INFORMATION AGE

SESSION 13
At the end of this unit, the students are expected to:
1. Discuss the evolution of information from the ancient times up to the present.
2. Examine the human and social impacts of the developments in the information
age
3. Explain how social media have affected the society.

Information Age
 Computer Age, Digital Age, New Media Age, Internet Age
 a historic period in the 21st century characterized by the rapid shift from
traditional industry that the Industrial Revolution brought through
industrialization, to an economy based on information
technology.
Early Developments of Information Age
 1945- Fremont Rider described the miniaturized microform analog
photographs, which could be duplicated on-demand for library patrons and
other institutions.
 1965- Moore’s law was formulated. It is an observation that the number of
transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles about every two years.
 Early 1980s- production of the smaller and less expensive personal
computers allowed for direct access to information.
 1995- Nicholas Negroponte published his book, Being Digital, the similarities
and differences between products made of atoms and bits.
 Primary Information Age- newspaper, radio, television.
 Secondary Information Age- Internet, satellite television and mobile phones
 Tertiary Information Age- emerged by media of the Primary Information Age
interconnected with media of the Secondary Information Age.

Pre-industrial Age
 a time before there were machines and tools to help them perform the tasks.
 About 2.5 million years before writing was developed, technology began with
the earliest hominids who used stone tools, which they may have used to start
fires, hunt, and bury their dead.
 Communications were limited between communities.
 People used traditional paper and writing materials, signs or
symbols to communicate with each other.
  For example, Egyptians used papyrus scrolls. Sumerians
used clay tablets,
 Pre-historic men used hand stencils and simple geometric shapes to create
art on the walls of caves and Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press
during Renaissance period.
Industrial Age
 is a period of history that encompasses the changes in economic and social
organization that began around 1760 in Great Britain and later in other
countries, characterized chiefly by the replacement of hand tools with power-
driven machines such as the power loom and the steam engine, and by the
concentration of industry in large establishments.

 Communication during the Industrial Age

o Samuel F.B Morse invented the telegraph which became the standard
for international communication with a modified code.

o Alexander Graham Bell patent the telephone, an electric tool

transmitting analogue speech along wires.

o Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, a device for the mechanical

recording and reproduction of
sound.

o Heinrich Hertz identified and studied radio waves in 1886.

o Guiglielmo Marconi developed the first practical radio transmitters and

receivers.

o Philo Farnsworth invented the first fully electronic television. It became

an important mass medium for advertising, propaganda and
entertainment.

Electronic Age
 began when electronic equipment and large technologies, including
computers came into use.
 The invention of the transistor ushered in the electronic age.
 People harnessed the power of transistors that led to the transistor radio,
electronic circuits, and the early computers.
 In this age, long distance communication became more efficient.
 Transistor led to the creation of other media tool.
  Enigma machine is a piece of spook hardware used as a way of deciphering
German signals traffic during World War Two.
 Transistor’s radio became the most popular electronic communication and
device in history.
 EDSAC ( Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) is considered to be
the first stored program electronic computer.
 ENIAC ( Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) as the first electronic
general purpose digital
computer.
 UNIVAC( Universal Automatic Computer) is a line of electronic digital stored-
program computers.
 IBM is the first mass produced computer with floating-point arithmetic
hardware.
 Hewlett Packard 9100A is an early computer or programmable calculator
 Floppy disk is a removal magnetic storage medium.
 Walkman is originally used for portable audio cassette players.

Information Age
 People advanced the use of microelectronics with the invention of personal
computers, mobile devices, and wearable technology.
 Moreover, voice, image, sound and data are digitalized.
 We are now living in the information age.
 You tube was created by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim. It is an
online video-sharing platform.
 It also allows users to view, upload, share, report, subscribe and comments
on videos.
 Facebook Inc. was founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his fellow roommates
and students. It is a popular global social networking website.
 It also offers other products and services such as Facebook
Messenger, Facebook Watch and Facebook Portal.
 MacBook is a discontinued Macintosh portable computer developed and sold
by Apple Inc.
o It includes a Retina display, fanless design and a shallower butterfly
keyboard and a single USB-C port for power and data.
 Google LLC is based on multinational technology company that specializes in
internet-related services and products, which include sottware, hardware,
online advertising, a search engine and cloud computing
 Microsoft Corporation develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells
computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers and related
services.

