Science in the 21st century

THE way of the world is changing with time. So does Science. Gone are the days when students would only watch Discovery Channel or nature for science- related updates. Gone are the days of library visits for thick Science books and encyclopedia to revisit the Jurrasic era. Far f rom reality are the days when genetically modified organisms are non- existent solution to the scarcity of food, or to feed an overpopulation. Far from reality are the days when earthquakes are not felt too often, or that flashfloods are common after not so heavy downpour. With technological developments that is precisely the 21st century, there is greater influence found on how Science is done which tremendously redefine the society we live in.

The good thing though is that despite the changes, science is ready to help the world fight the changes or provide innovations that normalize the changes if not fine tune new sets of problem. I, as a teacher, and as a citizen of this world, am willing and looking forward to see the end of all these – how one scientific and technological development can solve one problem over the other.

Of the many topics from A to Z that comprised science, I see that the 21st century will highly revolve on climate change to combat the effects that we see now such as earthquakes, flashfloods and inevitable thinning of the ozone layer. I also see that many scientists will conduct as many studies possible to finally have the medicine that could treat all kinds of cancer that plagued us in some decades now. I also see that many scientists will toil laboriously on how to mass produce GMOs that will secure the food requirement of over billions and billions of people around the world. Then there will always be those scientists for greater commerce, marketing and technology that will expand the wealth of people, will entertain the people and will sustain them and make their lives comfortable. Progress will not be free of risks. We have already gotten a glimpse of what climate change, shortages of food or energy, failure of electrical grids, or cyber- attacks can do. These problems will not go away. Rather, in the absence of serious preventative actions, they will only get worse. Many ethical questions will also need to be addressed, as questionable procedures (such as human cloning) will become feasible. This is not a reason for panic. In the same way that human ingenuity can produce advances in science and technology, i t can also be harnessed ( in principle, at least) to confront environmental and ethical challenges./