Science, Art, Litt, Science based Art & Science Communication

Some science questions and my replies to them - Part 250

Q: If science has been discovering facts, what has kept it covered so far, and what has been reason of all that have come into being in absence of knowledge of those facts?

Krishna: Let me answer this question in parts.

First part:If science has been discovering facts, what has kept it covered so far?

First nobody had thought about finding things in the initial stages of human evolution. Primitive beings might not have even imagined something should be found out. Then even if human beings tried to think about a few things, and asked questions, there was no way to find facts because of inadequacy in the thinking process. Then they invented imaginative stories like God created Human beings in six days and his whole creation was completed in a week's time and were satisfied with these lopsided answers. Religion, like science, attempted to establish a system of knowledge about nature but not in the right way.

However, there is one central difference between the ways in which science and religion find order in nature. Science is a system of knowledge based on repeatable observation and experiment. Religion is a system of knowledge based on unverifiable belief. Early societies had only limited means of experimentation, and their endeavour to discover the laws of nature had to rely on a range of unverifiable assumptions. As human knowledge progressed, the need for unverifiable assumptions decreased progressively, and eventually science and religion separated.

A clear distinction between science and religion did not develop until well into the 18th century.

People in early human societies had to spend much of their time procuring food and shelter and could not afford to put much effort into non-essential activities.

If science was practiced in the earliest societies it must have been for a purpose; in other words, science was undertaken for practical applications. The fruits of science translated into new technological developments.

The word technology has changed its meaning several times since it came into use in Europe during the 17th century. In the most general terms it can be defined as the application of knowledge about nature to practical aims of human endeavour. If this definition is accepted it follows that technological development occurred at least as early as first scientific study: Stone-age humans realized that flintstone produces better cutting tools than sandstone. They made that discovery and used their new knowledge well before someone found the scientific explanation for the phenomenon.

Long periods of human history were characterized by the mastering of technologies such as the smelting of copper, bronze or iron, without much knowledge of the underlying scientific principles. In some societies this lack of scientific understanding gave technology mystical qualities and lead to misguided activities such as medieval alchemy (unscientific attempts to convert lead or other low value metals into silver or gold) or the quest for immortality through chemical concoctions.

Today the relationship is the reverse: Most new technology is the result of scientific research that preceded it. It is also generally accepted that today science and technology are closely linked and that science provides the theoretical underpinning for its technological applications.

Technology and science have to be seen as closely related, since both require systematic thinking and experimentation. They began as parallel developments, initially more or less independent of each other, but grew closer as the centuries progressed, and became eventually inseparable.

Science and technology are activities exclusive to the species Homo sapiens, the modern men.

But still in the modern age, we still have inadequacies because of the limitations of the human mind. We need more developed technology and more knowledge to unravel the secrets of the science based universe.

Second part: what has been reason of all that have come into being in absence of knowledge of those facts?

The reason for all that has come into being is inadequacy in thinking , primitive knowledge, lack of scientific and technological capabilities, and the desire to fill the gap in some way despite all these shortages. The result: Religious explanations like creationism, superstitions, and all irrational thoughts and activities.

Q: My dog bit me 4 years ago and my dog was properly vaccinated at that time and is still alive. Do I get rabies? I haven't taken antirabies vaccine at that time

Krishna: The incubation period of rabies in humans is generally 20–60 days. However, fulminant disease can become symptomatic within 5–6 days; more worrisome, in 1%–3% of cases the incubation period is less than 6 months. Confirmed rabies has occurred as long as 7 and 25 years after exposure, but the reasons for this long latency are unknown (1,2,3).

What is worrisome is Rabies viral encephalitis with probable 25 year incubation period was reported (3) too. In this case History of dog bite 25 years back was elicited retrospectively following clinical suspicion. There was no subsequent history to suggest nonbite exposure to a rabid dog to consider recent event causing the disease, although this cannot be totally excluded.

Majority of the cases have an incubation period between 31 and 90 days. In the literature, the overall reported incubation period varies from 30 days in 30% of the cases, 31–90 days in 54%, greater than 90 days in 15% and in 1% of the cases beyond 1 year is recorded. In a cohort of 47 cases studied following autopsy at a single center in South India, the median incubation period recorded was 60 days (range 7 days to 4 years). (3)

A case of rabies in a Vietnamese girl who immigrated to Australia was reported, with the incubation period exceeding 6.5 years.[4] The preliminary genetic analysis of the viral genome in this case suggested likely origin from Southeast Asia. Although incubation periods as long as 14 years and 19 years are on record,[5,6] it was felt that the theoretical possibility of another recent insignificant exposure to the virus-carrying animal vector could not be ruled out completely.

However, these are rare cases.

The incubation period depends on several factors, including the location of the entry wound, the severity of the wound and the victim's immune system. In general, the farther the wound is from the brain and the central nervous system, the longer the incubation period will be.

You also asked: Do I get rabies? Nobody can say ‘NO’ for sure. As your dog is vaccinated and looks healthy and as four years have passed without any symptoms, there is little chance of you developing the symptoms now.

However, although rabies incubation periods can range from days to years, it is the reason why it is important to promptly receive post exposure prophylaxis (pep )– but also why a person should still pursue pep even if time has lapsed since the bite (possibly because they didn’t initially consider the possibility of rabies). In this case, if the incubation period is on the protracted end, the pep may still work depending on various scenarios and conditions.

As you still have the dog, there is a pre-exposure vaccine too in case you need it. But pre-exposure rabies vaccines are recommended only for people at increased risk of coming into contact with rabies (7).

Please consult a good medical doctor, discuss things with him/her and consider various options.

Footnotes:

Rabies
Although rare, rabies remains a cause for concern
Rabies viral encephalitis with probable 25 year incubation period!
http://Johnson N, Fooks A, Mc Coll K. Re-examination of human rabies case with long incubation, Australia. Emerg Infect Dis. 2008;14:1950–1. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
http://Gardner AM. An unusual case of rabies. Lancet. 1970;2:523. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
http://Iurasog G. Rabies with incubation of 19 years and 6 months. Microbiology. 1966;11:543. [Google Scholar]
Rabies Vaccine Information Statement

Q: What would life /world be like without science?

Krishna: Without science this universe won’t exist in the first place. Because it is based on scientific principles. Science controls and runs this universe.

Without science - the study with which we understand the universe around us, half of the population would die of hunger (because there won't be benefits brought by agricultural revolution). Most of the rest who survive hunger would die of deadly diseases ( because there won't be drugs to cure them). Your average life span would be reduced to 30-40 years again ( because of poor nutritional statuses and diseases). Rest of the people would die of natural calamities like cyclones, hurricanes, earth-quakes, etc.

What would remain then? Empty Earth!

Humanity is surviving because of science now. If it survives in the future, it is because of science.

Some science questions and my replies to them - Part 250

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