What improvement we are seeing in our life on daily basis is because of the science and technologies. For the proper growth and development of the country, it is very necessary to go science and technology hand in hand. Villages are getting developed to towns and towns to cities thus expanding the greater horizons of economy. Our country India is a fast developing country in the sense of science and technology.
On one hand, it is necessary for the modern life where other countries are continuously developing in the field of science and technology. It becomes very necessary for other countries too to grow in the same way to be strong and well developed like other countries for the future safety and security. It is science and technology which helps other weak countries to develop and be strong. We have to take support of science and technology forever to improve the way of life for the betterment of mankind. If we do not take the help of technologies such as computer, internet, electricity, etc we cannot be economically strong in the future and would be backward forever even we cannot survive in such a competitive and technological world.
Advancement in the field of medical, agriculture, education, economy, sports, games, jobs, tourism
, etc are the examples of science and technology. All such advancements show us that how both are equally beneficial for our life. We can see a clear difference in our life style while matching the ancient and modern way of life. High level of scientific and technological advancement in the field of medicine has made easy the treatment of various lethal diseases which was earlier not possible. It has helped a lot to the doctors to find effective ways to cure diseases through medicine or operations as well as research vaccines to cure diseases such as cancer, AIDS, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Leukemia, etc.
In the Philippines had experienced periods of intense growth as well as long periods of stagnation. The main managing agency responsible for science and technology is the Department of Science and Technology. Numerous national scientists have contributed in different fields of science including Fe del Mundo in the field of Pediatrics, Eduardo Quisumbing in the field of Plant taxonomy, Gavino Trono in the field of tropical marine Phycology, Maria Orosa in the field of Food technology and many more.
History
Pre-Spanish Period
Even before the colonization by the Spaniards in the Philippine islands, the natives of the archipelago already had practices linked to science and technology. Filipinos were already aware of the medicinal and therapeutic pro-
perties of plants and the methods of extracting medicine from herbs. They already had an alphabet, number system, a weighing and measuring system and a calendar. Filipinos were already engaged in farming, shipbuilding, mining and weaving. The Banaue Rice Terraces are among the sophisticated products of engineering by pre-Spanish era Filipinos.
Spanish Colonial Period
The colonization of the Philippines contributed to growth of science and technology in the archipelago. The Spanish introduced formal education and founded scientific institution. During the early years of Spanish rule in the Philippines. Parish schools were established where religion, reading, writing, arithmetic and music was taught. Sanitation and more advanced methods of agriculture was taught to the natives. Later the Spanish established colleges and universities in the archipelago including the University of Santo Tomas.
The study of medicine in the Philippines was given priority in the Spanish era, especially in the later years. The Spanish also contributed to the field of engineering in the islands by constructing government buildings, churches, roads, bridges and forts.Biology is given focus. Contributors to science in the archipelago during the 19th century were botanists, Fr. Ignacio Mercado., Dr. Trinidad Pardo de Tavera and Dr. Leon Ma Guerrero, chemist Anaclento del Rosario, and medicine scholars Dr. Manuel Guerrero, Dr, Jose Montes and Dr. Elrodario Mercado.
The Galleon Trade have accounted in the Philippine colonial economy. Trade was given more focus by the Spaniard colonial authorities due to the prospects of big profits. Agriculture and industrial development on the other hand were relatively neglected. The opening of the Suez Canal saw the influx of European visitors to the Spanish colony and some Filipinos were able to study in Europe who were probably influenced by the rapid development of scientific ideals brought by the Age of Enlightenment.
American Period and Post-Commonwealth Era
The progress of science and technology in the Philippines continued under American rule of the islands. On July 1, 1901 The Philippine Commission established the Bureau of Government Laboratories which was placed under the Department of Interior. The Bureau replaced the Laboratorio Municipal, which was established under the Spanish colonial era. The Bureau dealt with the study of tropical diseases and laboratory projects. On October 26, 1905, the Bureau of Government Laboratories was replaced by the Bureau of Science and on December 8, 1933, the National Research Council of the Philippines was established. The Bureau of Science became the primary research center of the Philippines until World War II.