Biodiversity and Healthy Society

 SESSION 14-15

 Biological diversity comprises the variety of all life on earth. It also

pertains to the relative abundance and richness of the different traits,
species, and ecosystems in a particular area or region.
 The biodiversity we see today is the outcome of over 3.5 billion years of
evolutionary history, shaped by natural processes and increasingly, by
the influence of humans.
 Biodiversity forms the web of life of which we are an integral part and
upon which we fully depend.
 The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (Earth Summit in
Rio de Janeiro, brazil in 1992), of which Philippines is one of the 154
member countries who signed the declaration, defines biodiversity as
the variability among living organisms from all source, including inter
alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems, and the
ecological Complexes of which they are part: this includes diversity
within species, between species and of ecosystems.
 Zamora (1997) defined biodiversity as the ensemble and the
interactions of the genetic, the species, and the ecological diversity in a
given place and at a given time. World Wild Fund for Nature (1989)
defined it as the wealth of life on earth, the millions of plants, animals a
microorganism, the genes they contain, and the intricate ecosystems
they help build into the living environment.

Three Types of Biological Diversity

1. Genetic diversity
 refers to the variations among the genetic resources of the
organisms.
 A gene is a unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific
nucleotide sequence in DNA.
 High genetic diversity indicates populations that
can more easily adapt to changing situations and environments, and
also greater assortment of materials than can be found, increasing the
chances of finding a useful compound (Bernhardt, 1999).
2. Species diversity
 refers to the variety of different types of species found in a particular
area.
3. Ecosystem/ Ecological diversity
 refers to the variety of different types of species found in a particular
area. It includes terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems.
 Ecosystem is the unit of interaction between the biotic community and
its physical environment in a given area.
 It is a self-contained community of microorganisms, animals and plants
that interact with each other and with their physical environment.”
Habitat
 is a place in which a particular species of organism lives.
Importance of Biodiversity
 It supports healthy ecosystems.
 It is an essential part of the solution to climate change
 It is good for the economy.
 It is an integral part of culture and identity.
 It provides raw materials like lumber, food, spices etc.
 It provides opportunities for recreational activities, such as bird
watching, scuba diving, snorkeling, and nature photography.
 It serves as the source of medicine.

What do we get from biodiversity?

1. Oxygen
2. Food
3. Clean Water
4. Medicine
5. Aesthetics
6. Lumber
7. Ideas

Status of Philippine Biodiversity

 The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR 2009)
claims that in terms of biodiversity, the Philippine was 5th in the world
as to number of plant species; 8th in the world list of endemic plants; 4th
in endemic birds; 5th in endemic mammals; and 8th in endemic reptiles.
List of identified endemic species
1. Rafflesia manillana, the world’s largest flower.
2. Vanda sanderiana (waling-waling), one of the world’s largest orchid
species.
3. Pithecophaga jefferyi (monkey -eating eagle), the largest bird
4. Rhyncodon typus, the largest fish
 5. Tridacna gigas (giant clam), the largest seashell
6. Pandaka pygmea (dwarf goby), the smallest freshwater fish
7. Tarsius syrichta (tarsier), the smallest primate
8. Tragalus nigricans, the smallest hoofed mammal
9. Tylonycteris pachpus (bamboo bat), the smallest bat;
10. Pisidum, the tiniest shell in the world
11. Connus gloriamaris, one of the most expensive shells in the world
12. Cervus alfredi, the most endangered deer
13. Bubalus mindorensis (tamarau or dwarf water buffalo), one of the
top ten most endangered species in the world and the largest
endangered animal.
One indication that a species may be endangered is a dwindling in numbers.
 The list of endangered species is long and growing. In the 2000 Red
List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and
Natural resources (IUCN), of the 52,177 species in the Philippines, 418
were listed as threatened.
 The Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Priority-setting Program
(PBCPP) described the 121 endemic mammals as critically
endangered.
 The Bird Life International listed 116 of species of birds in the country
are threatened or near threatened. According to the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources report (2010), out of 584 wildlife in
the country, 72% are already threatened with extinction.
 Several species of plants, frogs, reptiles and insects remain to be
documented. Unfortunately, several species were believed to have
vanished without being identified.

