CHAPTER 11 BIODIVERSITY AND HEALTHY SOCIETY

Biodiversity- plays an important role in ecosystem providing services essential for people and
healthy society.
- Supports all life on Earth
- Variety of life forms at structural levels
- Measure of the number of species on the planet (Clarke, 2013)
- Variation of all living things making the world beautiful and exciting place to live
(Cunningham, 2013)
Species- are the building blocks of Earth that support ecosystem
THREE KINDS OF BIODIVERSITY
1. Genetic biodiversity- measure of the variety of versions of the same genes
2. Species biodiversity- describes the number of different kinds of organisms
3. Ecological biodiversity- specifies the number of niches, trophic levels, and ecological
processes that capture, sustain food webs and recycle materials within this ecosystem
IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY
1. Biodiversity provides food and medicines
2. Biodiversity can aid ecosystem stability
3. Aesthetic and existence values are important

H - Habitat Destruction
I – Invasive Species
P – Pollution
P – Population of humans
O – Overharvesting

Biodiversity Hotspots – the areas that support natural ecosystems that are largely intact and
where native species and communities associated with ecosystems are well represented
Genetic Modified Organism (GMO) - also known as Genetic Engineering
- selective bred of plants are being enhanced with the
genes of another plant
National Geographic Society (NGS)
Natural and Applied Sciences (NAS)
Conservation International (CI)
CHAPTER 12 THE INFORMATION AGE

Johannes Gutenberg- a German blackswithand publich who was responsible for shaping the
nature of society by establishing the first form of spreading information which is the Gutenberg
Principle
Word-of-mouth channels- transmission of information in the early times
Printing press- built in 1440, heralded the start of mass communication
Gutenberg Revolution- term used to express the democratizing effects of the invention of the
printing press among society
Radio Broadcasting- marked a significant jump in the speed of communication
Internet Browser- made the Information Age significant up to this day

TWO MAJOR EXPANSIONS CHANGED BY THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNET

1. Uploading and downloading of different forms of media, such as image, videos, and
audios, were now possible through internet access.
2. Spreading and publishing of information were now much easy because of different tools

Social Media- a form of electronic communication wherein the users share information, ideas and
even videos by creating online communities

HOW THE WORLD CHANGED BECAUSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

1. SM made the society less individualistic and traditional groups more reinforced
2. In education, including informal learning, SM served as an important catalyst
3. Selfies shared in SM send different messages worldwide
4. In the world of SM, online equality is different from offline equality
5. Not the company, but the people who uses SM defines its functionality
6. The public SM can be viewed as traditionalist or conservative
7. Posted photos and use of emojis in SM has shifted human communication
8. The world became less homogenous because of SM
9. Personal commerce has been greatly promoted with the help of SM
10. Group-communication arise because of SM
11. SM, for some, served as their online “homes”
12. Gender relations have been profoundly affected by SM
13. Human conversations and relationships are now polymedia
14. Memes in SM served as Moral Police that has set the standards of normal behavior among
the general public
15. SM is a privacy threat, but not for the non-users
CHAPTER 13 NANO WORLD

Nano – unit of measurement of length, an analogous entity like meter

Nanoscale – length of around 0.1nm to 100nm
Nanotechnology – study and manipulation of matter at a scale of about 1 to 100 nanometers

Department of Science and Technology-Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI) –

provides opportunities and technical services to local industries by Nano Lab

NANOTECHNOLOGY PROJECTS IN THE PH

1. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and semiconductors
2. Solar cells
3. Agriculture
4. Food
5. Environment

MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATION OF NANOTECHNOLOGY

1. Water treatment and purification
2. Environmental remediation
3. Green Nano Composites
NANOTECHNOLOGY ISSUES
1. Health issues
2. Environmental issues
3. Agriculture
 CHAPTER 14 GENE THERAPY

Genome – complete set of genes in a cell or organism

 Humans have a total of 46 chromosome (23 from the mother & 23 from the father)
Chromosome – made up of two chromatids and each chromatic contains sequence of
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
DNA- found on the nucleus of the cell
 The genes of the portion of the DNA sequence that are coded to proteins are called
introns and the non-coding regions are called exons.
Genetic Disorders – diseases caused by abnormalities in the DNA sequence of an individual
1. Single Gene Disorders - caused by mutations in specific genes
2. Chromosomal Disorders – might be an excess or deficiency of the whole chromosome,
chromosomal rearrangement, and contiguous-gene syndrome
o Chromosomal Rearrangement – happens if there is a breakage and
reconstruction but in abnormal form
o Structural Rearrangement – may lead to loss or gain of genetic material
3. Multifactorial Inheritance – caused by combination of genetic changes that produces
the disease
Gene Therapy – method of treating or preventing diseases by replacing, repairing, or turning on
or off genes of a patient’s cell
1. Somatic Gene Therapy – are those which are not related to reproductive gene
therapy
2. Reproductive Gene Therapy or Germ-line Cell Therapy – basically the introduction of
corrective genes to sperm cells, egg cells, or even zygotes

BENEFITS OF GENE THERAPY

1. It offers cure to several diseases like cancer, Parkinson’s Disease, AIDS, asthma, diabetes,
heart diseases as well as hereditary diseases
2. It can replace defective cells
3. It has a promising potential not only in the field of medicine but in some related fields like
agriculture
DISADVANTAGES OF GENE THERAPY
1. Modifying organisms means modifying its capabilities
2. Viral vectors could recover its ability to cause disease
3. It can damage the gene pool resulting to multigene disorder
4. High cost
5. Ethical issues