CHAPTER 7: ETHICAL AND SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF o Declaration of Helsinki – document

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY outlining ethical principles in research

ethics | published by World Medical
Human’s Right to Science & Technology Association (WMA) in 1975
 Applied Ethics – a branch of ethics of moral
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) –
philosophy
important document in the history of human rights
o examines specific issues such as
 Adopted/proclaimed by United Nations abortion, animal rights, and
General Assembly in Paris on 10 December environmental concerns
1948 o it serves as the purpose of providing a
 Motivated by the events during the World War moral point of view
II, drafted by representatives of different  Science has a social dimension; it is ultimately
backgrounds from all over the world tied to its ethical dimension
 Contains a preamble and 30 articles
7.1.1 Ethical Decision-making in Science
UDHR preamble: “recognition of the inherent dignity
Essential Elements in Making a Decision
and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of
the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, 1. Identifying stakeholders.
and peace in the world: (UN General Assembly, 1948) 2. Identifying possible options or course of action.
3. Review arguments for each option.
 Article 1 – Right to equality
4. Making a rational choice from the available
 Article 2 – Freedom from discrimination options backed with the strongest set of moral
 Article 3 – Right to life, liberty, and personal reasons or principles
security  Moral principles provide distinctive guidance in
 Article 4 – Freedom from slavery or servitude making ethical decisions but usually in conflict with
 Article 5 – Freedom from torture and degrading non-moral reasons (self-interest, efficiency,
treatment economy)
 Article 27 – “everyone has the right to  Ex. Medical Ethics – 4 principles: autonomy, non-
participate in the cultural life of the community maleficence, beneficence, justice
and to share in scientific advancement and its
benefits.” Ethical Matrix – ethical tool developed to help in
o also called the Right to Science and decision-making
Culture (one of the core economic,
 Developed by Ben Mepham in 1990s
social, and cultural rights)
 Aims to assist non-philosophers in appreciating
 Article 15 of the International Covenant on the value of ethical insights to arrive at ethical
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) judgments
Covenant – a treaty adopted by the UN General
 First applied to emerging biotechnologies (ex.
Assembly on 1 December 1966 Genetically modified organisms)
7.1 Ethical Dimension of Science and Technology  Contains 3 principles: well-being, autonomy
and fairness
 Nuremberg Trials – members of Nazi party o Well-being – maximization of good
were tried for war crimes o Autonomy – freedom
 Doctors’ Trial – trial prosecuted physicians o Fairness – respect for justice and the law
involved in unethical human experimentation  PROS: the effect of technology to the well-
 Nuremberg Code – No human subject should be being, autonomy, and justice of different
forced to participate in experiments that will interest groups are individually examined |
yield harm or injury concerns of all groups are addressed | identify
o Contained elements of ethical medical ethically relevant considerations
experiments  CONS: not giving weight to the different
o Landmark document in clinical research considerations. Thus, may not help reach a
ethics decision.
  Ethical Tools: Ethical Delphi, consensus
conferences, convergence seminars
NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers
Table 7.1 Example of Ethical Matrix
 By the National Society of Professional
7.1.2 Code of Ethics of Scientists and Engineers Engineers (NSPE) of the United States of
America
Codes of Ethics – exist in order to guide scientists and  Contains ff. sections: preamble, fundamental
engineers to perform their work in an ethical manner canons, rules of practice, professional
obligations
 COE purposes:
 Engineers should be honest, impartial, and fair;
1. Establish standards of conduct in cases
they should also be dedicated to safeguarding
not dictated by common sense.
the health, safety, and welfare of the public
2. Formulate rules to govern a practice or
discipline. Code of Ethics for the Chemistry Practitioners
3. Provide a framework for resolving
conflicts.  In addition to moral responsibilities, scientists
4. Manage the expectation of the public in and engineers are also bound by social
a practice or discipline. responsibilities. Their works concern the public
and environment.
Hippocratic Code – an old code used by medical  Article 1 – it is stated that chemistry
practitioners professionals have an obligation to the society
 Recent and revised codes for the medical field:  Sec. 3 of General Principles – chemistry are
American Medical Association (AMA) Code of required to abide by rules and regulations
Medical Ethics and the Declaration of Geneva protecting the environment
by the World Medical Association (WMA)  Social dimension of science – science is not
only a personal but also a community endeavor
Ethical Principles and Guidelines for Filipino Scientists
7.2 Social Dimension of Science and Technology: the
 Published by National Academy of Science and Device Paradigm
Technology (NAST) in 2009
 Consists of preamble and 8 general principles Technology
 Aims to guide Filipino scientists to achieve a  refers to the techniques and processes used to
high level of professional and ethical behavior. achieve a certain purpose
EPGFS preamble: “Scientific research as a public  knowledge of such techniques and processes
trust – Since the general public does not have the  technology being considered as object,
means of verifying the results of the work of knowledge and activity
scientists, the burden of making sure that their  technology can be viewed as an intention – the
work is correct lies on the scientists themselves.” commitment to a goal

