THE INFORMATION AGE (GUTENBERG TO SOCIAL MEDIA)
THE BASICS
The Information Age began around the 1970s and is still going on today. It is also known
as the Computer Age, Digital Age, or New Media Age. This era brought about a time
period in which people could access information and knowledge easily.
Four basic periods, each characterized by a principal technology used to solve the
input, processing, output and communication problems of the time:
1. Premechanical – 3000 BC -1450 A.D.
2. Mechanical – 1450 - 1840
3. Electromechanical – 1840 - 1940
4. Electronic/Information – 1940 – present
INFLUENCES OF THE PAST ON THE INFORMATION AGE
The Renaissance influenced the Information Age by creating the idea inventions, while
too advanced for the time; the basic idea was used to develop modern inventions. The
Renaissance also changed literature. At first, only books that told stories of religion and
religious heroes were written. During the Renaissance, people began to write realistic
books and not just religious stories. People's mindset about themselves changed. It was
no longer about what humans could do for God, but what humans could do for
themselves. This way of thinking is called humanism.
The Scientific Revolution changed the modern era by introducing important scientists
such as Galileo, Copernicus, and Sir Isaac Newton. Their discoveries paved the way for
modern tools, inventions and innovations.
The Industrial Revolution brought about major changes in agriculture, manufacturing,
mining, transportation, and technology. This era had a profound effect on the social,
economic, and cultural conditions of the world.
INVENTIONS AND INNOVATIONS OF THE INFORMATION AGE
There were many different inventions that came about because of the Information
Age, one of which was the computer. The Internet allowed people to access
information with the touch of a button.
The Internet has turned society into homebodies, individuals who do everything from
the comfort of their homes instead of venturing outdoors to complete tasks. People can
do everything online; shopping, communicating, bill paying, working, education,
entertainment, even ordering food. This may be good, but it has also made us a very
lazy and uneducated society.
Tim Berners-Lee, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are several important people of the
Information Age. Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web. Jobs who was created the
first effective personal computer called the Apple 1
The Apple 1 was a huge advancement in computer sciences and it carved the path
for the computers we have now. Apple has created iPhone, iPod, iPad, iMac, and
Apple TV. Gates is also a huge force in the Information Age. He founded Microsoft,
which creates almost everything that has to do with computers. Microsoft develops
programs like Microsoft Office, Windows, and many other influential products.
Claide Shannon is regarded as the Father of the Information Age.
CHANGES OF THE INFORMATION AGE
The Information Age has changed people, technology, science, economies, culture,
and even the way people think. The Internet is arguably the most prominent innovation
of the Information Age. The Internet changed the way people do everything. It has
made people lazier, but it also makes a large amount of the population smarter. The
Information Age has made industrial countries stronger. With online companies being
some of the most successful and economically stimulating businesses out there,
economies receive more from them and keep our world turning. People are becoming
more mature and more educated due to things like the computer and the Internet. This
time period has reshaped governments, with new technology being created every
day. Governments can now have more advanced and effective militaries. Because of
things like the Internet, new laws had to be put in place to stop hacking, piracy, and
identity theft.
IMPACTS OF THE INFORMATION AGE
The Information Age brought about many new inventions and innovations. Many
communication services like texting, email, and social media developed and the world
has not been the same since. People learn new languages easier and many books
have been translated into different languages, so people around the world can
become more educated. However, the Information Age is not all good. There are
people in the world that believe they can live their entire life through the Internet. Also,
huge criminal organizations rely on hacking into government systems and obtaining
confidential information to continue their way of life. Jobs have also become easier,
and some jobs can even be done from the comfort of your own home. The Information
Age is also known as the Age of Entrepreneurship. Now entrepreneurs can start and run
a company easier than ever before. It also impacts our work ethics by distracting us
and causing us to lose interest in the task we are doing. This time period has also
created a shortage of jobs and making many jobs obsolete because machines are
now being used to do the work humans once did.
