Module 1: Science and Technology in the Ancient Times, Middle Age, Modern Times and in the

Philippines

Learning Outcome
1. discuss the interactions between science, technology and society throughout history
2. discuss how scientific and technological developments affect society and the environment.
3. identify the paradigm shifts in history

Definition of Science
Mani (1985) defined science as a systematized body of knowledge and a process of inquiry
carried out in order to study the world around us. Holkbrook (1992) defined science as an intellectual
activity through which men seeks to understand nature. Gottlieb (2004) viewed science as an intellectual
activity carried out by human that are designed to discover information about the natural world in which
humans live and to discover the ways in which this information can be organized into meaningful patterns.

Limitation of Science: A Few Things That Science Does Not Do

Science doesn`t make moral judgments.
Science helps us describe how the world is, but it cannot make any judgments about whether that
state of affairs is right, wrong, good, or bad.

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 painting
is beautiful or dreadful. Individuals make those decisions for themselves based on their own aesthetic
criteria.

Science doesn`t tell you how to use scientific knowledge.

Although scientists often care deeply about how their discoveries are used, science itself doesn`t
indicate what should be done with scientific knowledge. For almost any important scientific advance, one
can imagine both positive and negative ways that knowledge could be used. Again, science helps us
describe how the world is, and then we have to decide how to use that knowledge.

Science doesn`t draw conclusions about supernatural explanation.

Questions that deal with supernatural explanations are, by definition, beyond the domain of what
can be studied by science.

Definition of Technology
Black and Harrison (1985) defined technology as a disciplined process that uses the resources
of matter, energy and natural phenomena to achieve human purpose. It is the practical application of
scientific results for the development of tools, equipment and techniques. Technology employs
knowledge, skills and tools to improve human potentials, to solve practical problems, to modify our
environment. It is therefore concerned with the application of science to obtain practical solution to the
myriad of human problems.

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Definition of Society
Society can be defined as a group of humans living together for self-maintenance and self-
perpetuating and sharing their own institution and culture (Yager, 1992). It could also be defined as a
long–standing group of people sharing cultural aspects such as languages, dress, norms of behaviors
and artistic forms.

What is the Uniqueness of Human Society?

In human society there exists continuous sexuality and a constant association of the sexes for
reproduction which is again regulated by culture. Human has the capacity to learn and accumulate
attitudes and knowledge which are transmitted from one generation to the next through culture. Human
beings are responsive to the judgements of others as their minds and personalities are formed by the
transmission of attitudes and ideas. Human society has not only a factual order but also a moral order.

Relationships of Science, Technology and Society

Science seeks to
understand the natural
world, and often needs
new tools to help
discover the answer.

Science Technology

Society make use scientific Technologies (products and

discoveries and technology
makes life easier by design
products and processes that
meet society’s needs.
processes) are the results of the
Society scientific discoveries. They are
created by technicians and
engineers to solve societal
needs and wants.

Science and technology have provided service to humanity as a whole. It has contributed
towards, providing a better quality of life and a sustainable and healthy environment for present and
future generation. Despite all the goodies of science, it has some issues threatening the safety and
security of people. There is hope that the challenges will be addressed with fruitful dialogue on the
issues.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE ANCIENT TIMES

Many of modern society’s most cherished institutions and ideas—not to mention the objects we
use every day—can trace their origins back to the ancient world. Ancient people built huge monuments
— and scientists are still figuring out how. We live surrounded by technology. There are skyscrapers and
spaceships. You’re probably reading this over the internet, where the information reached you almost
instantly. With all that tech surrounding us, it’s easy to wonder how ancient people got anything done.

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 All of our modern things, however, are based on older technologies. And those were based on
still older ones. Ancient people didn’t necessarily have steel or wheels or electronic communications. Yet
they built monuments even bigger than Stonehenge. And ancient Egyptians built the pyramids — with
huge mystery rooms inside

ANCIENT TIMES
Ancient times refers to the aggregate of past events from the beginning of writing and record
human history and extending as far as the post-classical history. Ancient history covers all continents
inhabited by humans in the 3000 BC – 500 AD period. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000
years, beginning with Sumerian Cuneiform scripts; the oldest discovered form of coherent writing from
the proto-literate period around the 30th century B.C.

