Why Study Science?

Challenges &
Fascinations

September 4, 2019
 Science & Society
Without a commitment to
scientific advancement and
innovation, we can’t move
forward as a society.
Science knows no country,
because knowledge
belongs to humanity, and is
the torch which illuminates
the world.
Louis Pasteur
 Science for all

“The lesson we derive out of experience is that

innovative and student friendly solutions are needed
to enable scientific learning in the youth, especially
those in rural and remote regions of the nations of
the world.” Former President of India, (Late)Dr.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, speaking at the 11th
International Conference on Public Communication of
Science and Technology at New Delhi
Fun in Science
 Science in everyday life
Science plays major role in our everyday life.
The foods we eat, the air we breathe, the books we
read, our soap, our tooth paste, our emotions and
literally every object we can see or touch is Science.

Cups that keep our hot drinks hot and our cold
drinks cold, to variety of synthetic clothes we wear
and high profile living standard today has been
made possible due to the epoch making discoveries
in Science.
 Challenges in Science
“How do you convert easily available raw materials
into useful products essential for modern
everyday life, through the application of
chemistry on a large scale and that too in a safe
efficient and environmentally friendly manner?“

“How particles move, the different types of plants

and animals that exist and how they
communicate with each other, how germs
develop and how you get the flu and other
ailments etc..”
 Fascinations in Science
 Finding vaccines for the H1N1 virus, Bird flu,
Dengue, Hepatitis, malaria to the almost daily
reports of breakthroughs in the field of cancer
research, science is fascinating.
 Learning about other planets, why stars twinkle, is
there any other world like ours?
 Would’nt you like to know all and study the
mechanisms of all these processes through study of
Science, since through that only humanity benefits.
Why stars twinkle while planets usually do not?
 Stars twinkle because they appear as tiny pinpoints as seen from Earth,
even through telescopes. The ray of light reflected from these stars
undergoes refraction passing through turbulent environment.
 Planets don’t twinkle because they are closer, and thus appear larger in
our sky, as tiny disks instead of pinpoints. The reflected light from several
pinpoints cancels each other.
 Astronomers use the term ‘scintillation’ to describe the twinkling of
stars. Illustration by Tom Callen of the Cosmonova theater in Sweden.
 Genes,the functional units of life
Genes are small sections of DNA within the
genome that code for proteins.
They contain the instructions for our individual
characteristics
The purpose of genes is to store genetic
information.
Each gene contains the information requiired to
build specific proteins needed in an organism.
The human genome? contains ~30,000 protein-
coding genes.
Transcription and translation
Genetic Engineering
The simple addition,
deletion or
manipulation of a single
trait in an organism to
create a desired change

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 Some examples of G.E.
Insertion of human genes into sheep so that they secrete
alpha-1 antitrypsin in their milk - a useful substance in treating
some cases of lung disease.
Growing paddy with altered genes , requiring much less
water.
 creating a chicken with four legs and no wings.
Inserting an antifreeze gene (from fish surviving under snow )
into tomato to grow it under frosty conditions.
creating a goat with spider genes that creates "silk" in its milk.
GM rice delivers antibodies against deadly rotavirus
Potatoes with cholera vaccine
Pigs bearing spinach genes
Strawberry having frost fish genes

Is’nt all this fascinating and challenging too 14

 One language of life
 Human genes work in bacteria
 Monkey genes work in mice and earthworms.
 Tree genes work in bananas
 Frog genes work in rice.

There is no limit in theory to the potentiall of

genetic engineering

Genetic engineering has given us the power to

alter the very basis of life on earth.
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 Discovery of Telephone

• Graham Bell
• Age 18 years
• Started experimenting with
Sound
• Discovered Telephone
 Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