Sources: https://historyoftechnologyif.weebly.com/information-age.html
http://informationtechnoluogy.blogspot.com/
THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF FACEBOOK
BY: NICK BARRICELLA
Facebook is a very popular social networking site with over eight hundred million users. As
an avid user of Facebook myself, I find it hard to believe that at one point it didn't exist. In
fact, it has become so much a part of people's lives that you can learn their life story just by
checking their page. Their friends, likes and dislikes, relationship status, phone number,
address, everything. Sounds a little dangerous. There are positive and negative effects that
Facebook has on people, and they can be quite significant.
THE POSITIVE EFFECTS
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Keeping in touch with family and friends: Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with
your family and friends that live far away. With instant messaging and even video chat,
Facebook is the perfect environment to stay connected. With the status updates,
photos, and profile information, it can keep you up to date on the happenings of all of
your close ones.
Making new friends: Facebook makes meeting new people extremely easy due to the
fact that it allows you to add up to thousands of friends, and acts as a social melting pot
of the internet. If you comment on a friend's status, and one of their friends comments
on it, maybe you two will strike up your own conversation. This can lead to a great
friendship down the road. Most people find it a lot easier to start a conversation with
someone over Facebook than in real life, so a lot of high-school relationships tend to
start there. It's as simple as a "You should text me sometime."
Expressing yourself: Facebook makes expressing yourself very simple with status updates.
Between showing off your favorite song lyrics, to posting pictures of your new outfit,
Facebook is the most common way that people express themselves these days. It is a lot
harder to feel embarrassment over the internet than in person, so people find it easier to
"vent" their feelings on Facebook.
THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS
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Cyberbullying: On Facebook, it is very easy for cyberbullies to thrive. They can harass
and/or gang up on one person even easier than they could in a school environment.
There aren't moderators that go around monitoring what people say to each other.
Anything can be said. There are also a relatively small amount of parents that have
Facebook accounts and keep up with their children's. More than once I've witnessed
this form of bullying, whether it be about race, appearance, intelligence, etc.
Ruined relationships: Facebook is notorious for causing couples to break up. Let's face it,
no one wants to see their girlfriend/boyfriend telling other people that they look cute, or
liking their pictures, or instant messaging them constantly. It builds up jealousy, which
causes quite a bit of tension in a relationship. The fact that many people try to hook up
with others over Facebook while not realizing that these people are in a relationship
doesn't help the issue.
Distraction: At the end of the day you may have seen your cousin's new outfit or talked
to your sister who is in college, but you still haven't really accomplished anything in the
hours that you were on. Critics of Facebook claim that it is a worldwide distraction and
even obsession that amounts to nothing except for significant amounts of time wasted.
There is even a group that is trying to stunt the influence of Facebook called "Facebook
Detox."
Insecurity: Facebook is a cause for insecurities due to the fact that it makes people
compare themselves to others. How can you not when all you see is pictures of your
friends and acquaintances on your newsfeed?
Stalker friendly: Facebook is a very stalker friendly website. Theoretically, someone that
you don't even know can say that they go to your school, add you, and get all of your
information. This may include your phone number, house address, and locations you visit
frequently. Not to mention the fact that they will be able to go through all of your
pictures and get to know you completely without you ever knowing. This is a scary
thought, but it is a real issue.
Source: https://turbofuture.com/internet/The-Positive-and-Negative-Effects-of-Facebook
GENE THERAPY VERSUS STEM CELL THERAPY
WHAT IS CELL AND GENE THERAPY?
Cells are the basic building blocks of all living things, and genes can be found deep
within cells. Genes are small sections of DNA that carry genetic information and
instructions for making proteins, which help build and maintain the body.
Every person has around 20,000 genes and two copies of each of their genes—one
from each parent. Small variations in genes result in differences in people’s
appearance and, potentially, health.
WHAT ARE GENETIC DISEASES?
