Biology’s impact on everyday life

Biology student Steven Rindner looks to biology and its impact on everyday life. Some of these may no longer surprise you as we see them every day. But it’s always good to be reminded of what biology can give, even in the simplest of things.

Agriculture

The food that we eat is a product of agriculture, says Steven Rindner. Scientists, through their studies and with the help of biotechnological techniques, are able to obtain better crops, which then help farmers yield a bountiful harvest. The produce sold in the market continue to sustain us, as long as biology works for humanity’s interest.

Food and drinks

From farm to market, biology works continuously to create and ensure consumable products. Steven Rindner explains that food is essentially based on plants and animals. Through biological processes, the food and drinks that we consume daily are able to achieve their freshness and edibleness. Microbes help form dairy products like cheese and yoghurt. Yeast helps in fermentation, and, in a similar way, grapes are processed to become wine.

Health and medicine

The study of biology enables doctors, nurses, and other medical staff to aid humans and animals. Medical treatment benefits from the study of our body’s inner processes, as well as our organs, neurological system, blood, reproduction, development, and diseases. Biology is also responsible in the production of medicines. Medicines with plant-based ingredients, for instance, benefit from studies about the medicinal qualities of plants where these medicines have been derived from.

Clothing

Steven Rindner explains that plants, such as cotton, provide the raw materials for clothing: linen (which is made from flax), polyester (which is made from fossils), nylon, and fabric dyes. Plants also provide the raw material for carpets, upholstery, curtains, towels, and many other textiles. Thick sweaters, however, are made of wool procured from sheep. But there is now an increasing clamor that anything we wear should be derived from plant-based materials.