“Open Science – Making science more accessible, inclusive and equitable for the benefit of all” – states United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). UNESCO’s recent Recommendation on Open Science (September, 2021), clearly articulates that all scientists and other open science actors, regardless of location, nationality, race, age, gender, socio-economic circumstances, career stage, discipline, language or any other grounds have an equal opportunity to access and contribute to and benefit from open science[1]. Open science actors refers to all possible stakeholders as well as civil society at large and practitioners from professional fields.
“Open science is an inclusive construct, that combines various movements and practices aiming to make scientific knowledge openly available, accessible and reusable for everyone, to increase scientific collaborations and sharing of information for the benefits of science and society.”[2] Scientific knowledge should be available to society at large, beyond the scientific community. While one prominent guiding principle is to strengthen the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals through the use of science across all divisions or groups; another way of looking at it is improving the efficiency of whatever we do through the use of science in professions or elsewhere (science in action).
Citizen Science
Refers to public involvement in scientific research. Alan Irwin[3], brought to attention the role of citizens in larger environmental issues and their contribution to science, in his book ‘Citizen Science’, in the mid-1990s. There have been several attempts at bringing citizens to contribute to science. For instance, their involvement in collecting data for environmental issues or scientific research, is becoming increasingly common. “Crowdsourcing” is where tasks are outsourced to a crowd, which cannot be accomplished by a single individual or organization.[4] Crowdsourcing and citizen science are immensely popular in several parts of the world, where data is gathered and analyzed from a large group of people who may engage in citizen science experiments. Conservation and biodiversity have predominantly been the areas where citizen science has burgeoned; we see its presence in geosciences; water and air quality; temperature readings; river flooding; observing bird migration; taking stock of biological inventory/census[5] and monitoring flowering of plants. Research is almost opened up to society and they become part of it; thus, allowing all members of society to discuss scientific methods, standards and values, increasing overall scientific literacy![6]
Some examples of such Citizen Science Projects include[7]:
- iNaturalist – a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society, it is an online platform for mapping and sharing observations regarding biodiversity worldwide.
- Zooniverse – people of all ages and backgrounds participate in real research, with 50 online active citizen science projects. Projects range from classification of galaxies; decoding bacterial DNA to fighting infectious diseases to using tweets to understand our food system, from farm to fork[8].
- Science at Home – Games and platforms are used to enable scientific research and teaching. Games provide information to researchers on how humans think about complex problems in physics; in playing a game the player learns concepts and also gives clues to researchers on what problems players are best at solving[9].
With most of these initiatives being online platforms, location is certainly not a barrier for participation. Take the case of these interesting online tools/games, as well, which help researchers and scientists at various leading universities:
Phylo (phylo.cs.mcgill.ca) – a game, where participants align sequences of DNA by moving puzzle pieces. This game helps in identifying the source of genetic diseases.
Fold It (fold.it) – Scientists make the proteins that players designed in Foldit. The idea is to arrive at the structure of a protein by making use of a person’s puzzle solving capability.
Other examples include: folding@home ([email protected]) and Eterna (eternagame.org).
In citizen science, age is certainly not a criterion as the elderly can use their experience and time to connect with like-minded people on science-relevant real-world issues or the young can use their razor-sharp intellect at one of the above games or engage in outdoor science experiments.
In India, the movement towards Citizen Science is gaining momentum; a report by the DST Centre for Policy Research (IIT, Delhi) shows that those participating are increasingly inclined to doing science and creating knowledge[10]. Some examples in India, include:
- CitSci India – Citizen Science for Biodiversity (citsci-india.org)
- Centre for Citizen Science (citizenscience.in)
Some authors argue that there is room for much improvement in citizen science in a country as vast as India. Including the concept of Citizen Science in the Indian Education System is one suggestion[11]. We believe it will go a long way in building awareness about STEM careers and relevance of science in general, in our daily living.
Unhindered Pursuit of Science
Science should not be restricted to any age or profession, or any other categorization for that matter. The reason being that, everything around us can be examined using science[12], be it food and culinary; singing or designing clothes and this examination can assist us in making improvements to these activities – whether they are professions or hobbies. In fact, one sees that formal training in any of the fields just mentioned, involves understanding the science behind these activities.
