GE 7 - Science, Technology and Society
MODULE III because of the knowledge gained from this.
Information allows learners to connect with the
SPECIFIC ISSUES IN STS technological environment and the modern
world of technology.
LESSON I: THE INFORMATION AGE Living in the Information Age
Technology is increasingly
Introduction playing a crucial role in the success of
organizations particularly in school in this
The information age is considered a information Age. The impact of IT has been
historic period in the 21st century. Characterized enormous on various domains including
by the rapid shift from traditional industry. It is education. Computers and the Information
also called computer age, digital and the new they process and store have transformed
media age. It is marked by a very fast growth in every aspect of the society.
communication and information technology.
This age holds a significant influence as Some of the advantages of
educators and learners. Information Technology are:
. Globalization
Learning Objectives: - It has brought the world closer
together, led to sharing information
1. Trace the development of Information
more quickly and efficiently and
Age; and
enabled countries to share ideas and
2. learn how technology functions; and
information with each other.
3. appreciate its influence in people’s
lives. Communication
- It has made communication cheaper,
This section provides students with quicker and more efficient. The use of
information on the development of the the internet opened face-to-face
Information Revolution, which later on was communication from different parts of
coursed through a technological tool: Internet. the world.
Such digital age has brought humanity closer to
one another and has also fueled globalization, Cost effectiveness
digital business, virtual classrooms and data - It has led to computerization of business
explosion. processes and increased productivity
According to Von Baeyer (2005), that gave more profits, better pay and
information is poised to replace matter as the working conditions.
primary stuff of the universe. It will provide a Creation of new jobs
new basic framework for describing and
predicting reality in the 21st century. - It has led to opening up of opportunity
Information provides learners with facts and for computer programmers, system
basic ideas on certain things. Being informed analysts, hardware and software
means literacy and no one is left behind developers and web designers.
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GE 7 - Science, Technology and Society
some time, have recognized the importance of
LESSON II: BIODIVERSITY AND conserving natural resources.
HEALTHY SOCIETY Biodiversity has a number of functions on
the earth. These are as follows:
Introduction Maintaining balance of the ecosystem:
recycling and storage of nutrients,
This section discusses in detail the
combating pollution, stabilizing climate,
importance of biodiversity to promote a healthy protecting soil and maintaining
society and the preservation of life on earth. ecobalance.
Indeed, sustainability of life in this world can only Provision of biological resources:
be achieved if biodiversity is maintained and its Provision of medicines and
hazards are eliminated. The role of genetically pharmaceuticals, food for the human
modified organisms (GMOs) in man’s future is population and animals, ornamental
also given emphasis. plants, wood products, breeding stock
and diversity of species, ecosystems and
Learning Outcome: genes.
1. Apply how can we protect our Social benefits: Recreation and tourism,
environment by knowing the signs of cultural value and education and
research.
contamination
The role of biodiversity in the following areas
will help make clear the importance of
Learning Objectives: biodiversity in human life:
1. Define what biodiversity is; and
Biodiversity and food: 80% of
2. explain the impact of biodiversity on human food supply comes from 20
human population growth. kinds of plants.
Biodiversity and human health:
The shortage of drinking water is
What is biodiversity or Biological Biodiversity? expected to create a major crisis.
- Describes the variety of living beings on Biodiversity also plays an important
earth (degree of variation of life). role in drug discovery and medicinal
- Refers to the number or abundance of resources.
different species living within a particular Biodiversity and industry:
region. Biological resources provide many
- All about sustaining the natural area industrial materials. These include
made up of the community of plants, fiber, oil, dyes, rubber, water, timber,
animals and all other living things, which paper and food.
is the beginning to be reduced at a steady Biodiversity and culture:
rate as we plan human activities that are Biodiversity enhances recreational
being reduced by habitat destruction. activities like bird watching, fishing,
Importance of Biodiversity trekking, etc. it inspires musicians and
artists.
Our biodiversity is very important to the well-
being of our planet. Most cultures, at least at
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GE 7 - Science, Technology and Society
Impacts of Biodiversity on Human Life Another definition is that nanostructure or
nanomaterial is defined when at least one
1. Human Population Growth. dimension of a system is less than 100nm, and
2. Pollution and Destruction in our such structures have been found to influence
Environment. the chemical and physical properties of bulk
3. Destruction of Habitat. material, Metallic Foam Bone (2017).
4. Exploitation of Animals and Plants.
Nanoscience refers to the scientific
5. Signs of Environmental Contamination. study of materials of nanometer size, i.e., one
6. Consumption of Energy. billionth of a meter (The Royal Society, 1994). It
7. Fossils for Fuels. is a combination of developments in solid state
chemistry, synthetic chemistry, molecular
biology, solid state physics and engineering and
LESSON III: THE NANO WORLD scanning tunneling microscopy.
Introduction Nanotechnology refers to the various
Nanoworld of science and technology is technologies to produce materials of extra high
precision and dimensions on the scale of one-
of great interest to governments, industries and
billionth of a meter. This implies the ability to
academia. The prefix nano denotes sizes of the
generate and utilize structures, components and
order of one billionth of a meter. “Nanostructure devices with a size range from about 0.1 nm
science and technology is a broad and (atomic molecular scale) to about 100nm by
interdisciplinary area of research and control at atomic molecular and macromolecular
development activity thar has been growing levels, Roco, (1999).
explosively worldwide in the past few years. It
According to National Nanotechnology
has the potential for revolutionizing the way in
Initiative, nanotechnology is the understanding
which materials and products are created and
and control of matter at dimensions between
the range and nature of functionalities that can approximately 1 and 100 nanometers, where
be accessed” (Siegel, 1999). unique phenomena enable novel application.