Threats to Biodiversity
1. Environmental Pollution
 Domestic agriculture and industrial wastes are poorly treated and
are often discharged into the sea, and to other bodies of water, such as
rivers and lakes.
 Pollution can lead to diseases and pollution stresses, such as coral
bleaching on reefs.
2. Over-exploitation/ Over-hunting/ Over-harvesting/ Over-fishing
Commercial logging, community logging, timber poaching, and kaingin
(slash and burn agriculture).
 In mangrove ecosystem, the extraction of fuel and construction
 3. Habitat Loss/ Habitat destruction/ Habitat alteration.
 In coral reefs, coastal development, aquaculture, agriculture, and
land-cover change increasing sediments and nutrients outflow onto
reefs, and the muro-ami fishing technique.
 The development of fishponds (aquaculture) in mangrove forest.
4. Climate Change
 Drastic changes in the atmosphere can have catastrophic effects such
as increase concentration of greenhouse gases and destruction of
forest.
5. Invasive species or Non-native species
 Invasive species are greater threat to native biodiversity than pollution,
harvest, and disease combined (Simberloff, 2000).
 It can cause alterations either within species groups or within the
environment.
Underlying Causes of the Loss of Philippine Biodiversity
 The underlying causes of Philippine biodiversity loss are:
a. Population growth and increasing resource consumption
b. Ignorance about species and ecosystems
c. Poorly conceived policies and poor law enforcement
d. Effects of global trading systems
e. Inequity of resource distribution
f. Apathy or failure to account for the value of biodiversity
Genetically Modified Organisms
 Worldwide, over 191 million hectares have been planted with genetically
modified crops as of 2018, particularly herbicide and pest-resistant
canola, cotton, corn and soybeans.
 The United States had the largest area worldwide of GM crops, followed
by Brazil, Argentina, Canada and India (Shahbandeh, 2019).
 Fun facts: The first commercially available GM food was called the
Flavr Savr tomato that had an antisense gene that increased its shelf
life and delayed ripening ( Bruening and Lyons, 2000). Designed by
researchers at Calgene (now a division of Monsanto, Inc.). Monsanto is
the leading company in genetically modified crop based on revenue.
 GMOs or Genetically Modified Organisms
o are organisms whose genetic material has been altered using
genetic engineering techniques, which is a direct manipulation of
an organisms genome.
 o According to the World Health Organization (WHO,2004) GMOs
are organisms, either plant or animal or microorganism in which
the genetic material ( DNA) has been altered in a way that does
not occur naturally by mating or natural recombination.
o The development of GMOs was perceived to help in the
advancement of technology for the benefit of humans in different
industries like agriculture and medicine.

Example of Genetically Modified Foods (GMFs)