AREA OF DEVELOPMENT IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DURING THE ANCIENT TIMES

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

The increase in size and number of nations connoted an increased demand for food and other
basic necessities. This condition also implied that people must able to produce food at a given time and
space since resources were getting scarcer. Thus, they needed to form a technology that would enable
them to increase food supplies and survival needs.

TRANSPORTATION
Transportation was significant during that time because people were trying to go places and
discover new horizons, search for food and find better locations for their settlements and trade their
surplus goods in exchange for things that they lacked. Sailing ships were the main mode of transportation.

COMMUNICATION
Communication was also essential in their endeavors to discover and occupy new places. Ancient
people communicate with natives of the area they visited and facilitate trade and prevent possible
conflicts.

RECORD KEEPING
Record keeping was also important to remember the places they visited, to document the trades they
made and keep records of their history and culture to established their identity

SECURITY AND PROTECTION

Weapons and armors were the important as well as in the discovery of new places or
establishment of alliances with other tribes. Security and protection are important because there is risk
of conflict when people met others with different culture and orientation Different groups struggled to
control vital resources and stronger nations tended to invade weaker ones so they could take much
needed resources.

HEALTH AND AESTHETICS

Different illnesses and diseases, both natural and man-made, hampered the full potential of
human beings. Science and technology played a major role in the discovery of cures, if not preventions
of illnesses. Humans later on the development of technology also improve how they looked by adding
some features and decorations in their body.

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ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE
In order to integrate nation`s needs for better transportation, protection from human attacks and
natural disasters, and construction of bigger and stronger infrastructure----people venture in what is now
known field of engineering. The development in engineering also ushered in the introduction of
architecture. Elaborate architectural designs were signs of technological advancement of a particular
civilization.

THE FIVE ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS

Civilization Period Area

Mesopotamian
Sumerian 3300-750 BC Sumer, Babylonia
Babylonian
Egyptian 3000-500 BC North Eastern of Africa

Greek 2700-100 BC Greece and Alexandria

Chinese 1600-221 BC China
Italy, spread across Europe,
Roman 600 BC-600 AD
Western Asia and North Africa

MESOPOTAMIAN CIVILIZATION
Mesopotamia is a historical region of Western Asia
situated within the Tigris-Euphrates river system, in the
northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Fertile crescent is also
known as Cradle of Civilization for number of innovations that
arose from the early societies in this region. The word
“Mesopotamia” is formed from the ancient word “meso”
meaning between or in the middle of, and “potamios” meaning
river.
Ancient Mesopotamia roughly corresponds to most of
Iraq, Kuwait, the eastern parts of Syria, Southern Turkey and
regions along Turkish-Syrian and Iran-Iraq borders.

SUMERIAN
Sumer people were first group of people to occupy ancient Mesopotamia and responsible for
many important inventions that changed the world. By 3000 B.C., Mesopotamia was firmly under the
control of the Sumerian people. Sumerians are known for their high degree of cooperation with one
another and their desire for great things. They are not contented with basic things that life can offer. This
desire pushed them to develop many things connected with science and technology.

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Cuneiform
The Sumerians made their noblest contribution in the
field of writing. They adopted a system of writing which was
popularly known as Cuneiform. The first writing system which
was developed by the Sumerians as an outgrowth of their
method of recording numbers. It is a system that utilizes
words pictures and triangular symbols which are carved on
clay using sharp-pointed sticks and then left to dry. Clay
tablets being used for pictographic writing in Sumer are turned
on their sides to produce a “page” that is in what modern
computer users call “portrait” format instead of the horizontal
“landscape” format. It also allowed the Sumerians to keep
records of things with great historical value or their everyday
life.

Uruk City
The Sumerians left indelible foot prints on the sands of time by erecting many cities. The city of Uruk
(Iraq), ruling over 76 outlying villages, is based in an urban area that extends over 400 hectares,
surrounded by a 10 km wall. Its population has grown to nearly 50,000. They gave proper attention to
give a finishing touch to, every architecture. Sumerians were able to build the city using only mud or clay
from the rivers which they mixed with reeds, producing sunbaked bricks---which is an engineering feat.

