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Asked by bethisforever to Ed, Katie, Sam, Steve, Vera on 13 Jun 2011.
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Steven Daly answered on 13 Jun 2011:
It will not really affect the way we live, other than to give us an answer as to where life has come from, which would be nice to know! The chemicals I work with do have a lot of uses in technology, such as making paper and plastics, so giving a better understanding of these chemicals and ones like them it is possible new useful materials will be found.Or cheaper ways to make the ones we have.
One of the beautiful things about science is that it is often hard to predict the impact an idea will have on society. If you had asked Einstein what his theory of relativity would have done, I am sure he would not have listed the GPS system of satellites! That is why it is important to share your ideas with others, because they may see something that you can’t, because everyone’s mind works differently.
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Katie Marriott answered on 13 Jun 2011:
I’m probably the same as Steven. My work wouldn’t really change our lives in the way a drug developer or material scientist would. However, it would give us a greater understanding of how life started on Earth, and maybe even help us understand our biology a little more.
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Sam Tazzyman answered on 13 Jun 2011:
Just like Steven and Katie, my work doesn’t have any direct effects on the way we live, other than by providing a deeper understanding of the world, which is an important thing in itself. But it is true that often scientific work has benefits to society in ways that are difficult to predict. An example of something connected to my field is as follows: a scientist was interested in elephant seals, especially in which males mated with which females. In elephant seals most of the matings are shared between just a few males, so that lots of males don’t get to mate at all, while the ones that do will often mate lots of times. The scientist wanted to check this by looking at the seals’ babies and seeing the father and mother for each baby. In working out how to do this he invented DNA paternity testing, which is now a huge industry, and is seen regularly on such programmes as Jeremy Kyle. And all because someone was interested in seal mating habits. It shows that you never know what interesting things your research could turn up.
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Vera Weisbecker answered on 13 Jun 2011:
I’m like the others, I don’t cure cancer or stop climate change from happening. But I hope that my research highlights how important it is to keep the natural environment in a decent state. The natural world has a beautiful complexity and holds the key to questions about where we come from, and how we came into being. Worth hanging on to, I think.
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