• Charles Darwin
• Age 18 years
• Started inquisitiveness for
marvels of nature
• Discovered theory of Evolution
 Change the World
It is your chance now
Have fun with Science
Innovate
 The Global Scenario
The greatest strides have been made in electronics,
biotechnology and Nanotechnology
Electronics has essentially transformed the global
scene in the last seventy years, whether it is
microprocessor, fibre optics, satellites, television,
telephones, computer information or medical
instruments.
In Biotechnology lies the future of Humankind
Nanotechnology is Control of matter at atomic scale
A lot of science goes on that
we never know about, but
sometimes an experiment
comes along that makes us
rethink our ideas about the
world
India’s empowerment through Science
& Technology
No nation can achieve economic independence,
cultural and social progress without Science and
Technology.
Major problems facing India can only be solved
through Technology, many of these through IT,
Electronics , Biotechnology and nanotechnology.
Since majority population lives in villages, main
emphasis should be on “Rural Technology”
 Major issues facing India today
1.Drinking water
2. Food (hunger/malnutrition)
3. Health
(i) Clean environment
(ii) cheap medicines
4. Agriculture
5. Facilities for science education
6. Participation of women in all programs
 Challenging Areas in Biotechnology
Manufacturing organic products using organisms such
as beer and milk products.
 Recycling, treating waste, cleanup sites contaminated
by industrial activities (bioremediation).
DNA microarrays used in genetics and radioactive
tracers used in medicine (no living organisms used).
Modern biotechnology is often associated with the use
of genetically altered microorganisms such as E. coli or
yeast for the production of substances like insulin or
antibiotics.
Development of plant-made pharmaceuticals.

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 Medicine (Drug development)
New Concept
 120 year era of phenotypical pharmaceuticals is over
 Concept of “personalized medicine” includes,
 Selection of optimal drug dosage & drug target
 Patient monitoring for less expensive advanced
clinical trials
 Discrimination / selection among patients for those
who respond to a drug at high rate & suffer less
toxicity
 Enhancing drug value and reduction in cost (Generic
drugs)
 To provide health care to all individuals irrespective
of their being well or suffering from early or late
stages of illness (Telemedicine)
Bioinformatics in drug development
• Genomics, proteomics, combinatorial
chemistry and high-throughput screening
(HTS) have all contributed to a massive
increase in the amount of data generated by
the pharmaceutical industry
• The role of bioinformatics is to store, track and
provide tools for the analysis of these data –
some thing like an automated environment
 Future of Drug Development
 Future of drug development depends on the
knowledge of “Proteomics”, “Genomics” ,
“Transcriptomics” & “Systems Biology” together
with “Array” technology.

 Antisense and Stem cell technology may be future of

medicine.

 Nanotechnology may help in targeted delivery of

drugs
 History of Nanotechnology
Richard Feynman, a great physicist and nobel
laureate gave concept of nanotechnology in 1959
in his talk , “There’s plenty of room at the
bottom” . He imagined that the entire
Encyclopaedia Britannica could be written on the
head of a pin.
Taniguchi , a Japanese professor was the first to
coin the term “Nanotechnology” in 1974. He
took the word “Nano” from Greek which means
very small
K.Eric Drexter popularized this technology in
mid-eightees
 Nanoworld/Nanoscience/Nanotechnology

“Smaller than the smallest and the most

vast” the concept of minuteness and
vastness is all pervading.

Nanotechnology ("nanotech") is the

manipulation of matter on an atomic,
molecular, and supramolecular scale
Nano-scale
 Important applications of nanomaterials
 Nanoparticles Can Make Medicines More Effective
(Targetted drug delivery)
 Other biomedical applications ( Diagnostics (Biomarkers);
contrast agents in imaging etc.)
 Good catalysts, modulate kinetics of reactions
 Good adsorbants , act as purifiers and antipollutants
Electromagnetic applications for example, ferroelectricity,
piezoelectricity, magnetism, energy storage and solar
harvesting functions
Sensing, gas separation, water treatment, fuel cells
 Electro-photonic nanodevices
 Development of innovative Technology for
Rural masses
The first step in the development of
technology for the underprivileged rural
masses consists therefore of the identification
of their felt needs.
 This identification is best done, not from a
remote/alien environment, but through direct
contact and ‘learning from the people’.
 Hence, the importance of “Science Centers”
as ‘extension centres’ located in different
parts of the country.
 Science & Society(Points to ponder)
To make science learning more thrilling and luring,
emphasis must be on practical exposure right from
school days.

Science subjects must be taught in local languages.

Students should not study science with the mere

intention of scoring high marks and making big
money. They should take interest in research works
which would in turn prove helpful to the country.
 Key message
Science has the tools to increase productivity
Transfer of technology requires closer
interaction between academecia, industry and
social science
Implemention of programs should be in
project mode with professional monitoring
Partnerships must be forged to achieve the
needed scale with assurance of quality
Site specific constraints should be addressed
with professional expertise
 Learn Science, develop new
technologies with innovation

Serve your country by solving societal problems

through Science & Technology

THANK YOU