The Great Ziggurat

The religious belief of the Sumerians was superb. They built temples at the center of the city state for the
worship of gods and goddesses. The Sumerian temple was known as Ziggurat which means “Hill of the
Heaven" and was shaped like a pyramid and had several levels, each smaller than the one below.
Stairways connected the different levels and led to a shrine at the top of the ziggurat, which towered over
the plain around it.

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Irrigation and Dikes
The main place of employment and the most important source of revenue of the city-states was
farming which provided not only food needed for the residents, but also goods for export. It was based
on an artificial irrigation of fields. The irrigation system consisted of canals, dams, weirs, dykes and water
reservoirs. They drained the swamps so they could farm the rich land. They built dams and dikes to keep
the rivers from flooding their fields. In the drier northern areas, they built irrigation canals which were
used to carry water from rivers to the fields when there was little rain.

Wheel and Cart

A great contribution of the Sumerians to the history of mankind was “wheel” which was primarily
used in the pottery industry to make pottery of various shapes and sizes through this wheel. The
Sumerians were able to invent the wheel since the specialized tools needed to create it were already
available. In the latter part of their history, wheels used with vehicles are strengthened by nailing a
wooden rim around the outside. Wheeled vehicles are used in Mesopotamia as evidenced by a
pictograph from Uruk (Iraq). The wheeled carts facilitated trade and commerce on land route. This
invention of wheel by the Sumerians made them immortal in the records of history.

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Sailboats
At the time, the wheel was not yet invented;
main mode of transportation was through waterways
such as rivers and seas. Boats were used to carry
large quantities of products and were able to cover
large distances. Some sources attribute to the
Sumerians the invention of sailboats to address their
increasing demands. Sailboats were essential in
transportation and trading as well as in fostering
culture, information and technology.
The Mesopotamians were very creative in
their boat designs. Some of the smaller boats were
made of reeds and surrounded with goatskin that had been blown up with air and tied underneath the
rafts to make them float better. With these blown-up animal skins the rafts could carry tremendous
weights.

Tools
Another farm technology invented by the Mesopotamians is the plow. The plow was invented to
dig the earth in a faster pace. As the plow breaks the ground, the farmer just drops the seeds. Axes in
Mesopotamia are made with bronze or copper heads that have a hole in them where a shaft can be
inserted.

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BABYLONIAN
Babylon was another city in Mesopotamia that became powerful. It was ruled by Hammurabi that
conquered and united Mesopotamia. Babylonians mostly adopted the Sumerian`s achievements which
includes the cuneiform writing and used for their own language. Babylonians were great builders,
engineers and architects.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Hanging Gardens was considered
one of the seven wonders of the ancient
world. Today, people can only marvel at the
beauty of the famous hanging gardens of
Babylon from stories of historians and
paintings that portray the place. According to
legends, King Nebuchadnezzar II built the
garden for his wife, Queen Amytis, however,
no physical evidence has been found to prove
the existence of the Hanging Garden of
Babylon.

Code of Hammurabi
Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian code of law dated to about 1754 B.C. It was
enacted by Hammurabi, the sixth Babylonian king. The Hammurabi code of laws, a collection of 282
rules, established standards for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments to meet the
requirements of justice. Hammurabi's Code was carved onto a massive, finger-shaped black stone stele
(pillar) that was looted by invaders and finally rediscovered in 1901.

EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
This civilization emerged Southwest of Mesopotamia, in the valley of Nile River in Egypt. Although
it began somewhat later than that of Sumer, it was more stable and endured for several thousand years.
Aside from the engineering technology, Egyptians have contributed other practical things that the world
now considers as essential.

Paper or Papyrus
On the banks of Nile, a plant named ‘Papyrus’ was
plentily available. The leaves of Papyrus tree were joined
through gum and the long roll was prepared. It is one of the
earlier contributions of Egyptian Civilization. Clay tablets were
very fragile, heavy, and delicate to handle.
Hence, invention of papyrus was a welcome
development. Egyptians were able to process the plants in
order to produce thin, lighter sheets and easy to carry and
store. Record-keeping was no longer a problem since
documents would not take huge storage spaces and people
were able to send letters that could be carried and delivered
by birds.