EPGFS General Principles New Way of Thinking about Technology

1. Ethical scientific practices –  In 1984, Albert Borgmann

2. Ethical use of science in Philippine  3 essential types of approaches:
society – o Substantive view – technology as a
3. Conflict of interest – force of its own, capable of shaping
4. Intellectual Honesty – society without interventions from
5. Weighing the benefits of science vis-à- other sources
vis potential harm – o Instrumentalist view – technology as a
6. Commitment to professional mere instrument to achieve social
development as scientists – values
7. Development of students and other o Pluralist view – dynamic interactions
stakeholders – between technology and social values
8. Advocacy for scientific approaches – as a complex web
  Promise of technology: “bring the forces of
nature and culture under control, to liberate us
from misery and toil, and to enrich our lives”
 Device paradigm – things are distinguished Classifications of Robots
from devices.
 Things – when a technology is inseparable from  International Federation of Robotics classified
its social context robots as:
 When people interact with things, there is  (1) Service Robots – find domestic and field
personal and social engagement applications
 Devices – if the social context is removed, a tool  (2) Industrial Robots – strictly used in industrial
used as a means to an end setting
 Devices become readily available because they  ISO 8373:2012 – defines:
operate in an instantaneous, ubiquitous, safe, o service robots – “that perform useful
and easy way (Borgmann, 1984) tasks for humans or equipment
 Technology can help us achieve the good life. excluding industrial automation
However, if we simple consume technology as applications”
mere devices, we may not be able to fully o industrial robots – “automatically
realize our goal of freedom and happiness. controlled, reprogrammable,
(Strong, 2014) multipurpose manipulators
programmable in three or more axes” |
7.3 Robotics: an Example of Contemporary Issue in can be stationary or mobile
Science and Technology  Unimate – first programmable robot to be
The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend employed in a factory
Human Biology by Ray Kurzweil o Developed by George Devol in 1954
o Developed further by Unimation, Inc.
 He identifies technologies capable of driving the founded in 1956 by:
society to singularity – the point wherein the o Joseph Engelberger – the “Father of
intelligence of machines converge with that of Robotics”
humans  Robot’s Autonomy:
 3 such technologies: genetics, nanotechnology, o Partially autonomous robots – require
and robotics (GNR) human input
 GNR can threaten to make humans an o Fully autonomous robots – usually
endangered species (Bill Joy – cofounder of Sun equipped with artificial intelligence,
Microsystems) capable of interacting with their
surroundings, working for long times
7.3.1 Background on Robotics
7.3.2 Roboethics and Ethical Issues in Advanced
Robotics – use and development of robots Robotics
(programmable machines that are capable of motion
and interaction with their surroundings).  Different from other technologies since you
have to treat robots as both technologies and
 Artificial Intelligence (AI) – a field of study that entities
seeks to develop intelligent computational
systems Roboethics – a field of ethics made out of the existence
 Ancient Greeks had the concepts of robots but of robots capable of acting autonomously and their
only come into use in 1921. imminent integration to the society
 Karel Capek’s play Rossum’s Universal Robots –
 Coined by the robot scientist Gianmarco
depicted machines that serve as humanoid
Veruggio
slaves
 Aims to develop scientific, cultural, and
 Robot came from Czech word robota which
technical tools that will encourage the
means forced labor.
beneficial use of robotics for the society and
prevent its misuse against humanity
Three Laws of Robotics to control our conduct and direct our intentions
– S&T may be limitless but the correct course of
 Formulated by Isaac Asimov (1940) action is quite limited.
1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through
inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings
except where such orders would conflict with the CHAPTER 8: INFORMATION AGE
First Law.
INFORMATION AGE
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as
such protection does not conflict with the First or  A time period in which people could access
Second Law. information and knowledge easily
 aka the Computer Age, Digital Age, or New
Zeroth Law of Robotics
Media Age
- A robot should not bring harm to humanity,  current period of human history
through action or inaction.
THEORY OF THE INFORMATION AGE
 Surgical robots can allow for telesurgery – wherein  first conceived by James R. Messenger in 1982
in the surgeon and the patient are separated by o an American Telephone and Telegraph
long distances employee
 Zornosa and associates proposed that the liability o published a book entitled “The Death of
can be distributed among the involved parties such the American Telephone & Telegraph
as the producer, the programmer, and the owner. Company”
 Robotic liability matrix – assigns weights to the  introduced a true new age
liabilities that are to be shouldered by the involved based upon the power of ideas
parties.  led to the creation of global
digital communications
Roboethical Issue/s: Humanoid robots
infrastructure that enables
 Social Robots – capable of interacting with worldwide interconnection of
humans in a human-like fashion computers
o Ex. ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative o known as The Father of Information
Mobility) by Honda – a bipedal robot Age
that is being developed to be capable of
8.1 History of Information Age
integrating to domestic environments
such as in home and offices Johannes Gutenberg
o Sophia by Hanson Robotics – a human-
like robot that is being developed as an  made the first version of Printing Press
AI-robot |creators envision a future  500 years ago, Gutenberg initiates an
wherein human-AI collaboration leads information and communications revolution
to symbiosis. o Experts identified this as the start of
o 2017 Future Investment Summit in Information Age
Saudi, Arabia – Sophia was the first o It has social, economic, and political
robot granted a Saudi Arabian consequences
citizenship
o Controversial issue can be resolved in PERIODS OF SHARP ACCELERATION/REVOLUTIONS IN
the most practical way – how the INFORMATION
benefits outweigh the harms
1. Print Based/Gutenberg Era
CONCLUSION  first information is print based
 mass distribution of information
 As our knowledge about the natural and became possible
physical world continue to expand, the  expensive therefore institutionalized
complexity of ethical and social issues involving
S&T increases. In the end, it is up to us humans
 2. Pre-digital  UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer)
 Dominated by pre-digital developments o First American commercial computer
 Computers started to be introduced designed for business use
3. World Wide Web o Used in the US Census Bureau in 1951
 Introduction of internet o Weighed 16k pounds, used 5k vacuum
 So much technological advancement tubes, could perform about 1k calculations
has taken place per second

