Science, Technology, and Society

Table of Contents
Module 5: Specific Issues in Science and Technology ...................................................................... 2
Lesson 1: Information Age ..................................................................................................................... 2
Lesson 2: Biodiversity and the Healthy Society ................................................................................... 3
Lesson 3: The Nano World ..................................................................................................................... 4
Lesson 4: Gene Therapy .......................................................................................................................... 5
Module 6: Technology and Climate Change: A Further Look ........................................................ 7
Lesson 2: Environmental Awareness ..................................................................................................... 7
Module 7: Alternative Energy Resources ............................................................................................ 8
Lesson 1: What is Alternative Energy .................................................................................................... 8
Lesson 2: Common Alternative Energy Sources .................................................................................. 8
Lesson 3: Challenges with Using Alternative Energy Sources ........................................................... 9
Module 5: Specific Issues in Science and Technology
Lesson 1: Information age
- Information - is a stimuli that has meaning, in some context for its receiver. When
information is entered into and stored in a computer, it is generally referred to as data
- Claude Shannon, the Father of Information age
- What is information age?
- characterized by the rapid shift from traditional industry.
- also known as the (Computer Age, Digital Age, or new media age) is a historic
period in the 21st century.
- began around the 1970’s and is still going on today.
- The are four periods of the Information Age
- Pre – Mechanical
- Petroglyph, images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising,
picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art.
- They first started communicating through drawings
- Earliest age of information technology
- (3000 B.C. and 1450 A.D.)
- Mechanical
- The mechanical age can be defined as the time between 1450 and 1840.
- A lot of new technologies are developed in this era as there is a large
explosion in interest with this area.
- Pascaline, the first calculator or adding machine invented by Blaise Pascal
between 1450 - 1840
- Electromechanical
- These are the beginnings of telecommunication.
- The electromechanical age can be defined as the time between 1840 and
1940.
- Morse Code
- Invented by Samuel Morse
- a method of transmitting text information as a series of on-off
tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled
listener or observer
- Alexander Graham Bell invented the Telephone in 1876.
- Guglielmo Marconi developed the first radio in 1894.
- Electronic / Information
- it is the age in what we are in to.
- Time between 1940 to present.
- ENIAC, the first high-speed, digital computer capable of being
reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems.
- Vacuum Tube, an electron tube containing a near-vacuum that allows the
free passage of electric current.
- APPLE II, an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful
mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve
Wozniak
 - Advantages of Information Technology are:
- Globalization
- Communication
- Cost-effectiveness
- Communication
- Creation of new jobs
- Inventions in the Information Age
- Osborne 1(1981)
- First true mobile computer by most historians.
- Adam Osborne founded Osborne computer.
- Digital Camera (1988)
- The first true portable digital camera that recorded images as a
computerized file was likely the Fuji DS-1P of 1988
- World Wide Web
- Invented by Tim Berners Lee in 1989
- an information system on the internet that allows documents to be
connected to other documents by hypertext links, enabling the user to
search for information by moving from one document to another.
- Computer
- It introduced changes in the different aspects of people’s lives, because of the following:
- Emergence of online companies
- Creation of economically and stimulating business
- More mature and educated people
- Reshaping governments with new technologies
Lesson 2: Biodiversity and the Healthy Society
- What is biodiversity?
- Biodiversity, also known as biological diversity, refers to the variety and
variability of life on Earth. It encompasses all living organisms, from the smallest
bacteria to the largest blue whale, and the complex ecosystems they form.
- The different species of our plants and animals and the places they live is called
biodiverstiy.
- It is like a safety net.
- Genetic diversity: the variation in genes within a species.
- Species diversity: the number of different species in a given area.
- Ecosystem diversity: the variety of different ecosystems, such as forests,
grasslands, and deserts.
- Importance of Biodiversity
- Biodiversity, or the variety of life on Earth, is incredibly important for healthy
ecosystems. It provides us with clean air and water, food, medicine, and many
other essential resources. It also helps to regulate the climate and control pests and
diseases.
- Impact of Biodiversity on Human Life
- Biodiversity loss can have significant direct human health impacts if ecosystem
services are no longer adequate to meet social needs. Indirectly, changes in
ecosystem services affect livelihoods, income, local migration, and on occasion,
may even cause political conflict
 - Additionally, the biophysical diversity of microorganisms, flora, and fauna
provides extensive knowledge that carries important benefits for biological,
health, and pharmacological sciences. Significant medical and pharmacological
discoveries are made through greater understanding of Lesson 2 the earth's
biodiversity. Loss in biodiversity may limit the discovery of potential treatments
for many diseases and health problems.
- Pollution and Destruction in our environment
- Destruction of Habitat
- Signs of Environmental Contamination
- Consumption of Energy
- Fossils for fuels
- Genetically Modified Organism (GMO): Science, Health, and Politics
- A Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is any living organism that has had its
genetic makeup altered in a way that does not occur naturally. This is typically
done through techniques called genetic engineering or transgenic technology.
- Ethical Implications of GMO
- It has the potential to trigger food allergies or diseases in humans.
- Potential future of GMO
Lesson 3: The Nano World
- What is Nanoworld?
- It refers to nanotechnology.
- Richard Feynman
- The retroactive rediscovery of Feynman’s “Plenty of Room” gave
nanotechnology a packaged history that provided an early date of
December 1959.
- Erick Drexler
- His paper on the Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery, Manufacturing, and
Computation, received the Association of American Publishers award for
Best Computer Science Book of 1992 Drexler founded the Foresight
Institute in 1986 with the mission of "Preparing for nanotechnology."
- Nanotechnology and nanoscience got a boost in the early 1980s with two major
developments: the birth of cluster science and the invention of the scanning
tunneling microscope (STM). These developments led to the discovery of
fullerenes in 1985 and the structural assignment of carbon nanotubes a few years
later.
- The scanning tunneling microscope, an instrument for imaging surfaces at the
atomic level, was developed in 1981 by Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer at IBM
Zurich Research Laboratory, for which they were awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physics in 1986.
- Binnig, Calvin Quate and Christoph Gerber invented the first atomic force
microscope in 1986.
- The first commercially available atomic force microscope was introduced in
1989.
- IBM researcher Don Eigler was the first to manipulate atoms using a scanning
tunneling microscope in 1989. He used 35 Xenon atoms to spell out the IBM
logo. He shared the 2010 Kavli Prize in Nanoscience for this work
 -
- Definition of Terms
- Ao or Nanoparticles have diameters of 1-50nm to (10-500).
- Nanoscience refers to the scientific study of materials of nanometer size, i.e., one
billionth of a meter (The Royal Society, 1994). It is a combination of
developments in solid-state chemistry, synthetic chemistry, molecular biology,
solid-state physics and engineering, and scanning tunneling microscopy.
- Nanotechnology "implies the ability to generate and utilize structures,
components, and devices with a size range from about 0.1 nm (atomic and
molecular scale) to about 100nm.