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Ink
They took juice of plants and prepared ‘ink’ by mixing gum
and water with it. In several cases, ancient Egyptians also prepared
ink by mixing gum with black particles found from kitchen house or
lamps. They made ink by grinding brightly colored mineral into
powder, then mixing the powder with liquid so that it was easier to
apply. The ink was tampered proof which could not simply tinker
those written by authorities and withstand the elements of nature.

Hieroglyphics
Egyptians also developed a system of writing
using symbols, known as hieroglyphics or ‘sacred
writing’ because those were written by the priests.
Some say that it was adapted from the early writing
of Mesopotamia, Egyptians believed it was provided
to them by their gods. Hieroglyphics was the
language that tells the modern world of the history
and culture of the ancient Egyptians.

Cosmetics and Wigs

Egyptians also invented the use of cosmetics and their function in ancient Egypt was for both
health and aesthetic reasons. Ancient Egyptians used a form of eyeliner called kohl to enhance their
eyes. This replicated the appearance of the sun god, Re. Kohl was made of powdered antimony, burnt
almonds, black copper oxide and brown ochre. It was applied with a small stick called a kohl stick.
Egyptians also believed that a person wearing make-up was protected from evil and that beauty was a
sign of holiness. Another cosmetic invention of ancient Egyptians is the wig.
During the ancient Egyptian times, wigs were worn for the health and wellness rather than for
aesthetic. The wigs were used to protect the shaved heads of the wealthy Egyptians from harmful rays
of the sun. Wearing wig was better than putting scarf or any other head cover since a wig allowed heat
escape.

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The Great Pyramid
It was the Egyptians who built the Pyramids. Using a sled which carried a stone block and was
attached with ropes to these wooden posts, ancient Egyptians were able to pull up the alabaster blocks
out of the quarry on very steep slopes of 20 percent or more. The Great Pyramid is dated with all the
evidence, I'm telling you now, to 4,600 years, the reign of Khufu. The Great Pyramid of Khufu is one of
104 Pyramids in Egypt with superstructure, and there are 54 Pyramids with substructure.

Embalming
Funeral took elaborate preparations. The bodies of people who died were carefully preserved
before their burial. Chemicals were used to dry out, or mummify the body. Egyptian embalmers were so
skillful that modern archeologists have found mummies that still have hair, skin, and teeth after thousands
of years of burial.

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GREEK CIVILIZATION
Greece is an archipelago in the southeastern part of Europe. It is known as the birthplace of
western philosophy and Greeks have in-depth works on philosophy and mathematics. Ancient Greek
thinkers and architects laid the intellectual foundations of many fields of study. Whether it be astrology,
mathematics, biology, engineering, medicine or linguistics, nearly all of the information we take for
granted today was first discovered by the ancient Greeks.

Alarm Clock
Alarm clock is one of the most utilized gadgets today was
invented by ancient Greeks. The alarm clock during that time did
not resemble the present-day alarm clock, the purpose was just
the same. They made us of water (sometimes small stones or
sand) that dropped into drums which sounded the alarm. Plato
was believed to have utilized an alarm clock to signal the start
of his lecture

Water Mill
Water mill is one of the most important
contribution of Greek civilization to the world.
They were commonly used in agricultural
processes like milling of grains and the mass
production of cereals, flours and the like
became common. Water mills were considered
better than mills powered by farm animals and
they only required access to rivers or flowing
water.

Column
The column was an architectural invention which allowed for the support of ceilings without the
use of solid walls, thereby increasing the space which could be spanned by a ceiling, allowing the
entrance of light and offering an alternative
aesthetic to building exteriors, particularly in the
peristyles of temples and on colonnades along
stoas.
In Archaic Greece stone began to
replace wood as the primary building material for
large buildings. However, the transition was by
no means clear-cut. Temples from the 8th to
mid-7th centuries BCE at Isthmia, Ephesus and
Corinth are believed to have employed wooden
columns with stone bases alongside other
structural elements in stone. Gradually though,
and with the exception of roof beams, stone, with
its superior strength and durability became the
favored material used in construction.

