FD12A Science Medicine and Technology in Society Unit 3: Science and Technology

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FD12A Science Medicine and Technology in
SocietyUnit 3 Science and Technology

• Prepared and presented by
• Dr. Marcia E. Roye
• Lecturer in Biotechnology
• Office Biotechnology Centre, ground floor
• Tel [phone] (Office)
• 977-1828 ext. 2518-2520 (Centre)
• Email marcia.roye_at_uwimona.edu.jm

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Science and Technology in our Lives

• What are some of the scientific and technological
  breakthroughs that have had a positive impact on
  our lives?
  
• Telephone
• Computer
• Better drugs
• Internet
• What is the greatest technological development of
  the 20th century?
  
• Computer/internet

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Technology and Science

• Many of the technological advances are because
  of breakthroughs in scientific knowledge.
  
• Is there a difference between science and
  technology?
  
• Are they closely interrelated?
• What is science?
• What is technology?

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Overview

• In this unit we will examine the difference
  between science and technology.
  
• Examine the complex interrelation between the
  two.
  
• Discuss to what extent scientists and
  technologists are responsible for how their work
  are used.

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Learning Objectives

• Distinguish between science and technology.
• Discuss the complex interrelationship between
  science and technology.
  
• Discuss the extent to which scientists and
  technologists should be responsible for how the
  technologies derived from their work are used.

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Science

• What is science?
• The aim of science is the discovery, description
  and understanding facts of nature (DDUN).
  
• Basically there are two types of science
• Natural sciences
• Social sciences
• An e.g. of natural science?
• An e.g. of social science?

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Technology

• What is technology?
• Technology is a set tools and techniques used to
  control or change the environment (usually for
  mans benefit). TTCCE
  
• E.g. shelter (for protection)
• Computers (for communication)
• Therefore science allows us to understand and
  manipulate the environment.
  
• Technology is about using that understanding
  (science) in the service of man.

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Technology and Civilization

• In modern times it seems that technological
  developments usually occur because of scientific
  breakthroughs.
  
• E.g. better understanding of physics has helped
  us to build safer and better bridges.
  
• Clearer understanding of aerodynamics has
  assisted us in the manufacture of better and
  safer aeroplanes.

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Technology and Civilization

• However in ancient civilization there are many
  examples in technological advances in the absence
  of science.
  
• That is knowing that HOW to do something without
  knowing WHY.
  
• For instance the ancient Egyptians built the
  pyramids more than 3,000 years ago.
  
• A great technological feat.
• Even today we are not too sure how this was
  achieved with the technology available at the
  time.

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Egyptian Pyramids

• The pyramids of Egypt are among the largest
  structures ever built and constitute one of the
  most potent and enduring symbols of ancient
  Egyptian civilization

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Technology and Civilization

• Furthermore the Aztec and Mayan (natives of
  Central America) constructed many impressive
  buildings.
  
• Probably one of the greatest invention of human
  kind is the wheel (Mesopotamia, 5,000 yrs ago).
  
• The wheel made it possible to transport heavy
  loads over long distances.
  
• Can you imagine life without the wheel?

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Aztec and Mayans Temples
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Technology and Civilization

• Another technological advancement was the
  extraction of iron from ore and the technology
  got shaping it into powerful weapons.
  
• The Chinese had advance iron technology from 5th
  century BC.
  
• The ancient mummies is another example of
  sophisticated technology without science.
  
• The bodies of these mummies showed little decay
  for more than 3,000 yrs.
  

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Egyptian Mummies
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Technology and Civilization

• Recent research has showed that a complex mixture
  of oils and plants along with other techniques
  were used for mummifying the bodies of pharaoh
  and other Egyptian nobles.
• There is no evidence to indicate that the priests
  and other workers understood HOW this technology
  work.
  
• The final example is the development of musical
  instruments by ancient civilizations.

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Technology and Civilization

• Almost all ancient cultures developed many
  different types of musical instruments for
  religious and other ceremonies.
  
• Do you think these ancient cultures understood
  the nature of sound waves?
  