- Initial Commercial Application

- Potential Uses
- Energy production, conservation, and storage
- Enhancement of agricultural productivity
- Treatment and remediation of water
- Screening and diagnosing of diseases
- Systems for drug delivery
- Processing and storing food
- Controlling air pollution
- Construction
- Monitoring health
- Detecting and controlling pests

Lesson 4: Gene Therapy

- What is gene therapy?
- Gene therapy is a rapidly developing medical field that involves modifying a
person's genes to treat or cure disease. It works by introducing functional genetic
material (DNA or RNA) into cells to address a specific genetic defect or disease.
- Researchers are testing several approaches to gene therapy including:
- Replacing a mutated gene that causes disease with a healthy copy of the
gene.
- Inactivating, or "knocking out," a mutated gene that is functioning
improperly.
- Introducing a new gene into the body to help fight a disease.
- Heredity is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring, either through
asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction.
- Role of Genes in Heredity
- Genes contain information responsible for heredity. An inherited trait can be
determined by one or by many genes and a single gene can influence more than
one trait.
- Genes are thought to exist as discrete portions, known as loci, of chromosomes.
The term “discrete” refers to the concept that genes are always located at the same
point or (locus) on a chromosome.
 - There are two kinds of alleles: dominant and recessive. Pairs of genes that
exercise such parallel control over the same traits are known as alleles.
- DNA Structure
- DNA is a polymer made up of repeating chemical units known as nucleotides. A
DNA molecule is one of the largest of all organic compounds.
- DNA is composed of three separate subunits:
- Phosphate group – a chemical group made up of phosphorous and oxygen
- Deoxyribose – a five-carbon sugar made up of carbon, oxygen, and
hydrogen
- Nitrogenous base – a chemical unit composed of carbon, oxygen,
hydrogen, and nitrogen. Bases found in DNA are adenine(A), thymine (T),
cytosine (C), and guanine (G).
- DNA Code
-
- DNA Mutations
- Gene mutations are defined as any changes in the nitrogenous base sequence of a
molecule DNA.
- Common genetic disorders are:
- Down syndrome
- Sickle cell disease
- Phenylketonuria
- Hemophilia
- Uses of Gene Therapy
- Gene therapy is designed to introduce genetic material into cells to compensate
for abnormal genes or to make a beneficial protein.