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CHINESE CIVILIZATION
The Chinese civilization is one of the oldest in the world, dating back 4,000 years. It is also known
as the Middle Kingdom. China is located far east of Asia and famous among other ancient civilizations
because of its silk trade. This civilization developed along the great river, Yellow River or the Hwang Ho,
that begins in the mountain of western China and form a huge loop as it flows nearly 3000 miles to the
Yellow Sea. Silk, tea, gunpowder and the compass - the four great inventions of ancient China-are
significant contributions of the Chinese nation to world civilization.

Silk
Silk was one of the things that connected Far East China to the world. It is naturally produced by
silk worms, the Chinese were the ones who developed the technology to harvest silk and process it to
produce paper and clothing. Silk trade opened China to the outside world, making way for cultural,
economic, and scientific exchange.

Gunpower
Gunpower was one of the interesting inventions in China. It was originally developed by Chinese
alchemist who aimed to achieve immortality. They mixed charcoal, sulfur and potassium nitrate.
Gunpowder is a black powder that could generate large amount of heat and gas in an instant. It is used
to propel bullets from guns and cannons.

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Compass
The ability to magnetize iron by
placing it near a loadstone was known to
ancient civilizations. But it was the Chinese
who applied this principle of magnetism to
create the compass. In the Han dynasty
(202 BC-AD 220), the "south-pointer" was
used by travelers in China (the earliest
Chinese compasses, called south-pointers,
pointed south rather than north).

Tea
Tea is a beverage produce by pouring hot or boiling water over crushed or shredded dried tea
leaves. It was believed that first tea was drunk by a Chinese emperor. Tea production was developed by
unknown Chinese inventor creating a machine that was able to shred tea leaves in strips. Because of
this invention, the Chinese were able to increase their production of tea and trade with other nations.

Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications that were built across
the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China
as protection against various nomadic groups from the Eurasian grassland.
Estimates of its length vary from 1,500 to 5,000 miles, but an
archaeological survey carried out in 2012 by China’s State Administration
of Cultural Heritage suggested the wall is more than double than that
length: some 13,000 miles – or 21,000km – long.

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ROMAN CIVILIZATION
The Roman Empire was perceived to be the strongest political and social entity in the west. It was
considered to be the cradle of politics and governance during that period. At the height of its power,
Roman Empire stretched from the island of Britain to the sands of Arabia. The Romans were prodigious
builders and expert civil engineers, and their thriving civilization produced advances in technology, culture
and architecture that remained unequaled for centuries.

Newspaper
The first newspaper, known as gazettes, contained announcement of the Roman Empire to the
people. Before the invention of paper, these gazettes were engraved in metal or stone tablets. With the
advent of paper, minutes of proceedings of the Roman senate were done in shorthand and these
documents were edited and published on the same day that they were recorded. Romans enjoyed easy
access to government information.

Roman Numerals
The Romans devised their own number system specifically to
address the need for counting methods that would meet increasing
communication and trade concern. Roman numeral is no longer widely
used today due to its inherent limitation.

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 Battlefield Surgery
The Romans invented many surgical tools and pioneered the
use of the cesarean section, but their most valuable contributions to
medicine came on the battlefield. Under the leadership of Augustus,
they established a military medical corps that was one of the first
dedicated field surgery units. These specially trained medics saved
countless lives through the use of Roman medical innovations.

MIDDLE AGE
People use the phrase “Middle Ages” to describe Europe between the fall of Rome in 476 CE and
the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th century. Many scholars call the era the “medieval period”
instead; “Middle Ages,” they say, incorrectly implies that the period is an insignificant blip sandwiched
between two much more important periods.
The phrase “Middle Ages” tells us more about the Renaissance that followed it than it does about
the era itself. Starting around the 14th century, European thinkers, writers and artists began to look back
and celebrate the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. Accordingly, they dismissed the period
after the fall of Rome as a “Middle” or even “Dark” age in which no scientific accomplishments had been
made, no great art produced, no great leaders born. The people of the Middle Ages had squandered the
advancements of their predecessors, this argument went, and mired themselves instead in what 18th-
century English historian Edward Gibbon called “barbarism and religion.”