DIFFERENT ERAS (that paved the way for the ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Information Age)
 INTERNET
 Renaissance Era o Achieved the flow of information
o Create the idea of inventions, which o First developed by the US Department of
were used to develop modern the Defense
inventions o To ensure that information could still be
 Scientific Revolution disseminated in case of attack during a war
o Introduce important scientists such as  ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency
Galileo, Copernicus, and Isaac Newton Network)
o Their discoveries led to the o The network that ultimately evolved into
development of modern tools, what we know as the internet
inventions, and innovations o Used mainly by scientists to communicate
 Industrial Revolution with other scientists
o Brought major changes in agriculture, o Remained under government control until
manufacturing, mining, transportation, 1984
most especially in communication &  World Wide Web (WWW)
information technology o Led to more access to information
o Simply referred as the Web
TIMELINE OF THE IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS OF o Aug. 23, 1991, users accessed the WWW
INFORMATION AGE for the first time
o Paving the way for the dependence on
 ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and internet
Computer) o Web – “combination of all resources and
o First electronic general-purpose computer users on the internet that are using the
o Start date for the modern era of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP); and
information age the universe of network-accessible
o February 15, 1946 information, and embodiment of human
o Built by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert knowledge.” (Rouse, 2017)
o Used by the US Army to compute World
War II ballistic firing tablets INTERNET
o ENIAC’s field of application: weather
prediction, atomic-energy calculations,  A global network of networks
cosmic-ray studies, thermal ignition,  To illustrate, an infrastructure
random-number studies, wind-tunnel  A big bookstore
design, and other scientific uses.
o Became obsolete because of the need for WEB
faster computing speeds
o Computers were very bulky  A collection of information which is accessed via
o ENIAC used panel-to-panel wiring and internet
switches for programming  To illustrate, web is service on top of that
o Occupied 1,000+ sq. ft., used 18k vacuum infrastructure
tubes, weighed 30 tons  A collection of books on that bookstore

 Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer are accessed in

the internet via the World Wide Web
Table 8.1 Timeline of Information Age TYPES OF COMPUTERS ON THE BASIS OF SIZE

8.2 Computers and Mobile Phones Super Computer

Invention and development of computers and mobile  Fastest and most powerful type of computer
phones provided a major defining event that  Very expensive
accelerated the advent of Information Age  Employed for specialized applications that
require immense amounts of mathematical
8.2.1 Computers calculations
Technopedia – defines a computer as “a machine or  Channels all its power into executing a few
device that performs processes, calculations and programs as fast as possible
operations based on instructions provided by a  Can execute a single program faster than a
software or hardware program. It is designed to execute mainframe
applications and provides a variety of solutions by  Ex. application: weather forecasting, animated
combining integrated hardware and software graphics, fluid dynamic calculations, nuclear
components.” energy research, petroleum exploration

 Computers differ on their data processing abilities. Mainframe Computer

 Classified accdg. to purpose, data handling, and
 Very large and expensive computer capable of
functionality
supporting hundreds, or even thousands, of
TYPES OF COMPUTERS ACCORDING TO PURPOSE users simultaneously
 Uses its power to execute many programs
General Purpose Specific Purpose concurrently
Computers Computers  Supports more simultaneous programs than
 Designed to perform a  Designed to handle a supercomputers
range of tasks specific problem or to
 Have the ability to perform a specific task Mini Computer or Server
store numerous  A set of instructions is
 Midsized computer
programs built into the machine
 Possesses a multiprocessing system capable of
 Lack in speed and
supporting from 4 to about 200 users
efficiency
simultaneously

