GEC 7 – STS

→ mainly used for linguistic

communication.
→ basis of human progress.
INFORMATION SOCIETY → central to one’s identity as an
individual
What is information?
→ as a marker of a social group.
→ facts about a situation, person, MATHEMATICS AS THE LANGUAGE
event, etc.: OF NATURE
→ facts provided or learned about
something or someone. → Technology in the modern world id
→ what is conveyed or represented the fruit of science.
by a particular arrangement or Since people have discovered
sequence of things. the laws and language of
→ communicate meaning nature, they can develop
technology that uses these
Human’s quest for understanding the laws and languages for their
natural world was first done through benefits. This is mathematics,
naming and classifying objects. the great contribution of Isaac
THE POWER OF WORDS AND Newton.
LANGUAGE ISAAC NEWTON
Questions to ponder? ➢ English mathematician, physicist,
• How is it possible that one’s idea astronomer, theologian, and
can simultaneously exists in one’s author who is widely recognized
mind and in another? as one of the most influential
• How is it possible that human scientists of all time, and a key
beings can communicate through figure in the scientific revolution.
words and thus form a Mathematics is the study of
community? pattern and structure.
Mathematics is fundamental to
• Does the power of communicated
the physical and biological
words come from the speaker,
sciences, engineering and
who is the thinker and the source,
information technology, to
or from the listener, who is the
economics and increasingly to
recipient of the communication?
the social sciences.
The scientific search for truth recognized
MATHEMATICS IN OUR WORLD
the usefulness of language and the ability
it gave to make sense of nature. → Looking at simple things deeply,
Words can function across space and finding a pattern, and using the
time without reducing their meaning pattern to gain new insights
provides great value.
Thinking in terms of a common system
being generated by a speaker and TECHNOLOGICAL WORLD
received by the listener is useful in the → Describes a world that is based in
pursuit of knowledge. science and applied to everyday
life to solve problems.
→ Technology is taking over our
THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN THE world, we live in an age where
QUEST most, if not all of us use

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 technological devices all day, Wide Web Consortium (W3C):
Everyday. From mobile phones, to "The World Wide Web is the
iPads, to laptops and TVs, we’re universe of network-accessible
constantly using technology. information, an embodiment of
There are even forms of human knowledge”.
technology that we use during our → A way of addressing data
sleep, fitness watches that track processing and information
our sleep and the likes. sharing needs among scientists
for the European Organization for
THE PRINTING PRESS
Nuclear Research.
→ preservation of words.
TIMOTHY JOHN BERNERS-LEE
→ transform cultures
→ its development in 15th Century is → English engineer and computer
regarded as the beginning of a scientist, best known as the
true revolution. inventor of the World Wide Web.
→ allowed words and scientific ideas
to establish a view of nature
BIODIVERSITY AND THE HEALTHY
anchored in scholarly works and
SOCIETY
studies.
JOHANNES GUTENBERG BIODIVERSITY

• All the different kinds of life you’ll

→ a German blacksmith, goldsmith,
find in one area—the variety of
inventor, printer, and publisher
animals, plants, fungi, and even
who introduced printing to Europe
microorganisms like bacteria that
with the printing press.
make up our natural world.
INFORMATION AGE
• Each of these species and
→ began around the 1970s and is organisms work together in
still going on today. It is also ecosystems, like an intricate web,
known as the Computer Age, to maintain balance and support
Digital Age, or New Media Age. life.
This era brought about a time
• Biodiversity supports everything in
period in which people could
nature that we need to survive:
access information and
food, clean water, medicine, and
knowledge easily.
shelter.
→ a historic period in the 21st
century characterized by the rapid LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY
shift from traditional industry that
Genetic Diversity – The variety of
the Industrial Revolution brought
genes within a species.
through industrialization, to an
Species Diversity – The number
economy based on information
of different species in an area.
technology.
Ecosystem Diversity – The
WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW) different habitats and ecosystems
that support life."
→ is combination of all resources
and users on the Internet that are GENETIC DIVERSITY
using the Hypertext Transfer
Protocol (HTTP). A broader
definition comes from the World

