Science in context
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| 4 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-course assessment | No residential school |
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Summary
This course covers a range of interesting, contemporary issues with a scientific dimension: BSE/vCJD; near-Earth objects; water and well-being; medicinal plants; climate change; genetic manipulation and nanotechnology. It deals with the underlying science and its ‘real world’ relevance. The topics are analysed in terms of four themes: communication, risk, ethical issues and decision-making. The course will equip you to examine critically similar issues that might arise in future. You are assumed to have studied a range of scientific disciplines at Level 1 and to have an interest in science in its broad social context.
Course content
Seven interesting, contemporary scientific topics provide the foundations for this course. In addition, four important themes – science communication, risk, ethical issues and decision making – set the topics in a broader societal context. Overall, science content takes up 75-80%, and the themes 20-25%, of study time.
Topic 1: BSE/vCJD (three weeks). BSE was not only an economic and social tragedy in its own right; it also gave rise to vCJD, an invariably fatal new disease that (so far) has affected mainly young people. Our quest to understand these and other encephalopathy diseases is giving rise to a new branch of biology that deals with shape-changing protein molecules such as prions. At least in the UK and much of Europe, the BSE/vCJD episode seems to have contributed to the public’s apparent mistrust of many new scientific developments, and scepticism about reassurances that these are both beneficial and safe.
Topic 2: Near-Earth Objects and the impact hazard (three weeks). This topic deals with the collision of asteroids and comets with the Earth. In the past, such collisions are known to have had major effects on the development of life on Earth. This topic explores the nature of the hazard and how it is quantified. The high probability that, sooner or later, more collisions will happen in future raises all sorts of difficult issues. Should we attempt to prevent such an impact? Or at least mitigate its effects? If so, how? How much resource ought to be devoted to such an enterprise (resource that could be spent on controlling diseases or ending world hunger)? If a major impact were to be predicted with a high level of probability, should the public be informed? What would be the likely effects of such knowledge?
Topic 3: Water & Well-being: arsenic in Bangladesh (three weeks). The belated realisation that water made available to villages in rural Bangladesh and India was naturally contaminated with dangerous levels of arsenic raises difficult questions about the responsibilities of science and scientists. What can and should be done once such a problem has been recognised?
Topic 4: Medicinal Plants (three weeks). Many plant species have tremendous potential as sources of new medicines. However, species are currently being lost at a rate comparable to the five great mass extinctions of the geological past – faster than they can be formally described and named, let alone assessed for their medical promise. Moreover, the discovery that a species endemic to a developing country contains chemicals that can be developed – at considerable research and development cost – into a valuable modern drug raises a range of dilemmas related to ‘ownership’ and intellectual property rights.
Topic 5: Climate Change (six weeks). Many people are convinced that human-induced climate change is the single greatest threat to human society at the present time. Predicted effects include increased sea level, more extreme-weather events, alterations to the distribution of natural biota – including disease-causing organisms – and changes in agricultural productivity. Although there can be little doubt that the climate is changing at the present time, the problem is that climate is an intrinsically variable phenomenon. There are therefore those who do not accept that we are witnessing anything other than natural oscillations caused by (for instance) variation in the Sun’s energy output, and so resist the profound changes to our way of life that would be needed to stop human-induced climate change. In addition to covering the science that underpins climate and its variation, this topic addresses some of the issues that arise when science impinges on the ‘real’ world of politics and economics.
Topic 6: Genetic Manipulation (six weeks). After millennia of intentionally and accidentally altering the genetic composition of animals and plants by selective breeding, we stand on the brink of being able to introduce any gene from any organism into any other organism – including ourselves. Advocates point to the tremendous potential that such genetic manipulation has for improving agricultural crops and animals, and for curing human diseases. Others question the safety of genetically modified food, the possible ecological consequences of releasing genetically modified organisms into the environment, and the ethics of tampering with the human genome. As well as the science behind such examples of genetic manipulation, this topic also examines recent attempts at public consultation.
