Module 1

Information Society

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. Determine the human and social impacts of the developments in the
information age
2. Discuss the evolution of technology from the ancient times up to the
present
3. Illustrate how social media have affected their lives.

Humans are surrounded on all sides by technology claiming to

supply information: television, smart phones and internet devices, among
others. However, do they all provide information or just noise? More
voices are trying to get our attention but how can we be sure that they
share knowledge and the truth?
To answer this basic question, a short historical backgrounder might
prove useful. Before the printed word, the written word was prevalent.
Yet, the intent to carry information has always been present.

Information

A word is a combination of sounds that represents something. It is

this significance which makes words distinct from any kind of vocal
utterance. Words are made up of sounds and yet they transmit something
more significant. They transmit a message. The words are “informed”
because they carry “information”(Chaisson,2006;Ben-Naim,2015). Words
are informed with meaning given by the speaker and intended for the
listener. Simply put, they communicate meaning.

The role of language

In the human quest for understanding the natural world, the ability
to name and classify objects found in nature was seen as first step in
knowing. Thus, the scientific search for truth early on recognized the
usefulness of language and the ability it gave to make sense of nature. For
the ancient Greeks, language was an object worthy of admiration. Words
have power.

This kind of knowing sprang from the Greek fascination and

wonder at the power of words and language. How is it possible that one’s
idea can simultaneously exist in his/her mind and in another’s?How is it
possible that human beings can communicate through words and thus
form a community? Does the power of the communicated word come
from the speaker, who is the thinker and the source, or from the listener,
who is the recipient of the communication? However you answer these
points, it is clear that thinking in terms of a common system being
generated by the speaker and received by the listener is useful in the
pursuit of knowledge. Science, form the Latin word scire(Meaning to
know), is one kind of knowledge the Greeks wanted to understand.

The idea of comprehending words as more than just combinations

of sounds led the Greeks to seek out the principles of everyday language.
When talking to other people, for example, a meaningful message is
created using ordinary sounds. Its meaning is also not diminished by
multiplication-the speaker can use the same words over and over again to
talk to ten, a hundred or even a thousand people separately or at the same
time. Nevertheless, the same message will be received by everyone. Words,
therefore, can function across space and time without reducing their
meaning.

The first philosophers, as they thrashed about groping for and

seeking a unifying principle in nature, sometimes hit upon things such as
fire or water. But they believed that something was common in all of
these. The many seemingly different things in the natural world must
have a unifying factor. There was an inside to be “ understood”. They
sought for this meta phusis, literally meaning”after nature”(De
Chardin,1965).
 Plato’s principle of “One and the Many” refers to the underlying
unity among diverse being sin the natural world. For Plato, there is a
common intrinsic nature shared by different objects, which determines
their real sense. Biologist devised a way to illustrate this principle using a
system differentiating between genus and species. Many species belong in
one genus.

In the 21st century, we are aware more than ever that there is rich
diversity in nature, which technology has allowed us to discover(BANWA
Natural Science, 2008)

Mathematics as the Language of Nature

Technology in the modern world is the fruit of science. Because the

scientific method helped people discover how nature behaves, they were
able to control nature with technology. A more accurate statement is :
Since people have discovered the laws and language of nature, they can
develop technology that uses these laws and language for their benefit.
This language is, of course, mathematics, the great contribution of Isaac
Newton. Nature can be understood because it speaks in the language of
mathematics and the human brain, to a certain extent can comprehend
this language(Wigner, 1960). Unfortunately, this fact is not always
appreciated.

Technological World

The ability to think and conceptually comprehend nature and the

principles it follows eventually leads to science. Even in ancient times,
Western thinkers harnessed the forces of nature after understanding them
better. Lost in antiquity is the first sailing vessel that worked through the
power of the wind. Similarly, it was never recorded when the early people
realized that fire has its own power and energy. Not all early inventions
are lost in time, however, Hero of Alexandria, for instance, would invent
a primitive steam engine in the first century(Paul Davies, 1990)
The Printing Press and Beyond