Micro Computer or Personal Computer

TYPES OF COMPUTERS ACCORDING TO
FUNCTIONALITY  Desktop Computer: a personal or micro-mini
computer sufficient to fit on a desk
Analog Digital Hybrid
 Laptop Computer: a portable computer
Computer Computer Computer
complete with an integrated screen and
(Analog+Digital)
keyboard. It is generally smaller in size than a
Uses continuous Performs Capable of
desktop computer and larger than a notebook
physical calculations, and inputting and
phenomena such computer.
logical outputting in
as electrical,  Palmtop Computer/Digital
operations with both digital and
mechanical, or Diary/Netbook/Personal Digital Assistant
quantities analog signals
hydraulic (PDA): a hand-sized computer. Palmtops have
quantities to
represented as offers a cost
no keyboard but the screen serves both as an
model the digits, usually in effective method
input and output device.
problem being the binary of performing
solved number system complex Workstation
simulations
 Terminal or desktop computer in a network
 Generic term for a user’s machine (client’s
machine) n contrast to a “server” or
“mainframe”
If our brain is a computer, it could perform 38 trillion  “smartphone” was not coined until a year after
operations a second. That is 500 times more than the the introduction of the Simon, appearing in
world’s fastest supercomputer. print as early as 1995

SUMMIT Figure 8.4 First Commercial Mobile Phone

 June 2019, fastest supercomputer

 Has a storage capacity of 148.6 petabytes (PB)
which is 1 million times a gigabyte (GB) Phone started as bulky but later became handy and
 Currently owned by the Oak Ridge National small but with the advent of more sophisticated
Laboratory of the US Department of Energy technology, it continued to evolve and become huge
 Used to process vast amount of genetic data again.
and identify genes that may be more Figure 8.5 Evolution of Mobile Phones
susceptible to pain and opioid addiction with
promising treatments 8.3 Social Media and Social Networking Sites
 Used in projects ranging from bioenergy to
clinical genomics Social Media

