Science Starters Week 9

ILO 5 Demonstrate Awareness of Social and Historical

Aspects of ScienceGive instances of how technological advances have influenced the progress of science and how science

has influenced advances in technology.

Technological advances and the progress of science

Imagine the possibilities!!!!

What uses in science and technology can you think of for Aerogel?Explain why.

Hint: Think of the properties of aerogel and things that exist today.

Technological advances and the progress of science

• A computed tomography (CT) scan uses X-rays to make detailed pictures of structures inside of the body.

• CT scans of a seahorse show its bony plates, which slide past each other as the animal bends, allowing it to be hard and yet flexible.

• What application could this new knowledge of the seahorse’s bony plates be used for?

Technological advances and the progress of science

• In the US and Europe, 2000 livers get discarded each year because they deteriorate in transit, damaged by the ice packs and solutions that, for the past 40 years, have been the usual way to preserve them.

• Donated livers can survive for at least a day outside the body thanks to a new device which keeps the organ ticking over as if it hadn't been removed. The machine is likely to more than double the availability of livers for transplant.

• The new device can keep a donated liver at body temperature, supplying it with blood, sugar, oxygen and nutrients.

• Whereas most frozen livers become unusable after about 14 hours of cold storage, the new device keeps them alive and in perfect condition for at least 24 hours. "In animals, we've gone up to 72 hours and see no reason why it shouldn't go even further than that," says Friend.

• Brainstorm how this technology can influence the progress of science and medicine.

Technological advances and the progress of science

Brainstorm with a partner how this technological advance can influence the progress of science and medicine.

Technological advances and the progress of science

"Printing three dimensional objects with incredibly fine details is now possible using "two-photon lithography". With this technology, tiny structures on a nanometer scale can be fabricated. Researchers at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) have now made a major breakthrough in speeding up this printing technique: The high-precision-3D-printer at TU Vienna is orders of magnitude faster than similar devices. This opens up completely new areas of application, such as in medicine."

Brainstorm with a partner how this technological advance can influence the progress of science and medicine.