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE MIDDLE AGE

After the fall of Rome, no single state or government united the people who lived on the European
continent. Instead, the Catholic Church became the most powerful institution of the medieval period.
Kings, queens and other leaders derived much of their power from their alliances with and protection of
the Church. The standard of living in Europe returned to levels comparable to those just after the
Agricultural Revolution. Poverty was endemic and people suffered from wars, piracy, famine, and
epidemics. Unavoidably, science retreated as well.
Two of the several reasons for the decline of science in Europe between 530 and 1000 AD are
the following: the Romans had been extremely little interested in theoretical science and Christianity as
a state religion in both halves of the Roman Empire may have been antagonistic to science at this time.
Scholars asserted that medieval scientific thinkers had been preoccupied by religion, and their thinking
had mainly served purposes of the Catholic Church.

Alchemy
One important stimulus was the monarchs' growing demand of coinable precious metals; mining
made giant strides to meet this demand. New pumping devices, new machines for lifting heavy loads,
and new methods of finding and extracting of metals were developed. Metallurgy and metal-working were
carried to new heights during the 16th century. Alchemists, who were eager to solve the problem of the
shortage of gold in their laboratories, more or less accidentally laid the foundation of modern Chemistry.

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MOVABLE TYPE PRINTING PRESS
The 15th century saw one of the greatest inventions in the history of humankind. In 1450
Johannes Gutenberg, a citizen of the German town of Mainz, was able to print books. Himself a gifted
craftsman and engineer possessing a thorough knowledge of metallurgy, he developed the prototype of
the printing press, which made it possible for humanity to spread and give access to the knowledge of
the world to everybody everywhere on the globe, and to accumulate and store it in libraries, the ever-
growing treasure houses of human knowledge.

MECHANICAL CLOCK
Mechanical clocks were first used in China, more for astronomical and astrological purposes
rather than for telling the time. About 725 AD, a Chinese engineer, Liang Ling-Tsan invented the
mechanical escapement, which is a key device in all mechanical clocks. One of the most elaborate clock
towers was built by Su Sung and his associates in 1088 A.D.

MICROSCOPE
In 1950, two Dutch spectacle-makers (eye glassmaker) and father-and-son team, Hans and
Zacharias Janseem, created the first microscope. Microscope let us view an invisible world--- objects and
organisms that are too small to be seen with naked eyes. Anton van Leeuwenhoek also built his own
biological microscope and the first person to see and describe bacteria, yeast plants and teeming life in
a drop of pond water. Robert Hooke reconfirmed Leeuwenhook`s discovery.

TELESCOPE
Middle age was also known as the Age of Exploration which highly needed nautical inventions.
Dutch eyeglass maker Hans Lippershey is credited as the first person to patent a telescope in 1608. His
device, called a kijker (looker) was, according to him, able to magnify an image up to three times. Galileo
Galilei was the first to use telescope for astronomical purpose in 1609 and not for inventing telescope.

MEDICINE AND HEALTH

Drugs based on arsenic, sulfur, and mercury were used, especially mercury ointments for the treatment
of skin disease. Opium was used as an anesthetic during surgery. The art of ophthalmology, developed
by Arab physicians, reached a high level and operations removing cataracts were performed
successfully. The single greatest advance in medical technology is when people found that glass lenses
could be used to correct vision defects.

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MODERN TIMES
Modern times was coined in the 16th century to indicate present or recent times. The concept of
the modern world as distinct from an ancient or medieval world rest on a sense that the modern world is
not just another era in history, but rather the result of a new type of change. This is usually conceived of
as progress driven by deliberate human efforts to better their situation.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE MODERN TIMES

About 200 years ago the pace of technological change in western society began to quicken. Wind,
water, and animal power, with their limitations of place and capacity, were supplemented and then
replaced by the steam engine, which went on to power the factories of the industrial revolution. The
railroad made it possible to move things and people quickly over great distances. The telegraph and,
later, the telephone carried communications across the countryside. Electric lighting supplanted the dim
glow of candles, kerosene, and gas lights.
By the beginning of the twentieth century, the notion of progress was closely linked with
technological development, and that linkage intensified in the following decades. The automobile and the
airplane changed not only travel but the nature of our cities and towns. Radio and then television brought
more of the outside world into everyone’s homes. Knowledge about the causes of diseases brought new
treatments and preventive measures. Computers appeared, and soon the transistor made them smaller,
more powerful, more accessible, and cheaper.
Here some of the development in the science and technology in the modern times:

Air-Conditioning System
Willis Haviland Carrier, an
engineering graduate of Cornell
University, designed and built this first
air-conditioning system in 1902 for a
printing company. Productivity rates in
offices, factories, schools, and
businesses are estimated to improve
by 40 percent as a result of air-
conditioning.