 Bt corn is a variant that has been genetically altered to express more
proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis which produces a bacterial toxin
including Delta-toxins.
o Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a bacterium found in soil that are
toxic to some insects when eaten, but not others.
o The era of Bt had its beginning in 1901, a Japanese
scientist named Shigeta Ishiwata isolated a bacterium from dead
silkworm larvae while he was investigating the cause of the
socalled " sotto disease .
o The disease was responsible for the loss of large numbers of
silkworm in Japan.
o A few years thereafter, in 1911, A German scientist Ernst
Berliner isolated a related strain from dead Mediterranean flour
moth larvae in the German state Thuringia.
o He named the organism Bacillus thuringiensis.
o The bacterium has been used as an insecticide since 1938.
o Susceptible insects must ingest Bt toxin in order to be affected. In
contrast to poisonous insecticides that target the nervous system.
o Bt acts by producing a protein that blocks the digestive
system of the insect, effectively starving it.
o Bt is a fast-acting insecticide: an infected insect will stop feeding
within hours of ingestion and will die, generally from
starvation or a rupture of the digestive system, within days.
o The toxin is produced by the Cry gene found on plasmids in the
bacterium.
o The gene is added to the genomes of crop plants using a
bacterium that forms root nodules in plants (Agrobacterium
tumificiens).
o One interesting feature of cry genes is their high degree of
plasticity.
o This particular characteristic may contribute to the versatility of cry
toxins as it relates to their insect host range.
o In addition, Bt crops produced from 1996 onwards are maize,
potato, cotton and soybean.”
o Genetically Modified Organisms are part of a growing industry that
is clouded by controversy, fear and suspicion.
o With so much uncertainty, this technology must be
evaluated to accurately determine the relationship between GM
foods and human health.
o For instance, damage from weed infestation destroys crops
worldwide.
o Cultivating GM crops has provided significant benefits to farmers
globally to combat this problem.
o Several of the main reasons for generating transgenic crops
include increased nutritional value of crops like maize with
improved protein and golden rice fortified with Vitamin A and Iron.
o Importantly, GMOs also improved the growth characteristics
and yield of agriculturally valuable crops which often enhanced
color and taste, enhanced production or reduction of enzymes,
and prolonged shelf life.
o With the use of GMO crops, there will be less use
for herbicides/ pesticides, and lower cost for cultivation and labor.
o Additionally, it provides crop resistance against insect and viral
pests, drought and herbicides.
o This could help farmers to reduce the use of fertilizer and
pesticides, controlling the purity of the hybrid
seeds that ensures higher yields and increase potential growth
and harvest.
o Despite the promising claims of GMOs, there have been
many controversies and issues whether genetically modified
food is less healthy than non-genetically modified food.
o Are GM crops Is it safe to eat? Does it pose a threat to other
organisms? A major concern in the use and consumption of
GMOs include promote the development of pesticide resistant
pests.
o Introduction of the GMOs in the natural environment may cause
disruption of the natural communities through competition
interference.
 o There is a potential risk of the modified gene to be
transferred from the GMO crop to its wild relative or
organism in the soil.
o Emergence of new forms resistance and secondary pests
and weed problems might ensue.
o GM crops express concerns about allergenicity.
o Consumption of GMOs may have adverse effects since it is not
naturally or organically produced.
o It may alter the balance of existing microorganisms in the body
and production of toxins may be detrimental to human health.
o Furthermore, GM crop can be both expensive and time
consuming since it is performed in the laboratory.
o Although the debate about GM food is active. Scientists
and researchers continue to pave the way for GMO- a path that
leads to an unimaginable array of benefits, but also raises
extremely important questions
BENEFITS GMO RISKS
Improving the growth Promote the development of
characteristics and yield of pesticides resistant pests (Dale,
agriculturally valuable crops Clarke & Fontes, 2002)
(Klug, 2012)
Increasing the nutritional GM crops express concerns about
value of crops (Klug, 2012) allergenicity (Lehrer & Bannon,
2005)
Providing crop resistance GM crop can be both expensive and
against insect and viral time consuming. (Ramaswami et al,
pests, drought and 2012)
herbicides (Klug, 2012)

Ex situ Conservation
 It is the process of protecting species outside of its natural habitat by
removing a species from its threatened habitat and placing it in a new
location, like zoological gardens, aquaria, captive breeding centers,
botanical gardens, seed banks and gene banks, within the care of
humans.
In situ Conservation
  It is the process of protecting species in its natural habitat, either by
establishment and management of protected areas where the
species abound, or by defending the species from predators.