Science during the American period was inclined towards agriculture, food processing, forestry, medicine and pharmacy. Not much focus was given on the development of industrial technology due to free trade policy with the United States which nurtured an economy geared towards agriculture and trade.
In 1946 the Bureau of Science was replaced by the Institute of Science. In a report by the US Economic Survey to the Philippines in 1950, there is a lack of basic information which were necessities to the country’s industries, lack of support of experimental work and minimal budget for scientific research and low salaries of scientists employed by the government. In 1958, during the regime of President Carlos P. Garcia, the Philippine Congress passed the Science Act of 1958 which established the National Science Development Board.
Science and Technology Fields
Life Sciences
Life Sciences is a very broad field, it encompasses numerous specializations. It is commonly defined by sciences that pertain to living organisms like microorganisms, plants, animals, and most importantly human beings. Some of the well-known fields in the Life Sciences are zoology, botany, biology, microbiology, biotechnology, and biomedical technologies.
Engineering is the field of science that applies both science and math to solve problems. It concerns the use of technology in practical ways that can advance the human condition. Some of the fields of engineering include mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, structural engineering, and industrial engineering.
In the Philippines, many organizations and research institutes for engineering were established, such as the National Engineering Center and the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers.
The National Engineering Center (NEC) was first established on January 27, 1978 as the research arm of the University of the Philippines College of Engineering. It absorbed the UP Industrial Research Service Center, the National Hydraulic Research Center, the Training Center for Applied Geodesy and Photogrammetry, the Transport Training Center, and the Building Research Service.
The Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE) was the result of the merging of two separate civil engineer organizations, the Philippine Society of Civil Engineers (PSCE) and the Philippine Association of Civil Engineers (PACE), on December 11, 1973. It was given accreditation by the Professional Regulation Commission on August 13, 1975 as the only official recognized organization of civil engineers in the Philippines. It was established to advance the knowledge and research and to maintain high ethical standards of civil engineering.
The University of the Philippines also established the National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS) to contribute to scholarly research and training in the field of transportation. They advocate sustainable transport, integrated transport system, road safety, and institutional development.They release advisories and feature studies by both undergraduate and graduate students on transportation. For example, the NCTS website links to downloads of Emer T. Quezon’s research into the effects of flyover construction on traffic flow in Nagtahan and R. Magsaysay Boulevard intersection in 1994, as well as the research of Franklyn T. Amistad and Jose Regin F. Regidor, Dr. Eng. researched into ways to improve traffic management and congestion in Vigan without sacrificing its legacy as a World Heritage Site.
Ricardo G. Sigua is a professor who contributed to engineering research in the Philippines. Sigua, a professor at the Institute of Civil Engineering in the University of the Philippines, Diliman, wrote a book called The Fundamentals of Traffic Engineering due to the scarcity of textbooks on the traffic engineering relevant to the Philippine context. His book covers topics such as traffic management and regulations, traffic flow, traffic studies, intersection design and control, geometric design of highways, road safety, traffic accident analysis, travel demand forecasting, the origin-destination table (OD Matrix), and the intelligent transportation system.
Agriculture and Aquaculture
Agriculture is the field in science wherein it concerns with the different techniques of land cultivation, crop and livestock raising, or otherwise, farming. The Department of Agriculture (Philippines) (DA) is a government agency responsible for the development of the Philippine’s agriculture by generating policies, investments, and support services which are significant in the local and export-oriented trade. In the Philippine Development Plan (PDP), Chapter 4: Competitive and Sustainable Agriculture and Fisheries Sector, both agriculture and fisheries sector provides the needs and raw materials for the market and surplus labor to the industry and service sectors. The focus for improvement would be to generate more opportunities of employments and increased income for the farmers which would encourage participation from them. Development of the agricultural sector is critical in maintaining an affordable price for food especially for the poor which, then, could be translated to inclusive growth and poverty reduction. Proceso J. Alcala is a former district representative and the recently appointed DA secretary by President Benigno Aquino III in 2010. He is considered the ‘Father of Organic Agriculture’ because of his work in the Organic Agricultural Act of 2010 (RA 10068).