Steel Production
Until the late 1800s, the height of a building was limited mainly by building materials, creativity,
and particularly gravity. Most structures were limited to eight to ten stories. In the early 1900s steel
replaced cast iron and masonry block as a common construction material. Steel is an alloy of iron and
carbon, and sometimes other elements like chromium.

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 Blood typing
Prior to Karl Landsteiner, an Austrian
immunologist, discovering that not all blood was
alike, transfusions during operations were often
lethal. At the beginning of the 1900s, it was thought
that disease was caused by “bad blood.” In 1900,
Landsteiner discovered there were three human
blood groups. He called them A, B, and O. The AB
blood type was realized by two of his colleagues,
Decastello and Sturle in 1902.

Airplane
Before Orville and Wilbur Wright, the possibility of a controlled, human-powered flight seemed
unattainable. On December 17, 1903, Orville Wright manned the Flyer I for the first flight in history in
which an aircraft raised itself by its own power, cruised forward without reduction of speed, and landed
at a place as high as where the plane had started. In the years that followed, the technology of flight
developed rapidly. The airplane revolutionized both peacetime and wartime. Flight ushered in an age of
globalization where international trade and understanding of human diversity become accessible to all
peoples. Air travel opens up isolated countries and extends communication of democratic goals around
the world. Of equal importance is the reality that aircraft are the foundation to travel beyond the earth`s
atmosphere.

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Test Tube Baby
On Monday, July 25, 1978, the world`s first
baby to be conceived outside of the womb was born
in England. Louise Brown was dubbed the “Test Tube
Baby,” and her birth caused a popular sensation.
Overseen by Dr. Patrick Steptoe (a gynecologist) and
Dr. Robert Edwards (a university researcher), the birth
marked the first successful use of a technique known
as in vitro fertilization.

The Internet
January 1, 1983 is considered the official
birthday of the Internet. Prior to this, the various
computer networks did not have a standard way to
communicate with each other.
In 1990s America, the Internet became a
household word. Once, only computer users with
specialized interests (such as government, military,
or academic groups) had a need to connect and to
share information. By the end of the twentieth
century, logging on to the Internet became an
almost essential element of daily life in the United
States, for businesses as well as the general public.
The global reach of the Internet was quickly
established, and continues to grow.

Refrigeration
In the early 1900s, Willis
Carrier improved on the basic
mechanical unit by designing a
system that could better control
the humidity in the atmosphere.
But it was not until 1923 that
Frigidaire, a division of General
Motors, engineered a chest that
enclosed both the refrigeration
unit and the components of the
cooling system to make a
relatively quiet and compact
device. Because most homes
were wired with electricity, the
1923 Frigidaire brought amenities
even to working-class families,
raising the standard of living across the country.

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PHILIPPINE INVENTIONS
Despite being considered as a developing country, the Philippines also contributes to the global
advancement of science and technology. It is quite remarkable to note the ingenuity of the Filipinos
despite the lack in resources. The Philippines is known to be of one of the most vulnerable countries in
terms of natural disasters. Many of the discoveries and inventions made were therefore built from
indigenous materials or created to adapt to the harsh tropical environment.

Salamander Amphibious Tricycle

Atoy Llave made partnership with a new company called H2O Technologies, developing
Salamander amphibious trike in particular with the firm's technical head, Lamberto Armada. Because it
is amphibious, the Salamander can travel both on land and in water. It stemmed from Llave's desire to
do something really useful for the benefit of his countrymen. That and his wish to put the Philippines on
the global automotive map.
"I've already achieved so much in the car business," Llave shared. "Now, I want to leave behind
a legacy. I want to produce something that will help people." Llave, of course, is referring to our country
being flood-prone. Imagine having an amphibious vehicle like this when the water rises. The Salamander
will also be practical as a shuttle vehicle in between small islands all around the archipelago.