IBM Blue Gene  “a computer-based technology that facilitates

the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information
 May 2013, Philippines was the first ASEAN through the building of virtual networks and
country to possess a supercomputer communities.” (Wikipedia)
 Utilized by the DOST’s Nationwide Operational
Assessment of Hazards (Project NOAH) McMillian (2011) describes Social Media as a platform
 Expected to greatly enhance the climate for broadcasting information, whereas Social
specific weather forecasts and extend weather Networking is a platform for communicating with one
prediction from three days up to seven days another. | Social Media is a communications channel,
 Useful in the area of genomics from the varietal whereas Social Networking, the communication has a
improvement of crops, livestock, and other raw two-way nature
materials
 2019 Global Digital report revealed that there
 to drug discovery and development of are more than 5 billion people around the world
advanced, personalized medicines, and
using the internet, more than half of the world’s
diagnostic tests
population who are now online. (Kemp, 2019)
8.2.2 Mobile Phones
STATISTICS OF USERS
Motorola DynaTAC 8000X
 5.11 billion unique mobile users in the world
 First commercial mobile phone today, increase of 100 million (2%) in past yr
 World’s first mobile phone call was made on  4.39 billion internet users in 2019, increase of
April 3, 1973 when Martin Cooper, a senior 366 million (9%) vs. January 2018
engineer at Motorola, called a rival  3.48 billion social media users in 2019, growing
telecommunications company by 288 million (9%) since this time last 2018
 3.26 billion people use social media on mobile
Angler devices in January 2019, growth of 297 million
new users representing a yr-on-yr increase of
 First commercially available device more than 10%
 referred to as a “smartphone” began as a  People have 7.6 social media accounts, average
prototype daily time spent on social media as of Jan. 2018
 developed by Frank Canova in 1992 while at is 142 minutes a day
IBM
 A refined version was marketed to consumers in
1994 by BellSouth under the name Simon
Personal Communicator
Figure 8.6 Timeline of Social Media messages “tweets”, restricted to 140
characters
 Friendster
o Founded by Jonathan Abrams (Canadian  Tumblr
computer programmer) in 2002 o a microblogging and social networking
o A social networking service website but website founded by David Karp in 2007
redesigned and relaunched as a social o Owned by Oath Inc.
gaming platform o Allows users to post multimedia and other
 LinkedIn content to a short-form blog
o Founded on 2002, relaunched after 6 mos. o Users can follow other users’ blogs
o Considered as the most popular social o can make their blogs private
media site for professional networking  BizSugar
o Available in 24 languages, has over 400 o a social networking platform and niche
million registered users resource for small business owners,
 MySpace entrepreneurs, and managers
o an American social networking website o created in 2007 by DBH Communications,
o launched in 2004 by Tom Anderson, Chris Inc. – a provider award-winning business
DeWolfe, and Jon Hart publications
o offers an interactive, user-submitted o later acquired by Small Business Trends LLC
network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, in 2009
groups, photos, music, and videos  Facebook Messenger
o most visited social networking site in the o a messaging app and platform.
world from 2005-2008 o Developed as Facebook Chat in 2008
 Skype o Revamped in 2010 and subsequently
o First released in August 2003 released standalone apps in August 2011
o Created by the Swede Niklas Zennstrom,  Instagram
and the Dane Janus Friis, in cooperation o Created by Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger
with Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu, and Jaan o Launched in October 2010
Tallinn o Free mobile app exclusively for the iOS
o First to add videoconferencing in 2006 operating system
 Facebook o A mobile, desktop, and internet-based
o Launched and founded by Mark Zuckerberg photo-sharing application and service
with his roommates & fellow Harvard o Allows users to share pictures and videos
University student Eduardo Saverin in early either publicly or privately
2004  Pinterest
o was first limited to Harvard students but o A web and mobile application startup that
expanded until it became worldwide operates a software system designed to
o most popular site with 2.3 billion users discover information on the World Wide
followed by YouTube with 1.9 billion people Web
users o Founded by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra,
 YouTube Evan Sharp
o History started when PayPal employees o Development began in December 2009
created a video-sharing website where o Site launched as a closed beta in March
users could upload, share, and view content 2010, proceeded to operate in invitation-
o Internal domain www.youtube.com was only open beta
activated on Monday, Feb. 14, 2005,  Viber
9:13pm o Launched in 2010, a cross-platform voice
 Twitter over IP and instant messaging software
o Created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, application
Noah Glass, Biz Stone, Evan Williams o Operated by Japanese multinational
o Launched in July 2006 company Rakuten, provided as freeware for
o An online news and social networking the Android, iOS, MS, macOS & Linux
service where users post and interact with platforms
8.4 Issues and Concern of Information Age write, send, or read text-based communications or to
make or receive calls.”
8.4.1 Health Risks
8.4.2 Information Overloading
Being overexposed to digital media can take a toll on
your mental and emotional well beings well as cause “Information Overload” – a situation in which too much
various physical problems information is given at one time which can cause the
inability to think clearly.
8.4.1.1 Eyestrain and Hearing Problems
 Coined by Bertram Gross – The Managing of
 Felt (2018) – headphones at high volumes can Organizations
reach 105 decibels  Popularized by Alvin Toffler – Future Shock
 Listening with headphones at high volume for 5
minutes per day can increase risk for 8.4.3 Data Privacy
permanent hearing loss
 Computer Vision Syndrome – a condition Data Privacy (Information Privacy) – the necessity to
resulting from focusing the eyes on a computer preserve and protect any personal information,
or other display device for uninterrupted collected by any organization, from being accessed by a
periods of time | makes the eye muscles unable third party.
to recover from the strain due to a lack of
 a part of Information Technology that helps an
adequate sleep
individual or an organization determine what data
8.4.1.2 Brain Cancer within a system can be shared with others and
which should be restricted
 Cellular phones emit a form of radiation called
radio-frequency energy or radio waves. 8.4.3.1 Data Privacy Act of the Philippines
 Radiation produced by x-ray machines is known RA Act No. 10173 Data Privacy Act (DPA) of 2012 –
to raise cancer risk, leading experts to question protects individuals from unauthorized processing of
whether cell phones might also pose a risk. personal information that is private and identifiable |
RESEARCH STUDIES President Benigno Aquino

 Inskip et al. – examined temporal trends in Figure 8.7 What Data Privacy Act of 2012 entails
brain cancer incidence rates using data 8.4.4 Cybercrime
collected by Surveillance, Epidemiology and
End Results Program, found out the incidence Techopedia defines cybercrime as – “a crime in which a
do not support that cellular phone use causes computer is the object of the crime (hacking, phishing,
brain cancer spamming) or is used as a tool to commit an offense
 Hardell et al. –investigates the use of mobile (child pornography, hate crimes).”
phone and the risk of malignant brain tumors,
confirmed the results of an association between 8.4.4.1 Cybercrime Prevention Act of the Philippines
them
RA Act No. 10175 Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012
8.4.1.3 Depression
penalizes offenses against the confidentiality, integrity
 Elison et al. – social media users may and availability of computer data and system, such as
experience decreased depression due to illegal access, illegal interference, data interference,
perceived social support, and life satisfaction. system interference, misuse of devices, and
cybersquatting
Figure 8.8 Effect of Social Media to the User