The power of the eidos, or idea, would be witnessed in the

succeeding centuries of development in the West. The ancient fascination
with language gave rise to the preservation of the words of earlier people
at the same time when the West weakened itself due to internecine
warfare and conflicts. Throughout this dark period, the importance of the
word- the power to be informed as a human being- led to the transmission
of ideas through hand-copying. Form this manual action would arise the
technology that would transform culture- printing press. The development
of the printing press, which may be regarded as the beginning of a true
revolution, could be dated to the 15th century. Through this technology,
the ancient Greek idea that knowledge should be shared and
communicated among humans would actually be done on a scale
unimagined by its thinkers. Using the printing press, people on different
sides of the world could share their thoughts and ideas with each other,
forming communities of thinkers across space and time(Connell, 1958)

The world has never looked back. This technological invention

allowed words to scientific ides to establish a view of nature anchored in
scholarly works and studies. For instance, new discoveries about the
phenomenon of electricity were eagerly absorbed by fellow scientist who
then utilized the science to create other technological products. The radio
was built upon the wave nature of electricity and magnetism, and from
there, television followed.

In the age of information, the transmission of ideas has undergone

changes. Meaning and depth are no longer conveyed strictly by rhetoric
but rather by its electronic replacement, the digital signal or digit. Suc a
digital world is a direct offspring of the progressing world of technology
built upon the many advances in science. (Toffler, 1984).
The World Wide Web

A more modern example of technology feeding upon itself is the

th
20 century tour de force: The World Wide Web through the internet.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented it as a way of addressing data processing and
information sharing needs among scientists for the European
Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). CERN’s atom smasher
produces a huge amount of scientific data analyzers to work on the
gathered information in coordination with each other. While the
telegraph and telephone had allowed the transmission of information to
transcend physical boundaries, processing a veritable ocean and mountain
of scientific data generated by the atom smasher needed a new medium.

With the case of sharing information at present, its reliability

becomes compromised. Anyone with a connection to other people can
produce contents which are showing half-truths or even lies, giving rise to
disinformation. Social media also encourages building a community of
like-minded people. The creation of these groups often reinforces biases
and beliefs based only on the content that they allow within the
community, forgoing the variation and clash of ideas provided in real life.
Worse, these communities can be tapped by people in power who may
take advantage of these mechanisms- controlling public opinion and
harassing those who present opposing views-for their own advantage.
Meanwhile the easy access to personal information makes one susceptible
to online predation, identity theft, and scamming among others. Thus, it
pays to be vigilant in utilizing these modern devices at all times.

The technology applied when a sailor rigs up a piece of cloth to

catch the wind is the same as one that produces modern machines and
devices, albeit less complex. Nevertheless, human beings have always
found a way to address their needs and discover new frontiers with
scientific thinking. Considering the many benefits we get from these
technologies, we must also be responsible in utilizing them to avoid
harming others and ourselves.
 Chapter 9
The Nano World

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. Define the major and realized impacts of nanotechnology on society
2. Analyze nanotechnology through the conceptual STS lenses
3. Examine the costs and benefits to society of nanotechnology

In the pursuit of science and technology, humans are now dealing

more and more with a world not seen by the naked eye. This is no
surprise as the study of science keeps leading us beyond the world of
everyday. The information we search for is always available in nature but
we need tools to harvest it. The nano world, like the other scientific
principles, provides both knowledge and instrument to control nature.
So why study nano?

The term “nano” refers to a unit meaning one billionthor ten raised
to negative nine(10-9). for example, a nanometer is one billionth of a
meter. Hence, “nano” expresses a very tiny amount or size.

The following figures compare objects of different sizes. A particle of

beach sand is almost ten times larger than a pollen grain. Nanostructures
can be found in nature. Catalysts, minerals and other particles are
measured on a nano scale. A single strand of DNA is about three
nanometers wide. Nanoscience, therefore, deals with materials that are
very small using specialized microscope and other nanodevices.

Just as we are not aware of the air we breathe or the molecules

constantly feeding our cells at every second, we are also not conscious of
these very little particles. Since the nano world cannot be seen by the
naked eye, it was only recognized and identified after technology has
allowed for the discovery of nanostructures. Without the microscope and
its attendant technology, people would not even be aware of how this tiny
world surrounds and affects us. But what is the purpose of dealing with
such small entities.
Nanotechnology refers to the manipulation of matter on an atomic
or subatomic scale. Some innovations developed in this field include
microprocessors and strain resistant fabrics. In the future, as nanoscience
and nanotechnology progress, more breakthrough are expected to arise in
the different fields of science, hopefully resolving problems in health,
environment and security among others.

