprochement between national-security agencies and academe is particularly important. According to her, one obvious way to improve the relationship between national-security agencies and academe is to increase their interaction significantly. She mentions a common goal of improving national security in a century of unprecedented challenge and change.