8.4.1.4 Accidents
8.4.5 Fake News
RA Act No. 10913 Anti-Distracted Driving Act of 2016 –
“bans the use of a mobile communications devices to
Fake news – aka junk news or pseudo-news, as a “type o Encompasses all kinds of life forms,
of yellow journalism or propaganda that consists of from single-celled to the largest multi-
deliberate disinformation of hoaxes. celled organisms
o Includes variety of organisms & all
CHAPTER 9: BIODIVERSITY AND THE HEALTHY SOCIETY ecosystems
 Species richness – variety is commonly
9.1 Overview of Biodiversity
measured by counting all species in an area
Biodiversity (Biological Diversity) o Species count is weighted differently for
each species
 Encompasses the variety of all life on earth o Number of species in a region, and their
 The biodiversity that makes up the earth today abundance relative in that area (species
is the outcome of over 3 billion years of evenness)
evolutionary history  Another way of weighing species diversity is to
 Continuously shaped by natural processes and recognize the unique biodiversity in
greatly by the influence of humans environments that contain few species but
 It forms the web of life in which we greatly unusual ones
depend  Biodiversity plays a major role in the dynamics
of the relationship between biotics and abiotics
Figure 9.1 the Biodiversity of the Earth  Understanding biodiversity within the concept
of ecosystem is important in order to predict
bacteria, fungi, animals, the sustainability of life in a certain area
5000protists, 63665 280000
o Ex.
55000
 Biodiversity encompasses: living organisms are
numerous and interacts with one another and
plants, with non-living things
insects, 240000  These organisms are: abundant in habitats that
900000 contains the food and other requirements they
need in order to live
o They have different metabolic
characteristics, growth, and
reproductive patterns and that
 Global importance is reflected in the: biodiversity is essential to human
o Frequent usage of the term not just in survival
the academe, also by politicians,
advocates conservationists, scientists
 Difficulties in coming up with a universal,
objective, and scientific definition:
IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGIES
o Hard to exclude something from such a
broad term  Biotic – all living organisms within an ecosystem
o Hard to aggregate all the definitions of (plants, animals, fungi, and other living things)
biodiversity because its definition o Abiotic – all non-living things in an
depends on what values are important ecosystem
to the one defining it  Ecology – study of organisms in their house or
 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity – the place they live in.
defined biodiversity as “the variability among o Derived from the Greek word: oikos
living organisms from all sources including, inter which means house
alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic o A study of living things, their interaction
ecosystems and the ecological complexes of with one another, and their
which they are part: this includes diversity environment.
within species, between species, and of o A discipline which attempts to
ecosystems.” understand the complex web of
linkages, relationships and
 interdependencies in the ecosystem or  Biological Community – an ecosystem houses a
environment. population of a wide range of species that
 Ecosystem – life forms of plants, animals, and interacts with one another
non-living things that belong in an organized o Interaction and survival is greatly
unit. affected by abiotic factors such as
o Encompasses the biotic and abiotic temperature, air, pH, water and light
component in an environment , as well
as their relationship and interactions 9.2.4 Functional Diversity
o Provides habitats for various organisms
 The range of things an organism does in
 Fauna – all of the animal life within a specified
communities and ecosystems.
region, time period, or both
 The manner by which species behave, obtain
o Flora – groups of indigenous plants in
food, and use natural resources in an
an ecosystem of a geographical region |
ecosystem
derived from floral which means fowers
 Generally, ecosystem with high species diversity
 Relative Abundance – relative proportions of
is more functionally diverse because there are
different species in an ecosystem
more species with differing traits
 Trophic Structure – answers the question of
 Useful for ecologists trying to conserve or
who eats who? The feeding relations of the
restore its damages because knowing
species in a community or an ecosystem
determine the flow of energy and nutrient 9.3 Importance of Biodiversity
cycles. | determines the biological organization
of a community  It is the source of our food, shelter, medicine,
and clothes
9.2 Types of Biodiversity  It is where we derive raw materials for various
activities that sustain us (industrial and
ECOSYSTEM SPECIES GENETIC
commercial activities)
Forests Fish Disease
 Central importance to and largely determines
Resistance
economies, health, culture, food security, and
Wetlands Crab Varied diet
environmental conditions
Savannahs Snail Body size
 It is the life support system of all living beings
Rivers Frog Climate
condition

9.2.1 Genetic Diversity

 It refers to the variation in the genes of a

species of individuals as well as how they are
closely related to the members of a species in
an environment. Figure 9.4 Importance of Biodiversity
 Genes – part of DNA, traits/characteristics of an
organism, adaptive potential of species

9.2.2 Species Diversity

 The variability of different species represented

in a community.
 A large number of species can help an
ecosystem recover from ecological threats,
even if some species go extinct.

9.2.3 Community Diversity / Ecosystem Diversity

 The variety of ecosystems in a given region.

