A crack in a creation
““The power to control our species’ genetic future is awesome and terrifying. Deciding how to handle it may be the biggest challenge we have ever faced.” ”
Since time immemorial, humans have sought to explore natural phenomena and in the process of doing so, have tried to reason their surroundings. The human mind has always pushed the boundaries of innovation and found room for development to improve quality of life. Biology as a subject has intrigued scientific inns for centuries.
The science of Biology deals with the study of structure, organisation, life processes, interaction, origin and evolution of living organisms. The importance of Biology in daily life is immense. It reflects our basic understanding of life around us as well as our body.
Resource: newatlas.com
Biology is deeply embossed in our daily lives. It is around us every moment of the day– when we inhale and exhale, our cells respire; numerous organisms exist on an area as small as a square centimetre of our skin; how plants make food; how insects and other creatures feed and work; what we eat; what is the best way to grow crops and hundreds and thousands of other examples included, biology exists in everything.
Biology is one of the most researched about yet still one of the most mysterious subjects. For example, despite the recent drastic developments in technology, the origin of life on Earth is still one of the biggest mysteries; nobody has found a conclusive answer yet.
The scope of biology for young minds is limitless. Since biology is the past and present of all life forms on Earth, the opportunities it provides for the young budding minds are countless. Apart from opting for the most conventional course for a Biology student –M.B.B.S, a biology student has a multitude of courses to choose from, including – genetic engineering, microbiology, agriculture, food technology, veterinary medicine to name a few.
The traditional M.B.B.S course is a four-and-a-half-year course with one year of compulsory internship. After doing M.B.B.S, you get to choose from a vast variety of fields to take up, ranging from becoming a general physician to a pathologist or a surgeon, gynaecologist, cardiologist or physiotherapist, after specialising in your respective field. But M.B.B.S is not the ONLY course available for a biology student. With the advancement of technology, a generation of young, creative minds looks forward to unprecedented growth and development in this field.
One such radical yet promising field is genetic engineering. It includes the direct manipulation of an organism's genome using biotechnology. It is a technology used to change the genetic make-up of cells, including the transfer of genes within and across specific boundaries to produce improved or novel organisms. Genetic engineering is a separate branch altogether and has immense scope. The development of genetically modified plants for better nutritious value; genetically modified animals for better yield; genetically modified treatment modalities, vaccines – all of these are advances in genetic engineering and the branch is ever expanding and offers innumerable opportunities.
Other career options include biomedical engineering, which deals with application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes.
Food technologists- whose job is to offer technologies for preservation, conservation and processing of food items to be packaged; microbiology – study of micro-organism; veterinary medicine – study of domesticated animals and their health care; anthropology – study of man and mankind. In the present times, we are sitting at the threshold of development and channelizing the youth's mind and energy towards the right path is of paramount importance.
It is thus, now more important than ever that a student finds out his or her aptitude in a particular course to make a sound choice which will ensure remarkable achievements in the future.
Simran Mehta, XII A
Cambridge International School for Girls
2019-2020
