aims of natural science

1.      REMOVAL OF SUPERSTITIONS

•      Fear of what is unknown and mysterious, or the belief that some events bring good/bad luck is known as Superstitions.

•      Such beliefs or half- beliefs usually leads to ignorance, fear and they mislead people in a dramatic way causes serious social/moral/health hazards in most cases.

•      They influence the life of common public to a great extent. Superstitions are, hence, a social evil and need to be uprooted as quickly as possible.

Let’s have a look at some of the Superstitions related to life science.

•      A lizard falls on your head, it is good for men. So now slimy wall crawlers impart luck. Why such poor creatures are connected to our life.

•      In males, if the right eye twitches it’s good luck and in females if the left one twitches then they will have a great day and loads of luck. God knows who found such a theory.

•      You are not supported to cut your nails after sunset and never on certain days. There is a similar one regarding hair cuts on Saturday. God knows what the basis of this theory is.

There are several means to root out these evils, the role of life science is significant here

•      Conduct awareness programs like seminars, exhibitions etc. So that people may get a proper insight of these beliefs.

•      Conduct public demonstrations and prove falsehood of the superstitious briefs. For example an event to show that cutting nails or hair at anytime is harmless.

•      Explain to others about the truth of several beliefs. For example, sleeping under a peepal tree is harmful to us. But this is not because of the ghosts. This is due to the enormous amount of CO2 released during night time. Lack of adequate O2 may sometimes result in uneven sleep.

•      Talk scientifically and reasonably. Always try to look in to the scientific aspect of the matter. This can help us and others to fight the blind followers of superstitions.

•      Includes the facts and truths about superstitions in school curriculum. Teachers must explain them in a simple and acceptable manner.

2.      RAISING THE STANDARD OF LIVING

•      Standard of living is the level of wealth, comfort, material goods and necessities available to a certain socioeconomic class or a certain geographic area.

•      The standard of living includes factors such as income, gross domestic product, national economic growth, economic and political stability, political and religious freedom, environmental quality, climate and safety. The standard of living is closely related to quality of life.

•      The standard of living depends on the degree to which productive forces are developed, the higher the level of unemployment, the lower their standard of living.

•      The students of biological science should know the laws of health and hygiene and should be given training in healthy living.

•      They should be taught to improve their surroundings and thereby to improve the standard of living.

•      Teachers of Biology should be oriented in such a way that the learners internalize attitudes and skills oriented towards a life style that maintain high standards, good health, and higher earnings and regulated consumption.

BRINGING SCIENCE TO HOME AND COMMUNITY

3.   Longevity of life

•      The word ‘longevity’ is sometimes used as a synonym for “life expectancy” and refers only to especially long-lived members of a population.

•      Whereas ‘life expancy’ is always defined statistically as the average number of years remaining at a given age.

•      Longevity is a best term for meaning 'typical length of life’. Various factors contribute to an individual's longevity. Significant factors in life expectancy include gender, genetics, access to healthcare, hygiene, diet and nutrition, exercise,   lifestyle, and crime rates.

Limited longevity

•      All of the biological organisms have a limited longevity, and different species of animals and plants have different potentials of longevity.

•      Mis- repair-accumulation aging theory suggests that the potential of longevity of an organism is related to its structural complexity.

•      Limited longevity is due to the limited structural complexity of the organism. This theory suggests that limited structural complexity and limited longevity are essential for the survival of a species.

4. Decreasing infant mortality rate

Infant mortality 

•      It refers to deaths of young children, typically those less than one year of age. It is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the number of deaths of children less than one year of age per 1000 live births.

•      Premature birth is the biggest contributor to the IMR.

•      Other leading causes of infant mortality are birth asphyxia, pneumonia; term birth complications such as abnormal presentation of the fetus umbilical cord prolapsed, or prolonged labor, neonatal infection, diarrhea, malaria, measles and malnutrition.

•       One of the most common preventable causes of infant mortality is smoking during pregnancy.

         Ways to decrease infant mortality rate

o   Preventing Birth Defects

•      There are several things pregnant women can do to help reduce the risk of certain birth defects, such as getting enough folic acid before and during pregnancy to prevent neural tube defects.

o   Getting Preconception and Prenatal Care

•      The mother’s health, environment, and experiences affect how her fetus develops. By taking good care of her own health, a mother can reduce her baby’s risk of many of the leading causes of infant mortality in the United States, including birth defects, preterm birth, low birth weight and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

o   Using Newborn Screening to Detect Hidden Conditions.

·         Newborn screening can detect certain conditions that are not noticeable at the time of birth, but that can cause serious disability or even death if not treated quickly.

·         To perform this screening, health care providers take a few drops of blood from an infant’s heel and apply them to special paper. The blood spots are then analyzed. If any conditions are detected, treatment can begin immediately.

5.     Improve maternal health

•      Maternal health is the health of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.

•       It encompasses the health care dimensions of family planning, preconception, prenatal, and postnatal care in order to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.

Ø 4- elements are essential to maternal death prevention

·        Prenatal care

·        Skilled birth attendance with emergency backup such as doctors , nurses who have the skills to recognize the complications

·        Emergency obstetic care to address the major causes of maternal death which are hemorrhage, sepsis, unsafe abortion, hypertensive disorders and obstructed labor.

·        Postnatal care

6.    HEALTH INDEX

•      Health index is the life expectancy at birth expressed as an index using a minimum value of 20 years and a maximum value of 85 years.

•       As the health index increase, the birth rate increase and death rate decrease.

•      This means a population grows faster with a higher health index.

7.      Role and functioning of community health centers

•      Community health centers, also referred to as community health services (CHSs), operate across the state and aim to provide a broad range of services and health promotion activities to local populations, particularly those who have or are at risk of the poorest health and have the greatest economic and social needs.

Services offered

•      Counseling and support services

•      Health promotion activities

•      Medical and nursing services

•      Dental health

•      Allied health, including audiology, dietetics, exercise physiology, physiotherapy, podiatry, occupational therapy and speech therapy.

Other services and supports may include

•      Aged care services

•      Alcohol and drug programs

•      Maternal and child health services

•      Mental health programs

•      Disability services

•      Outreach services

•      Problem gambling programs

•      Rehabilitation programs

•      Support for self-help

8.  SELF SUFFITIENCY IN FOOD

•      Food security is defined as “the access for all people at all times to enough food for a healthy, active life” 

•       Food self-sufficiency is defined as being able to meet consumption needs (particularly for staple food crops) from own production rather than by buying or importing.

•      “The concept of food self-sufficiency is generally taken to mean the extent to which a country can satisfy its food needs from its own domestic production.”

•      In the diagram, the diagonal line that indicates where food production is equal to food consumption represents 100% food self-sufficiency.

•       Some countries would fall over the line, indicating that they are more than self-sufficient, and some countries would fall below it, indicating that they are in food deficit.

•      Food self-sufficiency is defined by the ratio of food produced to food consumed at the domestic level.

•      The key point is that food self-sufficient countries produce an amount of food that is equal to or greater than the amount of food that they consume.

•      self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) , which expresses food production as a ratio of available supply

•      SSR=Production×100/(Production + Imports-Exports)

•      Self sufficiency by definition is states in which someone or something can self sustain oneself without using outside recourses. But in reality it is impossible to obtain. Each and every living creature on this planet is dependent upon outside resource in order to survive.