 Importance  As human population increases, the demands
supports food security, dietary health, and
of for human needs and wants also increases
Biodiversity livelihood sustainability
 It’ll be a threat to biodiversity if coupled with
unsustainable pattern of consumption and
provides important resources for medical poor govt. policies
research (traditional & modern medicine)
9.4.4 Invasive Alien Species
plays a role in the regulation and control
 Introduction of invasive alien species,
of infectious diseases
accidentally or deliberately, that is not endemic
in that habitat or not in the normal
essential for climate change adaption distributional range could threaten other
organisms
 especially if the species introduced have the
has social, cultural, and spiritual same ecological niche as those naturally
importance with communities existing in that ecosystem
 2nd largest threat after habitat loss
 Alien or introduced species – any species that
9.4 Threats to Biodiversity are introduced into new habitats by human
intervention
 Factors that negatively affect biodiversity that o Usually invasive or aggressive
may vary, with some affecting only up to o Could result in decline of endemic
organismal level, while some may affect a species and extinction
whole ecosystem o Could take over the habitat by rapid
9.4.1 Habitat Destruction proliferation if it does not have any
natural predator in receiving area
 One of the biggest threats to biodiversity
9.4.5 Global Climate Change
 No. 1 reason why species go extinct
 Anthropogenic activities (urbanization,  Climate Change, specifically global warming –
construction, logging, reclamation, causes huge changes to biodiversity
industrialization ) – activities that result to  Increase in global temperature could be
unnatural increase in the concentration of detrimental to some species
environmental compounds destroy habitats  As temperatures warm, species that currently
leads to loss of biodiversity live in more extreme climates will have to adapt
9.4.2 Over-exploitation or die out
 Climate change and variability cause
 Harvesting species from the wild at rates faster biodiversity loss and extinction of species and
than natural populations can recover. population
 Overfishing and Overhunting – types of
9.5 Interrelatedness of Society, Environment, and
overexploitation
Health
 1/3 of the world’s endangered vertebrates are
threatened by overexploitation  Living organisms are dependent on their
environment in terms of living and
9.4.3 Overpopulation
reproduction
 2019 United Nations report on global  Access to a sufficiently varied nutritious food is
biodiversity decline reports that humans are a key factor to human survival
speeding extinction and altering the natural  Biodiversity – primary determinant of food
world at an ‘unprecedented’ pace. production
 ¾ of all land environments and 2/3 of all marine  Nutrition, biodiversity, health – interrelated
environments have been severely altered by and intersectional
human activities  A healthy environment means a robust and
well-preserved biodiversity
  Food production – one of the important o Biodiversity hotspot – refers to 25
services the ecosystem provides biologically rich areas around the world
 Unsustainable and intensified food production that have lost at least 70% of their
through use of pesticides, introduction of alien original habitat
crop varieties, overfishing, dynamite fishing,  Mayuga (2019) – reports that 1,437 terrestrial
game-hunting affect natural patterns of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, are listed
organisms and impact nutritional status and as threatened under DENR Administrative
human health Order (DAO)
 Needs of living organisms such as air, water,
food and habitat are provided by the Table 9.1 Statistics of threatened species of wild
environment. fauna/animals
 Environment is vital to and sustains human life
but biodiversity loss that causes lack of basic
necessities significantly tips the scale of human  There are also 984 species of wild flora that
viability towards mortality are threatened for extinction, 179 of which
 Climate change poses a serious threats to are critically endangered; 254 are
human health and subsistence endangered, 406 are vulnerable; 145 other
 Climate change brought about by threatened species
anthropological activities causes significant  Philippines has been exposed to a threat of
negative effect on human health and the alien species: imported pets such as gold
environment. fish, turtles, spiders, lizards, rodents and
 Biodiversity can be prevented through: snakes – source of invasive alien species
o Proper legislation o Easily survive and adapt to new
o Implementation of sound laws and environments and may dominate
policies other native species
o Appropriate research with adequate
government support Figure 9.5 Some Philippine Endangered Species
o Education and awareness raising
Table 9.2 Some alien species in the Philippines with
o Sustainable use of biodiversity
their effects
o Community-based programs/people
involvement  Wildlife Resources Conservation and
o Change in consumption practices Protection Act of the Philippines (Republic Act
No. 9147) (2001) – prohibits the introduction of
9.6 Biodiversity in the Philippines
invasive alien species into the wild because of
 Philippines – considered a mega-diversity their potential adverse impact to the natural
country when it comes to variety of ecosystems
ecosystems, species, and genetic resources o Provides conservation, preservation
 17 countries in the world can have this much and protection of wildlife species and
biodiversity their habitats
 Philippines – harbors more diversity of life than
any other country or planet
o Hosts more than 52,177 described
species
o Contains 2/3 of Earth’s biodiversity
o 70% of world’s plants and animals
species due to its geographical
isolation, diverse habitats, and high
rates of endemism
 Accdg. to Biodiversity Management Bureau of
DENR (2019) – Philippines is also considered a
biodiversity hotspot. Madagascar shares the
title.
CHAPTER 10: MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY  International Service for the Acquisition of
Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) – listed 40
10.1 GENETIC ENGINEERING genetically modified traits and 7 commercial
genetically modified traits in crops and foods
10.1.1 Overview
 “Event” – term used to differentiate one GM
Genetic Engineering crop variety from one another
 ISAAA listed:
 one of the many tools of biotechnology to o 4,133 approved events for 26 crops in
produce novel or improved organisms through 67 countries between 1992-2017
direct gene modification  43 countries – import GM crops
 biotechnology preceded genetic engineering  24 countries – plant it
 former can be traced to the dawn of civilization o Japan – first place with the most
when ancestors began to make cheese and number of approved GM events
wine o USA – largest producer of GM crops
 3 distinct stages: ancient, classical, modern followed by Brazil, Argentina, Canada,
biotechnology and India