Genetic diseases happen when a critical piece or whole section of DNA is substituted,
deleted or duplicated2. These changes are called genetic mutations3. Some serious
genetic diseases caused by genetic mutations can be passed to future generations.
HOW DO CELL AND GENE THERAPIES HELP TREAT GENETIC DISEASES?
Cell therapy and gene therapy are overlapping fields of biomedical research and
treatment6. Both therapies aim to treat, prevent, or potentially cure diseases, and both
approaches have the potential to alleviate the underlying cause of genetic diseases
and acquired diseases6. But, cell and gene therapies work differently.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CELL THERAPY AND GENE THERAPY:
Cell therapy aims to treat diseases by restoring or altering certain sets of cells or by using
cells to carry a therapy through the body 5. With cell therapy, cells are cultivated or
modified outside the body before being injected into the patient. The cells may
originate from the patient (autologous cells) or a donor (allogeneic cells)6.
Gene therapy aims to treat diseases by replacing, inactivating or introducing genes
into cells— either inside the body (in vivo) or outside of the body (ex vivo)6.
Some therapies are considered both cell and gene therapies. These therapies work by
altering genes in specific types of cells and inserting them into the body.
Where do they come from?
A gene is a basic unit of heredity in a living organism. Genes come from our parents.
We may inherit our physical traits and the likelihood of getting certain diseases and
conditions from a parent.
Genes contain the data needed to build and maintain cells and pass genetic
information to offspring.
Each cell contains two sets of chromosomes: One set comes from the mother and the
other comes from the father. The male sperm and the female egg carry a single set
of 23 chromosomes each, including 22 autosomes plus an X or Y sex chromosome.
A female inherits an X chromosome from each parent, but a male inherits an X
chromosome from their mother and a Y chromosome from their father.
Genetic mutations are slight alterations of DNA or RNA nucleotides, genes or
chromosomes that may occur during replication or cell division. Random,
uncorrected errors may be beneficial or harmful in relationship to evolution.
Some effects of gene mutation go unnoticed.Source: https://www.novartis.com/ourfocus/cell-and-gene-therapy/what-cell-and-gene-therapy
BIODIVERSITY AND HEALTHY SOCIETY
What is Biodiversity?
The different species of our plants and animals and the places they live is called
biodiversity.
WHAT DOES BIODIVERSITY MEAN FOR HUMAN HEALTH?
People depend on biodiversity in their daily lives, in ways that are not always apparent
or appreciated. Human health ultimately depends upon ecosystem products and
services (such as availability of fresh water, food and fuel sources) which are requisite
for good human health and productive livelihoods. Biodiversity loss can have significant
direct human health impacts if ecosystem services are no longer adequate to meet
social needs. Indirectly, changes in ecosystem services affect livelihoods, income, local
migration and, on occasion, may even cause or exacerbate political conflict.
Additionally, biological diversity of microorganisms, flora and fauna provides extensive
benefits for biological, health, and pharmacological sciences. Significant medical and
pharmacological discoveries are made through greater understanding of the earth's
biodiversity. Loss in biodiversity may limit discovery of potential treatments for many
diseases and health problems.
THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY AND HEALTH
There is growing concern about the health consequences of biodiversity loss.
Biodiversity changes affect ecosystem functioning and significant disruptions of
ecosystems can result in life sustaining ecosystem goods and services. Biodiversity loss
also means that we are losing, before discovery, many of nature's chemicals and
genes, of the kind that have already provided humankind with enormous health
benefits.
NUTRITIONAL IMPACT OF BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity plays a crucial role in human nutrition through its influence on world food
production, as it ensures the sustainable productivity of soils and provides the genetic
resources for all crops, livestock, and marine species harvested for food. Access to a
sufficiency of a nutritious variety of food is a fundamental determinant of health.
Nutrition and biodiversity are linked at many levels: the ecosystem, with food
production as an ecosystem service; the species in the ecosystem and the genetic
diversity
within
species.