For instance, singing is associated with a variety of scientific concepts concerned with: the anatomy and physiology of the vocal tract; the various body parts connected with singing and the way they work in cohesion to produce a good vocal ability and specific ways of learning the motor skills involved in singing.[13]
Breath management, resonance and articulation, acoustical measurements of good singing and what happens within the body to achieve this are all areas that connect science to singing. A tool called body mapping is used to generate an awareness regarding location of muscles, organs and bones that work together to create good singing quality.[14] Posture and the right breathing technique are key to generating a beautiful voice, according to research connecting singing to physics.
Similarly, for those in the food service industry or profession, it is important to understand what happens to the various constituents of food, during processing, storage and preservation. What are the safety aspects of food; what are food additives; what is the chemistry of flavour; how can new and innovative products be developed by understanding the concept of flavours and how does packaging impact food quality?[15] There has long been a concern about packaged food and the increasing shift towards organic and fresh food yet we see deteriorating fertility and quality of land. What is the effect of using chemicals in growing food produce? How does that impact the taste of the final food product?
Other relevant information could include: vessel surfaces that are suitable for cooking certain types of ingredients. Stainless steel vessels may suffer from the disadvantage of food items sticking to the surface. Science would tell us that sticking occurs due to bonds between the food and material of the vessel; this would be especially true of food rich in proteins.
What type of heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation) is suitable for cooking and energy efficiency and what type of cooking (boiling, steaming, frying, pressure cooking or baking) is suitable for various food items are all science-driven questions. For instance, steaming food retains the nutrients and flavour but this method of cooking may not generate the required flavours for all types of food items.
Now let’s consider the impact of science in an age-group that is normally not considered for science education or participation. Let’s take the example of the elderly. Aging population is a major concern for the developed world, but India too has a population of 104 million people above the age of 60[16]! Making this population science literate has tremendous benefits not only for the well-being of their families and themselves but also the nation. Several advances in science have been a more recent phenomenon, which the aging population is not acquainted with. Building their literacy, by running citizen science projects at all levels (rural-urban; districts-state and so on), can go a long way in engaging this population. Aging can be postponed through active engagement of this population, ensuring their cognitive capabilities are constantly at work. The long-run benefits could be decreased public health expenditure for senior citizens. In general, increased scientific literacy can lead to preventive measures being undertaken and healthier living. Can they be encouraged to learn more about medicines, their impact and how to lead a healthy life without over-dependence on medicines.
In that sense, we already see a section of this population using technology effectively to inform themselves on advances in all fields, including science. Government-run projects and online platforms, as mentioned earlier, can specifically tap into this segment for their wide-experience and knowledge and use the opportunity to build their scientific literacy, making it a mutually rewarding relationship.
Interestingly we find that achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is not cut off from achieving efficiency in various professions, through the use of science. What is good for an individual, ultimately leads to the good of the nation and a wider community. Science enables better living through more informed decision-making, based on facts, data and observations and therefore should be used wisely for overall well-being of society.
[1] UNESCO, General Conference, 41st Session, Paris, 2021 – Recommendation on Open Science
[2] ibid
[3] Professor at Copenhagen Business School
[4] Howe, 2006 cited in Frontiersin.org/articles
[5] Education.nationalgeographic.org
[6] S.Hecker et al, Innovation in Open Science, Society and Policy – setting the agenda for Citizen Science, from
book Titled ‘Citizen Science’
[7] S.Y.Namdeo & M.Koley; Citizen Science in India: Introduction, Challenges and Way Forward; 2021
[8] Zooniverse.org
[9] Scienceathome.org
[10] Downtoearth.org.in/news/science-technology/citizen science growing in India study
[11] S.Y.Namdeo & M.Koley; Citizen Science in India: Introduction, Challenges and Way Forward; 2021
[12] Discussed in detail in the blog ‘Science is Natural to us all, but isn’t perceived so’
[13] L.Latukefu and I. Verenikina, Scientific Concepts: Do they Belong in a Student Toolbox of Learning? British
Journal of Music Education, 2010
[14] Ibid footnote 13
[15] Mcgill.ca/foodscience
[16] Who.int/India