The Nano World

SESSION 14-15

History of Nanotechnology
1959
o Richard Feynman, an American Physicist discussed, “There’s
Plenty of Room at the Bottom”.
1960
o Mohamed Atalla and Dawon Kahng fabricated the first MOSFET
( metal –oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) with a gate
oxide thickness of 100nm, along with a gate length of 20μm.
1974
o Norio Taniguchi, a Japanese scientist of Tokyo University of
Science coined the term “nanotechnology” to describe
semiconductor processes such as film deposition and ion beam
milling exhibiting characteristic control on the order of a
nanometer.
1981s
o The invention of Scanning Tunneling Microscope, an instrument
used for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. It was invented by
Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer at IBM Zurich (Nobel Prize in
Physics).
1985
o The discovery of fullerenes, an allotrope of carbon whose
molecule consists of carbon atoms connected by single and
double bonds so as to form a closed or partially closed mesh, with
fused rings of five to seven atoms.
1986
o Publication of the book Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of
Nanotechnology by Eric Dexler.
1991
o The discovery of carbon nanotubes by Sumio Lijima
 2006
o The discovery of 3nm MOSFET, the worlds’smallest
nanoelectronic device was created by Korean Researchers from
the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and the
National Nano Fab Center.

Early uses of Nanomaterials

In Mesopotamia, nanoparticles were used for creating a glittering
effect on the surface of pots.
In modern times, pottery from the middle Ages and Renaissance often
retains a distinct gold- or copper-colored metallic glitter.
In Rome, Lycurgus cup is made of a glass that changes colour when
light gleamed through it.
In pre-columbian Mayan City of Chichen Itza, a corrosion resistant
azure pigment known as “ Maya Blue” contains nanopores to create an
environmentally stable pigment.
In Middle East, Damascus steel swords contain oriented nanoscale
wire-and-tube-like structures
Source:
What is Nanotechnology?
o The engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale.
o It is a Hybrid Science combining Engineering, Chemistry and to a
certain extent Biology.
o It deals with the creation of functional materials, devices,
systems through control of matter or nanoscale.
o It placed the footprints in the field of energy, medicine, electronics,
computing, security and materials.
 Nanoscience is the study of phenomena and manipulation
of materials at atomic, molecular and macromolecular
scales, where properties differ significantly from
those at a larger scale.
 Nanotechnologies are the design, characterization,
production and application of structures, devices and
systems by controlling shape and size at nanometre scale.
o Fundamental Concepts in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
 It’s hard to imagine just how small nanotechnology is. One
nanometer is a billionth of a meter, or 10-9 of a meter.
  Here are a few illustrative examples:
 There are 25,400,000 nanometers in an inch
 A sheet of newspaper is about 100,000 nanometers
thick
 On a comparative scale, if a marble were a
nanometer, then one meter would be the size of the
Earth.
o Different Approaches to Nanotechnology
 Nanotechnologies can be:
 Top-down
o Etching a block of material down to the desired
shape
o Chips and processors
 Bottom-up
o Building materials atom by atom - like lego
o Nanoparticles such as C60, carbon nanotubes,
quantum dots
 Applications of Nanotechnology
 Catalysts
o Envirox™ cerium oxide
 Nanoremediation
o SAMMS technology to remove mercury
 Paper
 photographic paper
o Filters
 Nanofibers
 Toothpaste to remineralise teeth
 Food
 Packaging
 Paint
 improved adhesion and anti-fungal qualities/anti-
graffiti
 Clothes
 non-staining and anti-radiation
 Batteries
 (Black & Decker) phosphate nanocrystal technology
 Cleaning products
o Advantages of Nanotechnology
  Protect drugs from being degraded in the body before they
reach their target
 Enhances the absorption of drugs into tumors and into the
cancerous cells themselves.
 Allows for better control over the timing and distribution of
drugs to the tissue, making it easier for oncologists to
assess how well they work.
 Prevent drugs from interacting with normal cells , thus
avoiding side effects.

o Disadvantages
 Adverse health effects in humans from deliberate or
accidental exposure
 Adverse effects on the environment from deliberate or
accidental exposure
 Potentially explosive properties of nanostructures
 Very difficult to detect without sophisticated equipment
 Difficult to predict how particles will behave in the
environment (dispersed/clumped)
 Small size may result in particles passing into the body
more easily (inhalation, ingestion, absorption)
 May be more reactive due to surface area to volume ratio
 Potential to adsorb toxic chemicals
 Persistence
 Longevity of particles in the environment and body
are unknown
Nano
o refers to a unit meaning one billionth or ten raised to negative
nine.
Nanotechnology
o refers to the manipulation of matter on an atomic or subatomic
scale