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 → Term used to describe the Therefore, we, as human inhabitants of
variation in the DNA sequence in the ecosystem, must preserve and
each of our genomes. conserve the biodiversity of all creatures.
→ Genetic variation is what makes In simple terms, it is true that people will
us always depend on biodiversity on the
wholeness of our being and in our
SPECIES DIVERSITY
everyday lives.
→ The measure of biological If we fail to keep the process of taking
diversity observed in a particular care of the ecosystem, it is us who are
ecological community indicating a actually putting our lives at risk.
number of species or species
richness in an ecological area. Significant decline in biodiversity has
direct human impact when ecosystem in
ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY its insufficiency can no longer provide the
→ The variety of different habitats, physical as well as social need of human
communities and ecological beings.
processes. Indirectly, changes in the ecosystem
→ A biological community is defined affect livelihood, income, and on
by the species that occupy a occasion, may even cause political
particular area and the conflict. (WHO).
interactions between those
species. o As humans put increasing
pressure on the planet, using and
ECOSYSTEM consuming more resources than
→ A geographic area where plants, ever before, we risk upsetting the
animals and other organisms as balance of ecosystems and losing
well as the weather and biodiversity. WWF’s 2022 Living
landscapes, work/interact Planet Report found an average
together to form a bubble of life. 69% decline in global populations
Ecosystem contains biotic or living of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles,
things and abiotic or nonliving and amphibians since 1970.
things. o The 2019
landmark Global Assessment
• Biotic factors, include plants, Report by the Intergovernmental
animals and other living Platform on Biodiversity and
organisms. Ecosystem Services reported 1
• Abiotic factors include rocks, million animal and plant species
temperature and humidity. are now threatened with
• Ecosystem can be very large and extinction—the highest number in
/ or small human history.
Biodiversity is essential for the BIODIVERSITY AT RISK
processes that support all life on Earth,
→ The extinction of many species in
including humans. Without a wide range
a relatively short period of time is
of animals, plants and microorganisms,
called a mass extinction.
we cannot have the healthy ecosystems
that we rely on to provide us with the air → Earth has experienced several
we breathe and the food we eat. mass extinctions, each probably
caused by a global change in
climate.

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→ It takes millions of years for → Global climate change
biodiversity to rebound after a 3. Habitat Destruction and
mass extinction. Fragmentation
→ As human populations grow, we
use more land to build homes and
harvest resources.
→ In the process, we destroy and
fragment the habitats of other
species.
→ It is estimated that habitat loss
1. Current Extinctions causes almost 75 percent of the
→ Scientists are warning that we are extinctions now occurring.
in the midst of another mass
extinction. 4. Alterations in Ecosystem
→ The rate of extinctions is Composition
estimated to have increased by a → Alterations and sudden changes,
multiple of 50 since 1800, with up either within species groups or
to 25 percent of all species on within the environment, could
Earth becoming extinct between begin to change entire
1800 and 2100. ecosystems. Alteration in
→ The current mass extinction is ecosystems are a critical factor
different from those of the past contributing to species and habitat
because humans are the primary loss.
cause of the extinctions.

How Do Humans Cause 5. Over-exploitation

Extinctions? → Over-hunting, over-fishing, or
over-collecting of species can
→ In the past 2 centuries, human quickly lead to its decline.
population growth has accelerated Changing consumption patterns of
and so has the rate of extinctions. humans is often cited as the key
→ The major causes of extinction reason for this unsustainable
exploitation of natural resources.
today are – the destruction of
habitats – the introduction of
6. Pollution and Contamination
nonnative species – pollution – the
overharvesting of species → Biological systems respond slowly
to changes in their surrounding
environment. Pollution and
contamination cause irreversible
damage to species and varieties.