Nutritional
composition
between
foods
and
among
varieties/cultivars/breeds of the same food can differ dramatically, affecting
micronutrient availability in the diet. Healthy local diets, with adequate average levels
of nutrients intake, necessitate maintenance of high biodiversity levels.
Intensified and enhanced food production through irrigation, use of fertilizer, plant
protection (pesticides) or the introduction of crop varieties and cropping patterns
affect biodiversity, and thus impact global nutritional status and human health. Habitat
simplification, species loss and species succession often enhance communities
vulnerabilities as a function of environmental receptivity to ill health.
IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY FOR HEALTH RESEARCH AND TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
Traditional medicine continues to play an essential role in health care, especially in
primary health care. Traditional medicines are estimated to be used by 60% of the
world’s population and in some countries are extensively incorporated into the public
health system. Medicinal plant use is the most common medication tool in traditional
medicine and complementary medicine worldwide. Medicinal plants are supplied
through collection from wild populations and cultivation. Many communities rely on
natural products collected from ecosystems for medicinal and cultural purposes, in
addition to food.
Although synthetic medicines are available for many purposes, the global need and
demand for natural products persists for use as medicinal products and biomedical
research that relies on plants, animals and microbes to understand human physiology
and to understand and treat human diseases.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Human activities are disturbing both the structure and functions of ecosystems and
altering native biodiversity. Such disturbances reduce the abundance of some
organisms, cause population growth in others, modify the interactions among
organisms, and alter the interactions between organisms and their physical and
chemical environments. Patterns of infectious diseases are sensitive to these
disturbances. Major processes affecting infectious disease reservoirs and transmission
include, deforestation; land-use change; water management e.g. through dam
construction, irrigation, uncontrolled urbanization or urban sprawl; resistance to
pesticide chemicals used to control certain disease vectors; climate variability and
change; migration and international travel and trade; and the accidental or intentional
human introduction of pathogens.
CLIMATE CHANGE, BIODIVERSITY AND HEALTH
Biodiversity provides numerous ecosystem services that are crucial to human well-being
at present and in the future. Climate is an integral part of ecosystem functioning and
human health is impacted directly and indirectly by results of climatic conditions upon
terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Marine biodiversity is affected by ocean acidification
related to levels of carbon in the atmosphere. Terrestrial biodiversity is influenced by
climate variability, such as extreme weather events (ie drought, flooding) that directly
influence ecosystem health and the productivity and availability of ecosystem goods
and services for human use. Longer term changes in climate affect the viability and
health of ecosystems, influencing shifts in the distribution of plants, pathogens, animals,
and even human settlements.
Key Facts
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The Information Age is now. Every Era from the Stone Age up to the Industrial
Revolution has led to the world as we know it. Without the information,
knowledge and discoveries of those from the past, we would not be where we
are today. The past has shaped our present and will continue to shape our
future.
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Biodiversity provides many goods and services essential to life on earth. The
management of natural resources can determine the baseline health status of a
community. Environmental stewardship can contribute to secure livelihoods and
improve the resilience of communities. The loss of these resources can create the
conditions responsible for morbidity or mortality.
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Biodiversity supports human and societal needs, including food and nutrition
security, energy, development of medicines and pharmaceuticals and
freshwater, which together underpin good health. It also supports economic
opportunities, and leisure activities that contribute to overall wellbeing.
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Land use change, pollution, poor water quality, chemical and waste
contamination, climate change and other causes of ecosystem degradation all
contribute to biodiversity loss and, can pose considerable threats to human
health.
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Human health and well-being are influenced by the health of local plant and
animal communities, and the integrity of the local ecosystems that they form.
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Infectious diseases cause over one billion human infections per year, with millions
of deaths each year globally. Approximately two thirds of known human
infectious diseases are shared with animals, and the majority of recently
emerging diseases are associated with wildlife.