Topic 7: Nanotechnology (six weeks). The extremely diverse and rapidly developing field of nanotechnology is emerging as a ‘battlefield’. Lines are drawn between those keen to harness the potential of new materials and techniques, and those concerned about the possible dangers of introducing new science-based technologies on a very wide scale over a comparatively short period of time. This topic covers the underlying science of some aspects of nanotechnology, introduces some likely applications, including those categorised as bio-nanotechnology, and critically discusses these developments in terms of the four course themes.
While each of these scientific topics is interesting and important in its own right, they have also been selected for the light they throw on the four course themes. The course themes are:
- science communication
- risk
- ethical issues
- decision making.
These themes are introduced in the Introduction to the course (which precedes Topic 1), developed through the succeeding topics and assessed in the four tutor-marked assignments and the end-of-course assessment alongside the course’s science content. Effective two-way communication about science and science-related issues between scientists, decision-makers and the public is crucial if society is not only to reap the benefits of science, but also to minimise the chance of repeating some of the mistakes of the past. Since all change entails a degree of risk, it is essential to assess the risks – as well as potential benefits – of proposed scientific developments. Given the pace and likely impact on society of many such developments, we must also think clearly about the ethical dimension of these developments. Finally, scientific developments do not occur without decision making occurring at various levels. While not a course in social science, this course examines critically the mutual interaction between ‘pure’ science and its broader social context.
Since the course deals with issues that do not have clear-cut ‘black-and-white’ answers, it is very important that students engage in debate with other students (and their tutor). While such discussions will naturally occur in face-to-face tutorials, you are expected to participate in one or more computer conferences – putting forward and defending your own views on an issue and giving serious consideration to the views put forward by others.
You will learn
Not only some interesting science and its relevance in modern society, but also how to critically analyse contemporary scientific issues in terms of the course themes of communication, risk, ethical issues and decision making.
Entry
This course is for you if you have already studied a fairly broad range of science disciplines (that is, not only biology or the physical sciences) at Level 1 – either with The Open University (Exploring science (S104) or the discontinued course S103) or elsewhere – and have an interest in the impact of science in a wider societal context. If you have not studied science at this level or have studied only (say) biology or physics, you may need to read outside the course in order to understand the underlying science adequately.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
If you have not studied the Open University course S104 (or one of its predecessors), you should familiarise yourself with the main scientific concepts covered there before commencing S250. Are you ready for S250? provides more detailed guidance. This can be viewed as an interactive program for PC or printed as a PDF from the Are you ready for science? website.
Qualifications
S250 is a compulsory course in our:
S250 is an optional course in our:
- BA/BSc (Honours) Environmental Studies (B19)
- BSc (Honours) Geosciences (B25)
- BSc (Honours) Molecular Science (B26)
- BSc (Honours) Physical Science (B27)
- BSc (Honours) Life Sciences (B28)
- BSc (Honours) Environmental Science (B52)
- BSc (Honours) Secondary Education in Physics (B56)
- Diploma in Geosciences (E02)
- Diploma in Molecular Science (E03)
- Diploma in Physical Science (E04)
- Diploma in Life Sciences (E05)
It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it can help to weight your degree towards a BSc.We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
Excluded combinations
Sometimes you will not be able to count a course towards a qualification if you have already taken another course with similar content. To check any excluded combinations relating to this course, visit our excluded combination finder or check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service before registering.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
The course materials are available on audio in DAISY Digital Talking Book format. The books are available in a comb-bound format. The course materials are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader and mathematical, scientific, and foreign language materials may be particularly difficult to read in this way. The course contains complex figures and assessment is sometimes based on these. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting your needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will be assigned to a tutor who will hold some face-to-face tutorials (where practicable), facilitate one or more computer conferences, mark your tutor-marked assignments and generally help you achieve the course’s learning outcomes.
Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You can choose whether to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) on paper or online through the eTMA system. You may want to use the eTMA system for some of your assignments but submit on paper for others. This is entirely your choice.
The assignments for this course are delivered via the course website.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in February 2011. We expect it to be available once a year.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
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An undergraduate course in Environment, Development and International Studies and Science.
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Student Reviews
I should have listened to the previous comments. As with other students, I'm glad it's over. The course was very ...
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S250 covers primarily science, but also addresses the social context. 80% of the marks are assigned to showing an understanding ...
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All I can say is that I am glad it is over. From an unhelpful tutor to trying to understand ...
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