- Various forms of Gene Therapy

1. Germline Gene Therapy
a. This therapy involves the modification of the genes inside germ cells
(sperm or ova). The therapy alters the genome of future generations to
come.
2. Somatic Gene Therapy
a. Somatic gene therapy only involves the insertion of therapeutic DNA
into body cells and not the germ cells or gametes. This means any
effects of the therapy are confined to the individual being treated and
are not inherited by future offspring.
- How genes are inserted into cancer cells
- One of the main ways scientists insert a gene through a cancer cell is through
using a vector, specifically viruses.
- Techniques in cancer treatment
- Harnessing the immune response
- Gene therapy to enhance cancer treatment
- Blocking the protection of cancer cells
- Pro-drug gene therapy
- Benefits and Detriments of Gene Therapy.
Module 6: Technology and Climate Change: A Further Look
Lesson 1: Climate Change
- What is climate change?
- Climate change is a long-term shift in temperatures and weather patterns. It is
caused by human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, which release
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases trap heat from the sun, causing
the planet to warm.
- What is global warming?
- Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's
near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation.
- What causes climate change?
- Human activities like mining, wrong practices in agriculture, illegal logging,
burning df fossil fuel, deforestation, and too many cars that emit carbon monoxide
and carbon dioxide.
- Greenhouse Gases and effects
- Water Vapour (H2O)
- Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
- Methane (CH4)
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
- Effects of Climate Change
- The effects of anthropogenic human-caused) climate change ranged from more
frequent and severe droughts to snowstorms and extreme winter weather in
temperate regions as a result of warming Arctic weather fronts
Lesson 2: Environmental Awareness
- What is environmental awareness?
- Environmental awareness leads us to understand the fragility of our environment
and the importance of its protection Promoting environmental awareness is an
easy way where each one can keep sustaining and improving nature and ecology
- Environmentalism is an ideology that evokes the necessity and responsibility of
humans to respect, protect, and preserve the natural world from the abusive or
wrong use of humans
- Environmental education in a process that allows individuals to explore
environmental issues, engage in problem-solving, and take action to improve the
environment as a result, individuals develop a deeper understanding of
environmental issues and show the skills to make informed and responsible
decisions
- The components of environmental education are:
- awareness and sensitivity to the environment and environmental
- knowledge and understanding of the environment;
- attitudes of concern for the environment and motivation to improve or
maintain environmental quality
- skills to identify and help resolve environmental challenges, and
- participation in activities that lead to the resolution of environmental
problems
 - Why is it important?
- Promotion of Environmental Education
- Benefits of Environmental Education
- Imagination and enthusiasm is heightened
- Learning transcends the classroom
- Critical and creative thinking are enhanced
- Develop tolerance and understanding
- State and national learning standards are met for multiple subjects
- Biophobia and nature deficit disorder decline
- Healthy lifestyles are encouraged
- Communities are strengthened
- Responsible action is taken to better the environment
- Students and teachers are empowered

Module 7: Alternative Energy Resources

Lesson 1: What is Alternative Energy
- Definition
- Alternative energy is any energy source that is alternative to fossil fuel coal.
gasoline, and natural gas.
- Key differences between alternative energy and renewable energy resources
- Renewable energy resources come from naturally occurring sources and replenish
naturally without the interference of human intervention.
- What is an energy crisis?
- Energy crisis refers to any significant decrease in the supply of energy resources
to an economy in a certain time and place and has affected electric power supply
and fuel machinery and vehicles.
- Alternative Energy
- Alternative sources of energy are the answer to the energy crisis. They are the
answer to the energy crisis. They are the ones that do not cause any undesirable
consequences to people or the environment because they are renewable and free.

Lesson 2: Common Alternative Energy Sources

1. Hydroelectric Energy
2. Solar Energy
3. Wind Energy
4. Biomass Energy
- New Alternative Energy Resources
1. Geothermal Energy
2. Tidal Energy
3. Wave Energy
4. Wood Energy
Lesson 3: Challenges with Using Alternative Energy Sources
- Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
- Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a process that can produce
electricity by using the temperature difference between deep cold ocean water and
warm tropical surface waters. OTEC plants pump large quantities of deep cold
seawater and surface seawater to run a power cycle and produce electricity.
OTEC is firm power (24/7), a clean energy source, environmentally sustainable,
and capable of providing massive levels of energy.
- Challenges faced in using alternative energy resources
- Advantages and disadvantages
- Potential future of alternative energy resources