Science, Technology and Society: An Overview

Module 1, BI 140

Learning Outcomes

• Define terms (i.e., TECHNOLOGY, BIOTECHNOLOGY, FEEDBACK LOOP, SCIENCE, etc).

• Explain if/how TECHNOLOGY affects people, society and science.

• Explain how technology develops.

• Compare science to technology (as concepts).

What is TECHNOLOGY?

• How would you define TECHNOLOGY?– What is important about

TECHNOLOGY?– How is TECHNOLOGY used?

• What are some examples of TECHNOLOGY?

• Is it safe to say that TECHNOLOGY makes our lives “more comfortable”? – Why/why not?

Technology and Society: A Two-Way Street

• Technology alters the environment AND people.– Would you agree

with this assumption?

• Best case scenario: Star Trek?!

• Worst case scenario: Gattaca, Terminator?!

Technology and Society: A Two-Way Street

• Technological innovations develop as solutions to very specific problems and well-defined needs

– There may also be unforeseen innovations, novel applications, unexpected societal changes

• E.g., car and the oil industry uneven distribution of wealth, suburbia, shopping malls, economic decline of some urban areas, etc.

Technology Development

Economics Filter

Ethics Filter

Regulatory Policy Filter

Market Forces Filter

All Possible Technologies

Science vs. Technology

• Science ≠ Technology

– Science

– Technology can exist in the absence of science b/c

• It encompasses the practices and products that humans develop to modify and control nature for sustenance and comfort

• Predates the birth of science by many centuries– Agriculture, tool-making, etc.

– Initially, technology facilitated scientific progress by leading to observations and experimentation

Fundamental Differences Between Science and Technology

SCIENCE (THEORY) TECHNOLOGY (PRACTICE)

Search for knowledge Practical application of knowledge

Way of understanding ourselves and the physical world

Way of adapting ourselves to the physical world

Process of asking questions and finding answers, then creating broad generalizations

Process of finding solutions to human problems to make lives easier and better

Looks for order or patterns in the physical world

Looks for ways to control the physical world

Evaluated by how well the facts support the conclusion or theory

Evaluated by how well it works

Limited by the ability to collect relevant facts

Limited by financial costs and safety concerns

Discoveries give rise to technological advances

Advances give rise to scientific discoveries

Science, Technology and Society: A Three-Way Street

• Science-based technology development accelerates economic growth through its effects on industrial productivity

• New technologies --– Create new products, – Stimulate the creation of

new companies and new industries,

– Improve existing products and processes, and

– Lower manufacturing costs.

pGLO rabbit, the result of genetic engineering

Trade-offs and/or Benefits of Technology…

• Technology replaces man-power. Good or bad?

• Governments investing in technology and scientific research. Good or bad?

Rate of Technological Change is Increasing

• Negative vs. Positive Feedback Loop• The positive feedback loop between scientific

understanding and technological innovation drives a constantly accelerating rate of technological change.– This does not mean that scientific knowledge

increases and leads to more technologies– For example, time lapse between technology

introduction and widespread use:• Electric lights 80 years• Personal computers 16 years• Internet 4 years

The Nature of Science

• Knowing how science works puts scientific facts in perspective– Theoretical science– Practical (applied science)– Media (popular) science

• Science is a process, not a list of discoveries– Scientific process

• What is the problem with this model?• What are the steps?

• Societal values influence science and technology– Scientists and nonscientists view science differently– However, scientists are raised in a society, and a society shapes

the way we see the world. (Meaning: Everyone has their own filters.)

Hypothesis, Theory & Paradigm• Hypothesis: one of the steps of the scientific process; an “if-then”

statement or educated guess, based on observation, and to be tested, accepted or rejected (as a result of the analysis of data collected)

– E.g., If all the classroom doors are green in the C-building, and I am in sitting in a classroom with a green door, I must be in C-building.

• How would you test that?

• Theory: Accumulated evidence, over time, performed through a series of reproducible experiments

– E.g., evolution

• Paradigm: A widely accepted model, example or framework.

– E.g., the Earth is round

– If we wake up one day and discover the Earth is a cube, the paradigm undergoes a shift (paradigm shift) to accept this.

Acceptance of information passes along in rigor

from hypothesis to theory, and then finally to paradigm.

We all generally accept paradigms as fact or (scientific) law.

The Biology Century

• In the last 200 years, the primary scientific drivers of technological development were chemistry and physics

– Industrial revolution

– Information age

– Green revolution

• In this century, technological development is being fueled by biology, or more specifically, by biotechnology.

What is Biotechnology?

• Biotechnology is the use of living organisms or life processes to solve problems or make useful products.

Modern Biotechnology

• Modern biotechnology is the use of cells and biological molecules or cellular and bio-molecular processes to solve problems and make useful products.

Types of Biological Molecules

Familiar Examples

Lipid Fats, steroid hormones

Protein Enzymes, collagen

Nucleic acid DNA, RNA

Carbohydrate Starch, glucose

Biotechnology is a Collection of Technologies Used by Many Industries

• Monoclonal antibody technology

• Bioprocessing technology

• Cell culture technology

• Biosensor technology

• Recombinant DNA technology (genetic engineering)

• Microarray technology

• Protein engineering technology

• Antisense technology

Biotechnology Capitalizes on Cell Properties

• By using cells and biological molecules as the foundations of a technology, companies can develop products that capitalize on innate properties of life at those levels:– Specificity

– Unity

– Reproducibility

Specificity, Precision and Predictability

• Cells and molecules are very specific in their interactions (and subsequent reactions) with other cells and molecules.– As a result, you can make a specialized molecule

that does one job…it only targets one location or process.

– By doing this, you can reduce the chances of severe side effects, drugs or devices can be tailored to an individual, and there should be fewer unintended consequences.

Unity and Flexibility

• Cells and molecules display remarkable similarity.– Because all cells (1) work with essentially the

same set of molecular building blocks, (2) have similar manufacturing processes, and (3) are able to read and implement the genetic instructions from almost any other cell, the technologies based on cells and biomolecules allow greater flexibility in developing products and solving problems.

Reproduction and Renewable Resources

• Many human activities rely on petroleum, a nonrenewable resource and a major contributor to pollution and solid-waste generation.

• Biotech could help replace petroleum with renewable resources with sustainable alternatives for less cost.

How Genetic Selection Evolved…

• For 99% of human history, people lived as small groups of nomadic hunters and gatherers.– Then, a curious thing happened…

• AGRICULTURE! (and the way it happened…)– Developed approximately 10,000 years ago, in several

locations, at approximately the same time.

– Led to more permanent, self-supporting communities.

» Need more kids to work the farm

– Led to technological, economic, and social progress.

» Need to be able to care for and support the community (and all those kids)

So what’s ‘important’ from this chapter?

• What is science?

• What is the scientific process?

• Hypothesis, Theory and Paradigm…oh, my!

• The differences among science and technology

• What is biotechnology?

• What are specificity, precision and predictability (in terms of science)?

• What are unity and flexibility (in terms of science)?

• How (and why) genetic selection evolved?