Developments regarding the research and technology of Philippine agriculture are currently in the works. Most of the researches are inclined in solving the problem of increasing hunger in the country by creating a more efficient and cheaper process of yielding produce. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an international research consortium, including the Philippines, which serves to improve the rice production and quality through biotechnology and research. One of their ongoing research involves changing the normal C3 carbon fixation mechanism of rice into a supercharged photosynthetic mechanism, C4 carbon fixation. Converting rice from a C3 plant into a C4 plant would be beneficial because the latter can efficiently produce more yield than the former in a given and limited amount of resources (land, water, and fertilizer) which bodes well to the Philippines’ situation. IRRI have made calculations which shows that converting rice into a C4 plant would increase the yield at around 30-50%, demonstrating a double water-use efficiency, and providing more at less fertilizer usage. Other rice varieties have been developed to increase efficiency without sacrificing the quality too much. PSB Rc26H (Magat), PSB Rc72H (Mestizo), and PSB Rc76H (Panay) are some of the rice hybrids developed but only Mestizo is currently available for planting. The texture and taste quality of Mestizo is comparable to the normal grain, IR64.
Health
One aspect of healthcare is the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases; the other pertains to provisions for medical care for people in the community. In the Philippines, healthcare is under the Department of Health (DOH). This government office is responsible for organizing public healthcare and making sure that all Filipino citizens have access to quality health services. This office is also responsible for supervising and funding researches pertaining to new medicines and medical devices. The DOH has different bureaus, all of which have different areas of specialization, these are the Bureau of Health Devices and Technology, Bureau of Health Facilities and Services, Bureau of International Health Cooperation, Bureau of Local Health Development, Bureau of Quarantine and International Health Surveillance, and Food and Drug Administration. The DOH has a budget of Php 87.6 billion for the year 2015. The Secretary of Health is nominated by the President of the Republic of the Philippines, the incumbent Secretary of Health is Janette Garin; she was appointed last February 17, 2015.
Anti-cancer research
Soybean is a very sought-after crop, as its by products are used to generate bioethanol, and most importantly it is linked with cancer research. During the past decade, soybean has been extensively studied due to its 43-amino acid polypeptide called Lunasin. The anti-cancer properties of Lunasin was first discovered by Dr Alfredo Galvez and Dr. Benito de Lumen, both Filipino doctors, when they were enhancing the nutritional properties of soy protein. Dr. Galvez observed mitotic disruptive properties of Lunasin in mammalian cancer cells, he saw that it prevented normal cells from turning into cancerous cells. This eventually lead to more research about its anti-cancer properties. In 2005, Dr. de Lumen conducted an experiment on Lunasin using skin cancer mouse models, he discovered that Lunasin internalizes in mammals within minutes of exogenous application, it eventually ends up in the nucleus wherein it inhibits the acetylation of core histones. Dr de Lumen observed that in spite of Lunasin’s anti-cancer properties, it does not inhibit the growth of normal mammalian cell lines.
A very recent study on Lunasin showed that at certain doses, it reduced non-small cell lung cancer tumor volume by 63%, it also showed a capability of inhibiting non-small cell lung cancer cells by suppressing the cell-cycle dependent phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein. More studies of Lunasin also showed that it possesses antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and a cholesterol regulating role; all of which makes it a very good potential source of dietary supplements. All of these researches would have not been at the level of where it is now, if not for the Filipino doctors who first discovered Lunasin.
The nation is in need of exceptionally able scientists, engineers, and health professionals to serve in executive positions in the federal government and on federal advisory committees. Such persons, when serving as presidential appointees, make key programmatic and policy decisions that will affect our lives and those of our children. Similarly, skilled scientists and engineers are needed for advisory committees to provide advice on the myriad issues with complex technologic dimensions that confront government decision makers. Our nation has long been served by its ability to draw qualified S&T candidates to government service because of the opportunities for intellectually challenging work that affects the world in which we live and that encourages and protects the scientific process. We must continue to enlist the best candidates for these important positions and ensure that the obstacles to their service are minimized.
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