• Current science can explain SOME (not all)
  ancient technologies.
  
• For instance we know that the oils and plants
  used in mummification has antimicrobial
  properties which prevented decomposition.

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Technology and Civilization

• There is no evidence that the priests who
  prepared the bodies knew HOW the technology
  worked.
  
• In fact the role of microbes in decomposition was
  not discovered until 2,500 yrs later.
  
• Similarly it was nearly 10,000 yrs after its
  usage that Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) explained
  how the wheel works to transport large loads.

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Technology and Civilization

• And today we still do not understand why some
  things work.
  
• For examples we still do not know why some
  animals e.g. cows , pigs, goats, chicken can be
  domesticated but not others such as zebra.
  
• Although we have been domesticating animals for
  more than 10,000 yrs.

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Modern Technology vs Science

• To what extent does modern technology depend on
  science?
  
• Today most technological advances occur because
  of application of scientific theories.
  
• It was only after progress was made in physics
  and aerodynamics (about 90 yrs ago) that it
  became possible to build better and more reliable
  aeroplanes.
• Other developments in physics (about 60 yrs ago)
  allowed for the development of the nuclear bomb
  and nuclear power stations.

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Modern Technology vs Science

• In the last 10-15 yrs progress in biochemistry
  has accelerated drug development.
  
• Developments in genetics has lead to the advent
  of designer drugs i.e. drugs tailored for a
  particular individual.
  
• Furthermore better understanding of how HIV
  weaken the immune system has resulted in the
  development of numerous anti-HIV drugs.
  
• Better understanding of fibre optic cable has
  lead to the explosion in computer and internet
  use.

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Science without Technology

• Technology does not always follow scientific
  breakthrough.
  
• For instance elucidation of the structure of DNA
  (more than 50 yrs ago) was expected to lead to
  exciting new drugs and genetically engineered
  plants.
• To date the results have been disappointing.

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Structure of DNA
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Science Following Technology

• An interesting example from the Caribbean is the
  development of the steel drum.
  
• The steel drum is said to be the only harmonic
  musical instrument developed in the 20th
  century.
  
• The steel drum was developed in Trinidad by
  musicians who could not read music.
  
• They learned to manipulate the steel to produce a
  wide range of sounds.
  
• The basic theory behind the steel drug is still
  not fully elucidated.

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Trinidadian Steel Drum
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Technology Enabling Science

• Many developments in the 17th century in physics,
  astronomy and biology were made because of new
  instruments such as the telescope and
  microscope.
• There is an increase reliance of scientific
  observations on technology.
  
• In fact most scientific observations made today
  are reliant on the use of technology e.g. DNA
  sequencing.

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Microscope and Telescope
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DNA Sequence
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Technology Enabling Science

• This reliance of science on technology has lead
  to the questions about the reliance of the
  observations.
  
• For instance in biology there is still debate
  about the detailed structures of cells.
  
• Some argue that some of these structures do not
  exist in the living cell and are created by the
  methods used to prepare the samples.

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Cell Structure
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Technology and Paradigm

• Technology and the instruments for making
  observations have often played a role in the
  paradigm shift in science.
  
• One useful example is in 1950 psychological
  research which used introspection.
  
• Psychologists would perform certain task e.g.
  arithmetic and composition of poems and observe
  their own mental activity.
  
• This was used to build psychology theories.

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Technology and Paradigm

• JB Watson a prominent psychologist at the time
  argued that this technology was not reliable.
  
• Psychologists needed to follow the natural
  science and more traditional scientific
  experiments.
  
• JB Watson insistence on using data obtained from
  direct observable empirical data has become part
  of current psychology paradigm.

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The Scientist Responsibility

• A story from World War II
• At 815 on August 6, 1945 Enola Gay an American
  B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb weighing 9000
  lbs (little boy) on the city of Hiroshima and
  about 140,000 people were killed.
• On August 9th another bomb (fat boy) dropped in
  Nagasaki killed 74,000 people.
  
• The explosion leveled 6.7 M sq Miles and with a
  year nearly 250 M people were killed.

