Biology in Society

Biology deeply affects societies of the 21st century – we need biologists that have profound knowledge and are able to predict and tackle problems of society that arise from biological processes and knowledge. Additionally, we need biologists that communicate them to the public, enterprises, politics and authorities (we already have plenty of non-biologists). This task requires the profound knowledge of animal and plant genetics, evolution, physiology and reproduction that we teach in the Biology in Society programme as well as methods to communicate science effectively. Learn and discuss, for example, how medical CRISPR-Cas9 applications and human reproductive technologies impact the right of self-determination of individuals; how the evolution of antibiotic resistance will be causing more human deaths in 2050 than the major cancer types all together; how hormonal pollution, doping, or food content affects the right of physical integrity of individuals or what can be learned from animal experiments and what can not be learned from them. Bringing biology into society requires us to understand biological roots of societies and of societal impacts on biology. Most importantly, we biologists need to stay critical of our own field – this is why in the Biology in Society programme, we teach about research ethics and methods, science policy, animal testing and good scientific practice.