Science is a "treasure of knowledge," helping us understand ourselves and answering almost every question or problem the human brain wants to know. Biotechnology plays an important role in human health and welfare. So, learning science and biotechnology is very important for us. In this blog post, you will learn why students should learn science and biotechnology.
Science and biotechnology for Students:
Dr. Shaheen Shah
Have you ever realized how our life is so comfortable in the context of electrical appliances like fans, coolers, air conditioners, heaters, running water, etc.??
Yes. The simple answer is "Science."
Now, what is "Science"?
Science is a knowledge that people communicate with each other and share to apply this knowledge in the betterment of humankind and make this world a better place to live. Human beings are the most developed animals with logical brains. Their insatiable curiosities led to many inventions and discoveries in the far past.
Now let us know the branches of Science?
Modern Science has three branches- viz, Natural Science, Social Science, and formal Science.
Natural and Social sciences are empirical sciences meaning they are always supported by evidence, and as such, they can be validated by other researchers working under similar conditions.
Natural sciences are of two types-A) Basic and B) Applied.
Natural basic sciences fall into the following categories, i.e., physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and space science.
While under applied Natural Sciences includes the following- Engineering, Agricultural Science, Medicine, and Material Science.
Social Sciences also are of two types- A) Basic and B) Applied
Under Basic Social Sciences includes anthropology, economics, political science, human geography, psychology, and sociology.
Applied Social Sciences include Business administration, public policy, marketing, law, pedagogy, and international development.
Formal Science is again of two types- Basic and Applied. Under basic traditional Science fall logic, mathematics, and statistics. While under applied traditional Science falls the computer science.
Now coming to Natural Science is the study of the physical world, which can be divided into two main branches viz;1) Life Sciences and 2) Physical Sciences- which can be divided into physics, chemistry, astronomy, and Earth Science.
Medicine branch (one type of Applied Natural Science) includes the following sub-branches viz-
a)Biomedical Sciences
b) Medical Sciences
c) Genetics and
d) Medical Technology to diagnose any disease, treat and further prevent from recurring.
Basic natural sciences deal with improving the existing scientific theories and laws of the world.
The scientific research is of two types- Basic and Applied
Applied research answers or gives solutions to the existing problems to make our life a little more comfortable place to live.
How does Science help us?
Science is a "treasure of knowledge," helping us understand ourselves and the working of the world we live in and identify the position of human beings within that world. Science answers every other question or problem the human brain wants to know.
How is Science advantageous to human beings?
It makes our lives easy, fast, organized, and communicable.
The discoveries of Science, such as the telephone, computers, television, airplanes, etc., made human life very comfortable.
Science has increased people's longevity by defeating many diseases like malaria, cancer, etc.
Science has given us technology that has enabled our day-to-day life easy.
Science has helped in every sector of human life, such as agriculture, transportation, medicines, etc.
As everything has pros and cons, Science does have to. Some disadvantages are-
1) Irresponsible persons create havoc via cyber criminality, thefts, nuclear weapons, pollution.
2) It makes us too much dependent on technology.
3) It sometimes interferes with our private life.
4) It can make us lazy and unhealthy.
The disadvantages of Science are not the fault of Science, but we people whose ideas are wrong and so indulge in making Science dirty. Running any scientific technology requires a lot of energy, so waste generated is more and indirectly adds to the environmental pollution.
Looking at the benefits rather than its shortcomings, we should always try to use it in the best possible way to make the most out of it and thus make it a boon to humankind.
One of the most lucrative miracles of Science is the invention of biotechnology. It is applied in life sciences for human benefit in every sphere of life, starting from farming, disease curing, and vaccine production to gain resistance against certain harmful organisms and create even a human life via; TEST TUBE BABY technology.
Now, what is biotechnology?
‘Bio’ means living organisms, 'techno' means tools, and 'logy 'means study. So biotechnology is the study of mechanisms that use living organisms to make products beneficial to humankind. The human body is made up of millions of cells, and our cells carry units called genes responsible for inheriting the characters of our parents. Scientists can also edit the genes and hence make us disease resistant. They can now insert a certain gene into plants which helps them resist pests and pathogens and thus make them more nutritious. Farmers can also use biotechnology to improve their crops and make them pest resistant. Some of the examples of biotechnology are improved crops such as golden rice, Bt cotton, etc.
References
1. Dawkins, Richard (May 10, 2006). "To Live at All Is Miracle Enough". RichardDawkins.net. Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
2. Gauch Jr., Hugh G. (2003). "Science in perspective". Scientific Method in Practice. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 21– 73. ISBN 978-0-52-101708-4. Archived from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
3. Panda SC (January 2006). "Medicine: science or art?". Mens Sana Monogr. 4 (1): 127–38. doi:10.4103/0973-1229.27610. PMC 3190445. PMID 22013337.
4. Popper, Karl R. (2002a) [1959]. "A survey of some fundamental problems". The Logic of Scientific Discovery. New York, New York: Routledge Classics. pp. 3–26. ISBN 978-0-415-27844-7. OCLC 59377149.
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