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Who is Responsible ?
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The Bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man
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Nagasaki before and after bombing
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The Scientist Responsibility

• Which scientists developed the theories so that
  the atomic bomb could be built?
  
• Who developed the technology to build the bomb?
• Who made the decision to drop the bomb?
• Who is responsible?
• The Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard realized that
  the atomic bomb could be built.

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Leo Szilard
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Manhattan Project

• In 1939 Szilard persuaded Albert Einstein to
  write to President Roosevelt about making him
  aware of the possibility.
  
• So the Manhattan Project (MP) was established to
  build a nuclear bomb.
  
• Szilard also circulated a petition to the
  scientists of MP urging President Truman not to
  use the bomb because of the devastating effects.
  
• Truman never got the petition and the bomb was
  dropped.

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Manhattan Project

• The Manhattan Project was a secret military
  project created in 1942 to produce the first US
  nuclear weapon. Fears that Nazi Germany would
  build and use a nuclear weapon during World War
  II triggered the start of the Manhattan Project,
  which was originally based in Manhattan, New
  York.
• US physicist Robert Oppenheimer and General
  Leslie R. Groves served as directors of this
  project, which recruited some of the best US
  scientists, engineers and mathematicians. A
  number of European scientists, including Albert
  Einstein, Enrico Fermi, and Leo Szilard, also
  participated in the Manhattan Project.
• Under the auspices of the Manhattan Project,
  three main research and production facilities
  were established at Oak Ridge, Tennessee at
  Hanford, Washington and at Los Alamos, New
  Mexico. The Oak Ridge Laboratories provided
  uranium-235 and Hanford produced weapons-grade
  plutonium. The Los Alamos Laboratory became the
  site for assembling nuclear weapons.
• Los Alamos produced four weapons, two of which,
  Little Boy and Fat Man, were used against Japan
  in August 1945.
  
• The Manhattan Project officially ended in 1946
  when it became part of the Atomic Energy
  Commission (AEC).

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Lesson 1

• The decision to make and use the bomb was a
  political not a scientific one.
  
• Many believe that the scientists working on the
  MP wrer responsible for the devastation of
  Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
  
• What do you think?
• The scientists disagreed
• They accepted the responsibility of using their
  knowledge to build the bomb.
  

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Lesson 2

• But..It was the responsibility and decision of
  the US government to use the bomb.
  
• The second lesson..
• Szilard insisted on making the implications of
  using the nuclear bomb public.
  
• Although he insisted on secrecy before the war
  (for national security interest).

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Who is Responsible?

• He insisted on making the scientific and
  technological breakthroughs of the MP public.
  
• Many scientist agree that it is not their
  responsibility to decide how the technology
  developed from the work should be used.
  
• What do you think?
• However they recognize that it is their
  responsibility to make the public aware of the
  USE and ABUSE of these technologies
  

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Who is Responsible?

• It is up to the politicians to decide how the
  technology is used.
  
• What is the responsibility of the public?
• What is your responsibility?
• How can the public influence the decisions of
  politicians?
  
• To be able to do this the public need to be
• Scientifically informed and
• Scientifically literate

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Who is Responsible?

• It is the responsibility of scientists and
  journalists to keep the public scientifically
  informed and literate.
  
• Disagreement within the scientific community can
  influence political decisions.
  
• For instance the Seismic Unit of UWI, St
  Augustine warned the government of Montserrat to
  relocate the capital to the north of the island
  because of an eminent volcanic eruption.
• This warning was ignored in favour of opinions
  from scientists from outside the region.
  

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Soufrière Hills Volcano in Montserrat
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Soufrière Hills Volcano

• Seismic activity had occurred in 1897-98,
  1933-37, and again in 1966-67, but the eruption
  that began on July 18, 1995 and was the first
  since the 17th century
• When pyroclastic flows and mudflows began
  occurring regularly, Plymouth (the capital city)
  was evacuated, and a few weeks later a
  pyroclastic flow covered the city in several
  metres of debris. A large eruption on June 25,
  1997 resulted in the deaths of nineteen people.
  The island's airport was directly in the path of
  the main pyroclastic flow and was destroyed

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Scientific Restrictions and Secrecy

• Should there be restrictions on scientific
  enquiry?
  
