Science- an Introduction

What is Science?Science is basically defined as a body of facts that has been systematically classified and correlated to serve as a basis for the discovery of general truth.

Sciencesystematized

body of knowledge based

on facts and principles

obtained by keen observation and

careful experimentation

SCIENCEScientia - knowledge

Scire – to know

Why is Science important?

Science is important because…

Scienceand itsLimitations

Science cannot answer all types of questions.

Does God existsAre there really ghosts?Do supernatural entities intervene in human affairs?

Misconception: Science contradicts the existence of God.

Correction: Science cannot support or contradict the existence of supernatural entities. It deals only with natural phenomena and explanations.

Science doesn't make aesthetic judgments

Science can reveal the frequency of a G-flat and how our eyes relay information about color to our brains, but science cannot tell us whether a Beethoven symphony, a Kabuki performance, or a Jackson Pollock painting is beautiful or dreadful. Individuals make those decisions for themselves based on their own aesthetic criteria.

Time is required in solving the problem.

Stem cell therapy can cure HIV?

HIV may be cured by a bone marrow transplant similar to common treatments for leukemia.

A brief reviewHIV infects cells of the

immune system, some of which reside in reservoirs, such as lymph nodes. Eradicating all HIV infected cells using methods developed for other diseased immune cells, e.g. cancers, is a highly promising treatment strategy.

A brief reviewThere have, however, been two

principle problems with this strategy: (1) bone marrow cells for transplantation must closely match the cells of the recipient to avoid the serious complication of "graft-versus-host-disease," in which the transplanted cells fight the body,

A brief reviewand (2) the transplanted bone marrow cells become infected with HIV, which not only fails to cure the patient’s HIV disease, but is a wasted use of valuable bone marrow cells needed to treat cancers in non-HIV infected individuals.

Lack of absolute certainty in the answer

Pluto is no longer a planet

Inability to make moral or value judgments

When is euthanasia the right thing to do?

What universal rights should humans have?

Should other animals have rights?

Types of Science

Two types of ScienceScience

Pure Applied