SALt Lamp

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 The SALt lamp (or "Sustainable Alternative Lighting") is an LED lamp product created by
Philippine siblings Aisa and Raphael Mijeno. The lamp is powered by the galvanic reaction of an anode
with saline water. SALt began with observing a problem – the lack of access to electricity of Filipinos.
According to the Department of Energy (DOE), an estimated 4.2 million households are still without
electricity.
SALt is based on metal-air technology where it consumes ambient air as cathode, metal anode
and saline solution to create a chemical reaction. This generates enough power to light up LEDs and
charge low-power mobile devices like cell phones.

Medical Incubator

In a bid to help families in rural communities without electricity, del

Mundo invented a bamboo incubator in 1941. According to a biographical
report on Fe del Mundo by the Philippine Center for Investigative
Journalism, the physician’s makeshift incubator was composed of two
native laundry baskets made of bamboo. Made of different sizes, the
baskets were “placed one inside the other.” She would then put hot water
bottles all around and between the baskets to regulate the body
temperature of babies. A makeshift hood allows oxygen to circulate.

Antibiotic

After discovering an antibiotic derived

from a type of bacteria found on his own farm
in 1949, a Filipino scientist became famous. Dr.
Abelardo Aguilar identified a strain of bacteria
while studying soil samples from his own lawn,
which led to the discovery of Erythromycin, a
broad-spectrum antibiotic that is now widely
used.
Erythromycin is an antibiotic that is
used to treat and prevent a variety of infections
in the body. Illnesses of the respiratory system
and skin, as well as acute pelvic inflammatory
disease, pertussis, Legionnaire's disease, and
syphilis, are among these infections. It's also used as a penicillin substitute for those who are allergic to
the antibiotic.

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 Dr. Aguilar worked for the Eli Lily Company in the United States of America at the time of his
discovery. He provided the soil samples to his company in good faith, and they worked on isolating
Erythromycin from a bacterial strain detected in the samples.
The substance was first sold in 1952 under the brand name Ilosone (the place in the Philippines
where it originated). Unfairly, Eli Lily Co. filed for both patent protection and a US patent without paying
Dr. Aguilar any royalties or credit for his invention. Following that, he fought for what he was owed in a
40-year battle.

Mosquito Ovicidal/Larvicidal Trap System

The Mosquito OL-Trap has three important parts: a black container, a small strip of lawanit
measuring 1" X 6.5" (like an ice drop stick) for mosquitoes to lay their eggs on, and a larvicide solution to
kill the mosquito larvae that will hatch in the strip of wood and in the solution.
The scent of the solution invites female mosquitoes to the trap where they lay eggs on the stick
and on the solution itself. The stick, moistened by the solution through capillary action, is highly attractive
for mosquitoes to lay eggs on. As the eggs and the hatched larvae (also called "wrigglers") get exposed
to the solution, they die. The trap does not kill the adult mosquitoes. Instead, its ovicidal and larvicidal
effect prevent the next generation of mosquitoes from reaching adulthood, thus curbing the Aedes
mosquitoes population.

Mango Flowering

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 The Philippines is a major source of mangoes in the world. With $91 million worth of exports in
2015 alone, the country ranks seventh in the global market. Regions such as Ilocos, Central Luzon, and
Western Visayas are among the country’s biggest producers of this seasonal fruit. The operative word
here, of course, is “seasonal,” as mangoes only flower during a specific period in the year. For quite some
time, Filipinos relied on smudging –the use of smoke from burning materials — to keep up with the
demand for mangoes. The prolific mango production in the Philippines is due in large measure to the
ingenuity of one man.

Forty years ago, Filipino horticulturalist, Dr. Ramon Barba developed a simple method for inducing
early flowering in mango plants. His invention, widely used today, revolutionized the Philippine mango
industry, making the crop one of the country’s top export earners.

Dr. Barba now features in a new WIPO short film, which was released on World Intellectual
Property Day as the latest in a series of profiles of inventors and creators from developing countries. In
the following extracts from his interviews with the WIPO team he describes his invention, its impact and
his fight for the patent.

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