• How is this likely to affect science?
• Let us look at the issue of genetic engineering.
• What is genetic engineering (GE)?
• Many of the benefits of GE has been overshadowed
  by the possibility of its misuse.
  
• What are some of the possible misuse of this
  technology?

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GE Concerns

• Some are concerned
• that scientists are meddling with nature.
• most scientific research in this area is
  controlled by large corporations which are
  motivated by profit e.g. Monsanto
  
• Other current concerns about science include the
  debate on stem cell research and human cloning.

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Concerns about GMOs

• Like any other group scientists do not always
  agree about the implications of their work.
  
• For instance there are concerns about genetically
  modified organisms (GMOs, the products of genetic
  engineering).
  
• Increasing the soybean and corn coming out of the
  US are GM.
  
• That is these plants have artificially genes from
  other organisms into their genes.

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Common GM Crops Grown 2007
Other GM foods Squash Alfalfa Papaya Tomato T
obacco
Sweet pepper Carnations
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Global Area of Biotech Crops 2007

• 67 increase in the production of biotech crops
• between 1996-2007.
• The fastest adopted crop technology in all history

Worldwide. Cultivation areas with genetically
modified plants, 1996 - 2007, in millions of
hectares
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Concerns about GMOs

• In Jamaica the papaya have been genetically
  modified to be immune the Papaya ringspot virus.
  
  
• Some scientists agree that GE is nothing new and
  there had been selective breeding of other
  organisms (dogs, flowers) for a long time.
  
• Other scientist argue that GE is an artificial
  and unnatural process and we cannot be sure what
  the new species may turn out to be.
  
• So we need to proceed with caution.

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5/23/2009
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5/23/2009
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Papaya ringspot virus on leaves of the papaya
plant
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5/23/2009
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Papaya ringspot virus causing rings on the papaya
fruit
5/23/2009
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Who Should Decides

• Remember
• Scientists accept the responsibility to inform
  the public about the implications of their work.
  
• The peoples representatives (politicians) are
  responsible for HOW and WHEN these technologies
  should be use.
  
• For instance in France and Italy some researchers
  are insisting on cloning humans using techniques
  used to clone Dolly.

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Who Should Decides

• They have persisted with their research despite
  major moral objections.
  
• Of course that could do their work in secret.
• But what are the consequences of conducting
  scientific work in secrecy?
  
• Sharing of working among scientists is very
  important.
  
• Do you know why?

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Who Should Decides

• Sharing of scientific research
• Help to keep scientists on their toes.
• Make sure that the work is of international
  standards.
  
• Prevent duplication of scientific efforts.
• Help scientists to learn form the research of
  others.
  
• What is important is that political and other
  decisions that affect the public be made on the
  basis of scientifically sound information.

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Learning Objectives

• Distinguish between science and technology.
• Discuss the complex interrelationship between
  science and technology.
  
• Discuss the extent to which scientists and
  technologists should be responsible for how the
  technologies derived from their work are used.

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Summary

• Define science (DDUN)
• Define technology (TTCCE)
• Science and technology are interdependent.
• Ancient civilization technology without science
  e.g.
  
• Egyptian pyramids
• Temples of Aztecs and Mayans
• Wheel

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Summary

• Technology following Science
• Physics better bridges and aeroplanes, nuclear
  weapon
  
• Biochemistry better drugs, e.g. anti-HIV drugs
• Computer science understanding of fibre optic
  cable lead to extensive computer and internet
  use.
  
• Science without technology structure DNA.

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Summary

• Science following technology steel drum
• Technology assisting science
• Use of telescope and microscope
• DNA sequence analysis
• Scientist/technologist responsibility
• Scientist/technologist responsible for using
  their knowledge
  
• Informing the public

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Summary

• Peoples representative responsible for how and
  when the technology is used.
  
• Publics responsibility to be informed on these
  issues so that they can influence their
  representatives.