Learning Outcome: Two sides of a Coin: Benefits vs Risks
1. Appreciate the uses of nano science Nanotechnology: Its Benefits
and nano technology.
1. Nanotechnology in Medicine
Learning Objectives: • Lab-on-a-chip technology, which
1. Define nanoscience; and is made up of a clear silicone
2. Identify its risks and benefits. microfluidic chamber for housing
cells and a reusable electronic
strip.
Defining the Terms
• Silicon nanowires were reported
Nanomaterials denote divided matter as by Harvard University scientists to
Rao (1999) said, “if you take a piece of solid be able to detect the presence of
matter (say a metal) containing an Avogardro individual viruses electrically.
number of atoms and go on dividing it to smaller • Investigation on single-walled
bits, you will ultimately end up with an atom of carbon nanotube’s use as a
the substance. material scaffolding to hold up
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GE 7 - Science, Technology and Society
regenerating bone was done by • Nano optimized lithium-ion batteries
Dr. Robert Haddon, director of the • Dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC) or
Center for Nanoscale Science and Grätzel cells
Engineering at the University of
California. In general, nanotechnology-based
processes products and devices are cheaper,
2. Nanotechnology in Environment environmental-friendly, consume less energy
and has the potential to address may problems
Nanotechnology is being used in several of the society.
applications to improve the environment. These
include cleaning up existing pollution, improving Nanotechnology: Its Risk
manufacturing methods to reduce the There are four challenges in dealing with
generation of new pollution and making the development, impact, and effect of
alternative energy sources more cost effective nanotechnology on society in the Coming Era:
3. Nanotechnology in Food Industry • The Challenge of Technological
According to Qingrong (2012), nanotechnology Development (control over the
had been shown to impact many aspects of food structures of matter)
industry. These include development of new • The Challenge of Credibility and
food formulation, improvement of food Understanding (clearer
packaging materials, advanced food security understanding of what these
devices and biosensors to ameliorate food technological possibilities are)
quality indices, such as shelf life, sensory
• The Challenge of Formulating Public
characteristics and texture and health benefits.
Policy (formulating policies based on
understanding)
LESSON IV: THE ROLE OF GENES IN
4. Nanotechnology in Electronics HEREDITY
The use of nanotechnology in electronics has Introduction
led to the development and creation of smaller,
faster, portable and energy-efficient electronic HEREDITY is the passing on of traits
devices and systems. These nanotechnology- from parents to their offspring, either through
based innovations are making waves in the asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction,
market and are revolutionizing many the offspring cells or organisms acquire the
communications, computing and electronic genetic information of their parents, through
products and applications. Examples are: heredity, variations between individuals can
• Nanostructured polymer films, accumulate and cause species to evoke by
known as organic light-emitting
natural selection. The study of heredity is
diodes or OLEDs.
biology of genetics.
• Magnetic random-access memory
(MRAM) Learning Objective:
1. Identify the role of genes in heredity.
5. Nanotechnology in Energy
Some specific nanotechnology-based The Roles of Genes in Heredity
innovations in energy sector include the
The heredity information is contained or
following:
within the genes, located in the chromosomes
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GE 7 - Science, Technology and Society
of each cell. An inherited trait can be determined from properly catalyzing its reaction and thus
by one or by many genes and a single gene can preventing a trait from being expressed by the
influence more than one trait. A human cell cell.
contains thousand of different genes in nucleus.
DNA exists in hundreds of thousands
Heredity factors known as genes are being composed of three separate subunits:
thought to exist as discrete portions (knows as
loci) of chromosomes. The Term “discrete” • Phosphate group – a chemical
refers to the concept that genes are always group made up of phosphorous
located at the same point or (locus) on a and oxygen
chromosome. • Deoxyribose – a five-carbon sugar
made up of phosphorous and
It is believed that pairs of homologous oxygen
chromosomes contain linear, matching • Nitrogenous base – a chemical
arrangements of genes exerting parallel control unit composed of carbon, oxygen,
over the same traits. Pairs of genes that hydrogen, and nitrogen. Bases
exercise such parallel control over the same found in DNA are adenine (A),
traits are known as alleles, which are of two thymine (T), cytosine (C) and
kinds: dominant and recessive. guanine (G).
Common Genetic Disorder • Decoding messages is also a
keep step in gene expression, in
• Down syndrome which information from gene is
• Sickle cell disease read out to build a protein. Genetic
• Phenyl ketoneeria (PKU) code allows DNA & RNA
• Hemophilia sequences to be “decoded” into
amino acids of a protein.
DNA Code
Genes are inherited, but their expression
can be modified by interactions with the DNA is not merely a molecule pattern, it
environment. Genetic traits are determined is a CODE, a language and an information
largely through the precise information found in STORAGE.
the cell’s gene structure. How does inheritance help ensure continuity of
Gene Mutations life?
Genes are segments of DNA molecules. A significant principle in biology is the
Any alteration of the DNA sequence is a concept that all living organisms possess a set
mutation. Usually, an individual cell’s altered of instruction, in the form of genes, that
gene will be passed on to every cell that determine the characteristics of the organism.
develops from it. These instructions are unique to the species for
they determine the general physical and
Gene mutation may be defined as being biochemical traits of the group.
any changes in the nitrogenous base sequence
of a molecule DNA. When the base sequence of
DNA is altered, the amino acid sequence of the
polypeptide for which it codes will likewise be
altered. Such an alteration may affect the
operation of the resulting enzyme, preventing it
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