Figure 10.1 5 Principal Groups of Modern Figure 10.4 Illustration of the 5 most commonly
Biotechnology approved GMO traits for food and crops

 Among the 5 principles, Genetic Engineering is 10.1.3 GMO in the Philippines

considered the most dominant
 2 scientific breakthroughs (unified genetics with In the Philippines, 90 GM crop events were approved
biotechnology) some of which were undertaken as early as 2003
o DNA structure of 1953 Figure 10.5 Illustration to show the most recently (Oct.
o Recombinant DNA experiment of 1973 2018 – Mar. 2019) approved genetically modified crops
Figure 10.2 A timeline of some of the milestones in in the Philippines
genetic engineering 10.1.4 Ethical Issues
Figure 10.3 A timeline of some of the milestones in Figure 10.6 Illustration of the Intrinsic and Extrinsic
gene therapy and cell therapy Ethical Concerns regarding GMO
 Second International Summit on Human 10.2 GENE & CELL THERAPY
Genome Editing – a Chinese scientist have
successfully modified the DNA of 2 embryos 10.2.1 Overview
(Nov. 2018)
 Prof. He Jiankul – used gene-editing tool called  Gene therapy – modification of an organism’s
CRISPR-Cas9 to make twin girls HIV-resistant gene.
 Disease prevention or cure is the main goal.
10.1.2 Genetically Modified Organisms  Genetic Engineer – Makes some alterations in
 Genetic engineering – aka recombinant DNA the gene to enhance an existing trait.
technology / genetic modification  Gene therapy aims to make a person function
 Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) – the normally again while Genetic Engineering
outcome of genetic modification that possesses intends to make a person function beyond
the desired trait. what is considered normal.
o Ex.: Atlantic Salmon – takes at least 2
10.2.2. Gene Therapy
years to grow into market size
o AquAdvantage Salmon – first
 3 Approach:
genetically modified animal to be
approved by the United States Food & a. Requires a working copy of a gene that is
Drug Administration (FDA) as fit for later on transferred to the affected cells
human consumption containing the disease-causing gene.
 b. Either inactivated or replaced with a  Ability to self-renew and to mature into
healthy copy of the gene. specialized cells of each tissue provide the
c. To introduce a new or modified gene into patient with a therapeutic technique that
the human body and to aid in the treatment potentially lasts for a lifetime.
of the disease.  They make use of the cell’s capability to
 Department of Health & Human Services of the differentiate into various cell types known as
State Government of Victoria Australia (2011) Cell Potency.
listed four key aspects that must be taken into
Figure 10.9a
consideration in the administration of gene
therapy namely: Figure 10.9b
1. Identity of the disease-causing gene
2. Specific location of the affected cells in the 10.2.4. Cell Therapy
body
3. Availability of the working copy of the gene  Transfers live and intact cells to patients
4. Mode of delivery of the working copy of the  Cells come from a donor (allogeneic cells) or
gene to the affected cell from the patient himself (autologous cells)
 CAR – Chimeric antigen receptor
Figure 10.7
 Treatment used for a specific form of acute
 Vector – genetically engineered viruses and lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) seen in children
stem cells. and young adults.
 Tisagenlecleucel (KymriahTM) – First CAR T-Cell
Figure 10.8 therapy approved by the FDA last 2017.
 it attacks cancer cells more readily
 The European Commission approved last 2012
its first gene therapy for use Throughout the Figure10.10
entire European Union.
 Glybera – Developed by UniQure aims to treat 10.2.5. Ethical Issues
patients with lipoprotein lipase deficiency.  Governed by 4 basic principles.
 Gene therapy inside the body (In Vivo)  All four must be satisfied in order for the
 Outside (Ex Vivo) medical treatment to be considered ‘’ethical’
 Luxturna (voretigeneneparvovec-rzyl) – First
FDA approved direct administration gene Figure 10.11
therapy
Figure 10.12
 Was made available last 2017 to patients that
has confirmed biallelic RPE65 mutation-
associated retinal dystrophy
 Severe vision problems that include night
blindness leading to complete blindness that
can affect both children and adults, were
addressed by this type of treatment.
 Last May 2019 FDA approved the gene therapy
called Zolgensma.
 Developed by Novartis for infants with spinal
muscular atrophy and costs $2.125 million

10.2.3. Stem Cells

 Are the forefront of both gene therapy and cell

therapy.