Chapter 17. Science, the Environment, and Society

What was the initial motivation for the Manhattan Project?

A desire to keep pace with German atomic weapons research

Identify how current and emerging technologies could be applied to the genetic alteration of humans.

Application(s) They could be used to alter one's genes. They could be used to select embryos with preferred traits. Not Application(s) They could be used to make wholly new genes. They could be used to eliminate the need for two biological parents.

Identify the ways that genetic fingerprinting has been used by law enforcement.

Correct Answer(s) It has been used to identify criminals through familial matches. It has been used to exonerate people who have been wrongfully convicted. Incorrect Answer(s) It has been used to speed up court cases. It has been used to predict who is likely to commit a crime.

According to sociologist Thomas Gieryn, why is it difficult for lay people to assess the credibility of scientific claims?

Correct Answer(s) Most lay people don't have the ability to evaluate scientific conclusions. Scientists can disagree with one another's conclusions. Incorrect Answer(s) Scientific conclusions are often not communicated well. Most lay people are more likely to believe charismatic leaders over scientists.

What was the Dover, Pennsylvania, school board's stated reasoning in 2004 for requiring science teachers to read their students a statement challenging Darwin's theory of evolution?

Evolution is a theory, not a proven fact -_-

The last part of this animation describes how genetic testing could lead to problems that would not otherwise have arisen. Place the events in order from first to last to describe how this might happen.

Genetic testing of an individual reveals a predisposition to depression. The individual is placed on preventative antidepressant medication. The patient suffers from known side effects, which include insomnia and weight gain. To end the side effects, the patient is placed on a new, unproven medication.

Both Angelina Jolie's medical decision and Edward Saunders's discovery of the effects of weather on stock prices point to the importance of social adaptation. Identify the implications of social adaptation.

Implication(s) Whether cause A has effect B can depend on social circumstances. Government must allow for the social response to facts that laws are based on. Not Implication(s) What counts as a wise decision depends on social norms.

Fill in the blanks to complete the passage about COVID research funding.

In the first five months of 2020, over 23,000 scientific papers were published on some aspect of COVID-19. The explosion of research is due not only to scientists wanting to help but also to increased research funding.

Identify the main points raised in Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (2006).

Main Point(s) Growing demand for organic foods has pushed political change regarding the labeling and certification of food. Determining whether food is organic or not organic is not straightforward. Not Main Point(s) Debates over organic food production and consumption only focus on science. Organic food consumption is a fad that will likely fade out over the next decade.

Identify the main trends of the global green revolution that occurred in the second half of the twentieth century.

Main Trend(s) the introduction of high-yield crops in developing nations improvements in agricultural techniques and technologies Not Main Trend(s) increased food exports from developed nations to developing ones increased research on weather patterns and their impact on agriculture

Why did the fatalities produced by Chicago's 1995 heat wave occur mainly among the elderly, poor, and African American population?

Members of these populations were socially isolated

In the middle portion of this interview with Dalton Conley, sociologist Alondra Nelson describes the origins of African Ancestry, a company that markets genetic genealogy testing to black families. In which context did African Ancestry first perform its scientific techniques?

On remains exhumed from a historic burial ground

Understanding human sexuality is an example of scientific inquiry embedded in a complex social context. Identify the scientific explanations for male homosexuality.

Scientific Explanation(s) Women's bodies produce different hormones after giving birth to multiple male children, increasing the likelihood that younger brothers will identify as gay. Certain genes passed from the mother to son increase the probability that he will identify as gay. Not Scientific Explanation(s) Male homosexuality is influenced by the number of cousins a man has. Gay men help balance out the population, curbing the number of adults having children.

In a sociological context, what principle does the term "Matthew effect" refer to?

Scientists tend to bestow praise and honors on those colleagues who have been praised and honored in the past.

Fill in the blanks to compete the passage about the green revolution.

The green revolution, which began around 1950, exported advanced food production techniques from the United States and Japan to developing nations, such as Mexico and India. The continent of Africa was a late beneficiary, partly because the first wave of high-yield crops required irrigation-based agriculture, while the second wave could be grown using rain-fed agriculture.

Identify the generally true and false statements about produce, such as fresh fruit, that is labeled "certified organic."

True Statement(s) It is grown without synthetic pesticides. It is free of genetically modified ingredients. False Statement(s) It is healthier than noncertified produce. It is safer for the environment.

Identify the true and false statements about Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar's study of Jonas Salk's lab.

True Statement(s) The researchers treated scientists as they would any other "tribe." The researchers examined how scientific facts were established. False Statement(s) The researchers did a controlled study. The researchers' findings contradicted similar studies done previously.