Figure 1: Nanoscale where the range from 1 to 102 is referred to as the

nanotechnology area
 Chapter 10
Biodiversity
From the early times, when ancient philosophers of nature tried to
explain all things as coming from elements of water, fire, air or earth,
science sought for the common characteristic, a unifying element, in all of
nature’s many phenomena. There was a growing awareness of how all
living things are related to each other, an idea called biodiversity. This
recognition started when naturalists began to classify organisms in the
natural world using taxonomy, a system devised by Swedish scientist Carl
Linnaeus. Still used in the biological sciences today, taxonomy is the
hierarchical system of classifying and naming organisms. It builds on the
ability of the mind to find the common in the diverse, the One in the
many. It is a system commonly used today and shows that though the
living organisms in the world are so diverse, they still share many traits.
Where several different species and genera cohabitate, there is rich
biodiversity. One of the basic laws of the living is that of self-preservation.
An organism will sacrifice all it has to ensure its survival. However, with a
limited amount of resources , how do the many living organism of a
diverse region survive?The answer lies in the way the available energy
supply in the world is shared among the different species through the
various ecological relationships. The energy needed to live is shared
among the elements of the living world or passed on from one to another.
A. Biotechnology
The Biodiversity International has released a module titled “Law
and Policy of relevance to the management of plant genetic
resources”(Bragdon et al., 2005) which aims to help professionals in
managing, conserving and using plant genetic resources for food and
agriculture. The module provides the following definitions:
1. Biotechnology uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives
thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use.
2. Genetic Engineering isa technique that allows genes and DNA to be
transferred from one source to another. It leads to the production of
living modified organisms(LMO’s) or genetically modified
organisms(GMO’s).
3. Modern biotechnology gives scientists molecular tools for obtaining a
better understanding of the structure and function of genes in living
organisms.
 Modern biotechnology paves the way for new developments on food
and agriculture. Particularly, it aims to develop new precision tools and
diagnostics;speed up breeding gains and efficiency;develop pest-and
disease-resistant crops;combat salinity;drought and problems of
agriculture;enhance the nutritional quality of food;increase crop varieties
and choice;reduce inputs and production costs and increase profits.
B. Genetically Modified Organisms
Based on evolutionary theory, the concept of survival of the fittest
implies that living organisms have a natural spectrum of characteristics
such as size, mass or length. The characteristics of an organisms and its
successors ca be modified today by modern technology, giving rise to what
are called genetically modified organisms or GMO’s(Mayr,2001)
A GMO is a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism whose
genetic make-up has been modified using recombinant DNA methods
(also called gene splicing), gene modification, or transgenic technology. It
is the result of a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one
species are extracted and artificially inserted into the genes of an
unrelated plant or animal, also called genetic engineering(GE) or genetic
modification(GM). Because this process involves the transfer of genes,
GMOs are also known as “transgenic” organisms.
Genetic modification aims to address issues with regard to food
security, agriculture, drug production and nutrition.
 Chapter 10
Biodiversity
D. Genetic Modification
To understand better the controversy over GMO, the actual process
to achieve such an organism will be discussed.
The information about the microbe and its reproduction
mechanism are contained in its gene structure. The first step in the
process is the identification of the desired trait from another organism. A
gene containing the trait is isolated and replicated. Next, the insertion of
the trait happens. What is being transferred from one organism to
another is not the whole gene but only sections of the gene that carry the
particular characteristics that will be integrated into the adult organism.
After the successful integration, the modified organism should be able to
grow and replicate.
In the process of recombinant DNA technology, the needed
information for an organism is “borrowed” from another. Such a process
means that a farmer can “design” an organism to have the characteristics
necessary to address particular issues. For example, a farmer may want the
crops to have less chance of getting bruised due to rough handling. If an
organism containing a gene that prevent bruising in the mature fruit
could be found, then this characteristic could then be used to modify the
crops through the process of recombinant gene technology.
However, because GMOs are novel life forms, biotechnology
companies are able to obtain patents which restricts their use. As a result,
some companies that make GMOs could have the power to sue farmers
whose fields are contaminated with these organisms, even when it is the
result of inevitable drifting from neighboring fields. GMOs, therefore,
may pose a threat to farmer sovereignty and to the food security of a
country.
The promise of better food that is resistant to spoilage, pest
invasions and harsh weather conditions has made transgenic crops
enticing to many people. It is a truly debatable topic for the people of the
21st century, given the promise of this technology and yet the fact that it is
very new. Should it be embraces as a saving grace or is it to be feared as a
possible threat to a sustainable food supply?
D. Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
The case above contextualizes the country’s signing of the Cartagena
Protocol on Biosafety. The protocol is an international agreement which
aims to ensure the safe handling, transport and use of living modified
organisms resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse
effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human
health. It takes a precautionary approach by making sure that countries
are provided with the data necessary to make informed decisions before
agreeing to the import of such organisms into their territory.
The Philippines recognizes the technologies that can be of particular
help for its development. Since the Philippines is one of the biodiversity
“hotspots” in the world, it is helpful to know how biotechnology will
progress in the country.
 Chapter 11
Gene Therapy
The last technology that ill be discussed is gene therapy. In the
previous chapter, the nano world that contains atoms and molecules was
introduced. This chapter will now focus on the developments in the nano
world as applied to the animate or living.
When identifying the contribution of technology to biology, the
first place to look would be the field of human health. The whole vast
concerns of human health including aging, disease treatment and
prevention, and die and general lifestyle have greatly benefited from
technology. Medicine is one example of a a scientific and technological
innovation that made a breakthrough in the area of human health. Before
aspirin as ever understood at thenano level, it had been known for its
effects. Pain of various forms could be relieved and softened by this
medicine. The aspirin as already an “old” technology at the beginning of
the 21st century. The more recent findings in the areas of the nano and
gene science can be incorporated to medicine. If new discoveries on the
areas of molecular and atomic physics are applied to the biological basic
building blocks-the genes-even greater technologies for human health may
be found.
Read the article below written by Totel de Jesus entitled what we
should know about stem cell treatment in the Philippines.

