Specific Issues in STS

• The information age has heavily influenced the way people connect with each other. The most prominent technological advancement of the new millennium is the rise of social media.
• The Gutenberg Press was one of the most cost-effective inventions created during the Renaissance Period.
• Aside from the printing press, there were also other technologies that shaped the way people gathered and shared information. With the advent of the personal computer in the 1970s and the internet.
• The rise of social media was first seen in the popularization of Friendster in 2002, succeeded by Myspace in 2003, and taken over by Facebook in 2004. Facebook remains one of the main social media outlets of today, alongside others such as Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat
• Kemp (2017) estimated that there are about 2.80 billion active social media users worldwide.
• According to Croteau, Hoynes, and Milan (2012), social media is a tool that advertisers use to promote brands and products.
• Cyberbullying is also an issue associated with social media.
• ADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN EDUCATION

  • Social Media enhances student collaboration and interaction
  • Social Media allows information sharing
  • Social Media expands student-teacher interactions
  • Social Media improves students’ communication skills and decreases barriers for self-expression.
• DISADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN EDUCATION

  • Social Media reduces Face-to-Face Communication
  • Social Media can be used as a tool for bullying
  • Social Media affects the ways students’ write
• Biotechnology

  • was coined by a Hungarian engineer Karl Ereky, in 1919, to refer to the science and methods that permit products to be produced from raw materials with the aid of living organisms.
• Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

  • contains all the information that dictates each and every step of an individual’s life.
• Gene

  • is the part of the DNA which has information to dictate the biosynthesis of a polypeptide.
• Genetic Engineering

  • also known as recombinant DNA technology
  • refers to all techniques that allow desirable genetic traits from from a plant, animal, or microorganism to be incorporated into an unrelated species.
• Genetically modified organism (GMO)

  • also referred to as transgenic, is a product of genetic engineering.
  • are living organisms which altered or modified DNA, making them capable of producing new substances or performing new functions.
• The three most common traits found in GMO crops are:

  • Resistance to insect damage
  • Tolerance to herbicides
  • Resistance to plant viruses
• Four primary methods of genetically modifying crops, according to The Ohio State University

  • Selective breeding
  • Mutagenesis
  • RNA interference
  • Transgenics
• Selective breeding

  • Two strains of plants are introduced and bred to produce offspring with specific features.
• Mutagenesis

  • Plant seeds are purposely exposed to chemicals or radiation in order to mutate the organisms. The offspring with the desired traits are kept and further bred.
• RNA interference

  • Individual undesirable genes in plants are inactivated in order to remove any undesired traits
• Transgenics

  • A gene is taken from one species and implanted in another in order to introduce a desirable trait
• The five major biotech crops planted worldwide are

  • Soybeans
  • Maize
  • Cotton
  • Canola
  • Alfalfa
• Example of some GMO Foods grown around the world

  • Tomatoes
  • Corn
  • Apple
  • Peanut
• Top five biotech crop-growing countries in the world

  • United States
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Canada
  • India
• GMO crops in the Philippines

  • Genetically Modified Rice (Golden Rice)
  • Genetically Modified Corn
  • Genetically Modified Eggplant
• Pharming is the production of pharmaceuticals using genetically engineered animals or plants
• Patent Issue - The issue of authorization is also present, particularly regarding who is authorized to use modified or altered genes.
• Ethical Issue - Many critics claim that the technology of genetic engineering goes against religious beliefs because its essence revolves around the idea of “playing God” as GMOs directly modify the natural functions and processes of organisms.
• BIODIVERSITY

  • The variability among living organisms from all sources including inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which the area- part this included diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystem
• There are three levels of biodiversity

  • species diversity
  • genetic diversity
  • ecosystem diversity
• Species diversity - is the heterogeneity of living species in a given region or habitat
• A species is a group of organisms of similar individuals that are capable of interbreeding.
• A habitat is the place where the different species live.
• Examples of Species Biodiversity

  • Tropical Rainforests
  • Coral Reefs
  • Savannas
  • Freshwater Ecosystems
• Genetic Biodiversity

  • It refers to the variation of genes within the species. This constitutes distinct population of the same species or genetic variation within population or varieties within a species
• Examples of Genetic Biodiversity

  • Variability in Plant Species
  • Animal Breeds
  • Genetic Diversity in Human Populations
• Ecosystem Biodiversity

  • The intricate network of different species present in local ecosystem and the dynamic interplay between them.
• Examples of Ecosystem Biodiversity

  • Mangrove Forests
  • Mountains
  • Grasslands
  • Deserts
• Ecosystem

  • a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a bubble of life. Ecosystems contain biotic or living, parts, as well as abiotic factors, or nonliving parts.
• In a 20-year study published in 2016, it was reported that LUZON has the world's highest concentration of unique mammal species.
• Vanishing Treasures of the Philippine Rainforest written by Kitching, Heaney, and Regalado in 1999 describes the Philippines as "the Galapagos Islands times ten"