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

All Possible
Technologies

Economics Filter

Ethics Filter

Regulatory
Policy Filter
Market
Forces Filter
 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)
Search for knowledge
Way of understanding ourselves and the
physical world
Process of asking questions and finding
answers, then creating broad
generalizations
Looks for order or patterns in the physical
world
Evaluated by how well the facts support
the conclusion or theory
Limited by the ability to collect relevant
facts
Discoveries give rise to technological
advances
TECHNOLOGY (PRACTICE)
Practical application of knowledge
Way of adapting ourselves to the physical
world
Process of finding solutions to human
problems to make lives easier and better
Looks for ways to control the physical
world
Evaluated by how well it works
Limited by financial costs and safety
concerns
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
pGLO rabbit, the result of genetic engineering – Lower manufacturing
costs.
 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 Types of Biological Familiar Examples
Molecules
biotechnology is
the use of cells and
biological Lipid Fats, steroid hormones
molecules or
cellular and bio-
molecular Protein Enzymes, collagen
processes to solve
problems and Nucleic acid DNA, RNA
make useful
products. 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?