What we should know about Stem Cell Treatment in the Philippines by Totel de
Jesus

Manila, Philippines- In recent years, it is common to hear beauty doctors in

the Philippines offering stem cell therapy as if it is a new- found medical fountain
of youth, the answer to all medical worries.
In various media platforms, there are bombardments of advertisements from
various hospitals and clinics packaging stem cell therapy as “cure-all” remedy.
With such medical breakthrough, it begs the question on how equipped e are
in offering such services. E cant help but ask the parameters on distinguishing the
real experts from seemingly fly-by-night clinics and medical centers.
 Filipino-American doctor-lawyer Samuel Bernal, an exert in the fields of
regenerative medicine and regulatory law, said the public should take a lot of
precautions.
“Be careful number one, stem cell therapy is not a cure all medicinal
procedure,”he said in an interview with the INQUIRER a few weeks after
receiving the 2012 Presidential Award for Filipino Individuals and Organizations
Overseas at the Malacanang Palace.
“The goal of stem cell therapy is not longetivity-anti-aging program. Stem cell
therapy is actually trying to allow the body to heal itself”,he said.
Educated at John Hopkins’ and Harvard Medical School, Dr. Bernal is
currently Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of California-Los
Angeles, member of American Association of Clinical Oncologists, the American
Association of cancer researchers, and a recognized cancer investigator with the US
National Institutes of Health.
As a lawyer, his legal expertise includes cases on medical malpractice,
medical product liability, as well as Federal drug Administration(FDA) and
Federal Trade Commission’s(FTC) regulations in testing, approval, advertising,
and marketing of health products.
He explained stem cell treatment requires “analyzing at the molecular level
what is causing the problem or what could be done to prevent the problem. Stem
cells are just part of the molecular approach to medicine”
Source: De Jesus, T.V.(2013). What We Should Know about Stem Cell Therapy
in the Philippines,Inquirer.net. Retrieved from
http://business.Inquirer.net/105075/what-we-should-know-about-stem-cell-
treatment-in-the-ph

Suppose scientists would like to fashion a gene to counter cancer

cell growth. After several steps of developing the technology, its success
would still depend on its science and implementation. To achieve the
goal, the harmful gene has to be found among the 46 structures in the
ordinary cells of the person. The specific part of that gene doing the
problem should be identified. Afterwards, that section of the gene must
be removed and be replaced with the correct or developed gene part to
complete the therapy. This process would then correct the
misinformation encoded in the whole gene.
 The financial cost of this therapy is not trivial. Each of the steps
mentioned requires expertise and technological skill. Therefore, gene
therapy can be costly.