Science
Sounds of Science
The entire country will be a mega city in the future, predicts Dr Ahmed. Photo: Prabir Das
It is striking that science is still widely viewed as merely a subject one studies in the classroom or an isolated body of largely esoteric knowledge that sometimes shows up in the “real” world in the form of technological or medical advances. There are many whose encounters with science in school left them thinking of it as cold, distant and intimidating. They happily use the innovations that science makes possible, but feel that science itself is just not relevant to their lives. In reality, science is a language of hope and inspiration, providing discoveries that fire the imagination and instil a sense of connection in our lives and our world. Like a life without music, art or literature, a life without science is bereft of something that gives experience a rich and otherwise inaccessible dimension.
Dr Zia Uddin Ahmed, visiting professor, Department of Microbiology at Jahangirnagar University is one of the very few who have been writing extensively about how to comprehend reality through science and what role the scientist will play in the socio economic development of the country. He says, “Today more is demanded of the scientist than curiosity and creativity. Society supports the scientist and the work done by the scientist; in return, it wants the scientist to descend from the ivory tower of creative curiosity to the practical problems that confronts society.” The topics Dr Ahmed studies and writes have great significance in the context of our socio-biological future. “Appreciation of the importance of biology in the social dynamics of species is much more important today than at the time of Darwin,” says professor Ahmed. In a long, distinguished career, he has taught at University of Dhaka and worked as a senior scientist at International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR, B). A fellow of the World Innovation Foundation (UK) and Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, he was the chief editor of 50 of the 56 volumes of Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh published by Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. He has authored several books that deal with topics ranging from molecular biology to the current state of Science and Technology in Bangladesh.
Photo: Prabir Das
When Amartya Sen in a lecture at IIT-Bombay earlier this year said that Bangladesh had pulled ahead of India on a range of development indicators such as life expectancy, child immunisation and child mortality, it was one of those rare occasions when it felt good to be a Bangladeshi. While development projects carried out by successive governments and NGOs deserve credit for such a remarkable achievement, Dr Ahmed thinks there is another factor that is often ignored or not understood. “When I read about the Sen Lecture, the first thing that came to mind was the density of population in Bangladesh which is the highest in the world right now,” says the professor who has a PhD in molecular biology from Canada. “High population density makes productive mobilisation of people relatively easy and the delivery of essential services less costly on a per capita basis.” In Jibbigganir Shomajbhabna (Sociobiology: Thoughts from A Biologist's Perspective), he writes that because of the high density of population, it has been possible to bring the entire country under mobile network in such a short period. In the book, he also predicts that the entire country will ultimately turn into a mega city in future.
The Density Factor which emphasises the population density, rather than population size as the critical determinant of many aspects of our life has been a particular area of his study. “Population density is more important than population size because it impacts every human activity,” says Dr Ahmed. “The significance of density of population is biological and that of population size is socio-economic.”
In his book The Fading Horizon: Science and Technology in Bangladesh, he observes that high density of population and severe resource constraint are likely to create an increased level of social entropy or chaos. “To appreciate these facts would constitute what I view as biological realism, an issue more important for us than it is for any other country of the world today,” says the professor.
Policy makers would do well to listen to what this veteran biologist has to say.
It is estimated that by 2050, arable land in the country will be only 36,000 square kilometres. It is reasonable to wonder where the food supply will come from or what the society will look like then. What can be done?
“Well, we can develop policy that is likely to be more productive,” says the veteran biologist. For example, 50 years from now, when the population will be around 300 million, if we want to produce enough rice to feed the population, a certain amount of land must be protected by legislation only for rice cultivation limiting it to three harvests a year.” Listening to him, it is hard not to be worried. But he offers hope by saying, “There is a possibility that our population may suddenly decrease. The economic hardships may lead to the decline of marriage as a means of procreation. If that happens, population will stop at a certain point and then start to fall. Besides, food production will significantly rise when all the arable land in the world is utilised. At present, only one third is.”
In his book Genetics of Antibiotic Resistance Professor Ahmed writes that antibiotic resistance has become the most worrisome problem in medicine today. Although antibiotics have played a major role in reducing deaths from bacteria related infectious diseases, bacteria have developed mechanisms of resistance that have taken many scientists by surprise. “It is a classic example of use and adaptation—use by humans for their cure and adaptation by bacteria for their survival. It is the true biological warfare,” says the eminent professor. In developed countries, this is considered a very serious matter by the academia as an integral part of disciplines of biological sciences. But in our country, there is a serious lack of awareness among doctors about this issue. They prescribe antibiotics without any regulation. Even in our universities, discussion about this topic is practically absent in the curricula of relevant departments. He says, “The situation is so grave that many think we may face the risk of returning to the 19th century when germs ruled over humans.” So what is the solution to the problem? He answers, “The only way to keep it under check is the rational use of antibiotics. And research is necessary to design cost effective strategies.”
When we look at the wealth of opportunities hovering on the horizon — stem cells, genomic sequencing, personalised medicine, longevity research, nanoscience, brain-machine interface, quantum computers, space technology — we realise how crucial it is to cultivate a general public that can engage with scientific issues; there's simply no other way that as a society we will be prepared to make informed decisions on a range of issues that will shape the future. Dr Ahmed says, “Our history bears testimony to our successfully creating and nurturing superior intellects and many of us rightly think that we do possess people who could excel in science if conditions were right.”
But here's the thing. The reason science really matters runs deeper still. Science is a way of life. It is a perspective. It is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding in a manner that's precise, predictive and reliable — a transformation that is empowering and emotional. To be able to think through and grasp explanations — for everything from why the sky is blue to how life formed on earth —because they reveal patterns confirmed by experiment and observation, is one of the most precious of human experiences. Professor Ahmed calls it biological realism.
Spending on science and technology is an investment that produces a larger economy in the future — generating wealth, jobs and tax revenue. The goal of policy should be to invest in and nurture the development of the innovation pipeline, from basic science to its commercialisation. That would call for a more hands-on role for government. The consensus of most economists is that basic science is a “public good,” with the benefits widely shared by society, and thus a worthwhile recipient of government financing. But technology — the application of science to real-world problems — is regarded as a “private good,” with its development best left to market forces. Dr Ahmed says, “We need a well defined science and technology policy. Science policy should, in fact, provide analogous directions by accurately defining the important parameters relevant to the country and it ought to clearly suggest the ways on the basis of which both the long-term and short-term scientific workplan should be developed.”
Policy makers would do well to listen to what this self-effacing professor has to say.
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