1.5 Biology and Your Future
KEY CONCEPT
Understanding biology can help you make informed
decisions.
1.5 Biology and Your Future
Your health and the health of the environment depend
on your knowledge of biology.
• Knowledge of biology helps you understand your health.
– food allergies
– potential effects of obesity
1.5 Biology and Your Future
• Knowledge of biology helps you understand your health.
– food allergies
– potential effects of obesity
– cancer
– effects of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs
brain
lungs
heart
liver
kidneys
1.5 Biology and Your Future
• Knowledge of biology can help you understand
environmental issues.
– interactions in ecosystems
– pollution
– biodiversity
1.5 Biology and Your Future
Biotechnology offers great promise but also raises many
issues.
• Biotechnology is the use and application of living things
and biological processes.
1.5 Biology and Your Future
• Biotechnology is the use and application of living things and
biological processes.
– DNA testing in medicine and forensics
– transgenic (genetically modified) crops
– transgenic bacteria
1.5 Biology and Your Future
• Questions are raised about the use of biotechnology.
– safety of genetically modified crops
– spread of undesirable genes
– decrease in biodiversity
– ethical considerations
1.5 Biology and Your Future
Biology presents many unanswered questions.
• Over the past 50 years, biological knowledge has greatly
increased.
1.5 Biology and Your Future
• There are still many questions to answer in biology.
– How are memories stored in the brain?
1.5 Biology and Your Future
• There are still many questions to answer in biology.
– How are memories stored in the brain?
– How do viruses mutate?
capsid
nucleic acid
lipid
envelope
surface proteins
– Does life exist on planets other than Earth?