7. Global Climate Change

→ Both climate variability and
climate change cause biodiversity
2. Threats to Biodiversity loss. Species and populations
→ Habitat loss and destruction may be lost permanently if they
→ Alterations in ecosystem are not provided with enough time
composition to adapt to changing climatic
→ Over-exploitation conditions.
→ Pollution and contamination

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BIODIVERSITY AND HUMAN HEALTH quarters with one another and with
humans, creating ideal conditions
Healthy communities rely on
for the spread of zoonotic
well-functioning ecosystems.
diseases.
They provide clean air, fresh
water, medicines and food
3. Biodiversity benefits business
security.
➢ According to the World Economic
5 reasons why biodiversity matters – Forum's recent Nature Risk Rising
to human health, the economy and Report, more than half of the
your wellbeing world’s GDP ($44 trillion) is highly
or moderately dependent on
1. Biodiversity ensures health and
nature. Many businesses are,
food security
therefore, at risk due to increasing
➢ Biodiversity underpins global
nature loss. Global sales of
nutrition and food security. Millions
pharmaceuticals based on
of species work together to
materials of natural origin are
provide us with a large array of
worth an estimated $75 billion a
fruits, vegetables and animal
year, while natural wonders such
products essential to a healthy,
as coral reefs are essential to food
balanced diet.
and tourism.

2. Biodiversity helps fight disease

4. Biodiversity provides
➢ Higher rates of biodiversity have
livelihoods
been linked to an increase in
➢ Humans derive
human health. First, plants are
approximately $125 trillion of
essential for medicines. For
value from natural ecosystems
example, 25% of drugs used in
each year. Globally, three out of
modern medicine are derived from
four jobs are dependent on water
rainforest plants while 70% of
while the agricultural sector
cancer drugs are natural or
employs over 60% of the world’s
synthetic products inspired by
working poor. In the Global South,
nature. This means that every time
forests are the source of
a species goes extinct, we miss
livelihoods for over 1.6 billion
out on a potential new medicine.
people. In India, forest
Second, biodiversity due to
ecosystems contribute only 7% to
protected natural areas has been
India’s GDP yet 57% of rural
linked to lower instances of
Indian communities’ livelihoods.
disease such as Lyme disease
and malaria. While the exact origin
5. Biodiversity protects us
of the virus causing COVID-19 is
➢ Biodiversity makes the earth
still unknown, 60% of infectious
habitable. Biodiverse ecosystems
diseases originate from
provide nature-based
animals and 70% of emerging
solutions that buffer us
infectious diseases originate from
from natural disasters such as
wildlife. As human activities
floods and storms, filter our
encroach upon the natural world,
water and regenerate our soils.
through deforestation and
The clearance of over 35% of the
urbanization, we reduce the size
world’s mangroves for human
and number of ecosystems. As a
activities has increasingly put
result, animals live in closer

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 people and their homes at risk • Reducing waste and pollution
from floods and sea-level rise. If • Supporting sustainable products
today’s mangroves were lost, 18 and practices
million more people would be • Planting trees and preserving
flooded every year (an increase of local wildlife.
39%) and annual damages to • Educating others about
property would increase by 16% biodiversity conservation.
($82 billion). Protecting and
“Biodiversity is not just about saving
restoring natural ecosystems is
species. it is about ensuring a healthy,
vital to fighting climate change.
sustainable future for all of us. By taking
Nature-based solutions could
action today, we can preserve life on
provide 37% of the cost-effective
Earth for future generations.”
CO2 mitigation needed by 2030 to
maintain global warming within
2°C.

Biodiversity and Health

➢ Changes in biodiversity will
expose human beings to different
kinds of diseases.

➢ Changes to biodiversity can have

severe and unpredictable effects
on the health of all living things,
including human beings.

➢ According to research, loss in

biodiversity affects human health,
such as mental health ailments,
depression, Parkinson's disease,
heart disease, cancer, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease,
asthma, diabetes, obesity,
occupational injuries, dysentery,
arthritis, and malaria.

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF

BIODIVERSITY IN SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY?

Biological diversity is the

“infrastructure” that supports life
on our planet: the air we breathe,
the food we eat and the water we
drink are only possible as long as
we have healthy biodiversity – rich
species and ecosystem diversity.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

"As individuals, we can help

protect biodiversity by:

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