Basic Biology Research in the light of Climate change

Recent articles emphasize that if the climate change proceeds at the current rate, the earth will be unfit for living in a few decades, for all living beings. Individuals across the world are uniting to draw attention towards this apocalyptic man-made menace. Act now, they remind us, or else there will be nothing left to save, they implore. The feat of returning the earth back to near-normal will need the effort of every child, adolescent and adult- no matter the profession.

Biological research is an umbrella term for a wide expanse of sub-genres, ranging from environmental to molecular biology. Basic biology research mostly refers to molecular biology, microbiology, cellular biology, all of which can be extrapolated to understand the workings of the biological building blocks, using different systems including model organisms. Most of the basic biology research happens in picture- perfect laboratories, spick and span- sterilized in the terms of a biologist. Cell culture systems, stand-ins for cells within ourselves, are maintained with extra- care: ultra-filtered air, ultra-pure nutrition sources, UV-sterilized handling chambers, no contact with microbes. A step up the ladder, model organisms too are maintained in tightly- controlled, continuously monitored and almost surreal environments. 

This is all good. Because the variability caused by intruding factors such as contaminants can affect the reproducibility of experiments and hence their interpretations. And the decades of research in this manner has undoubtedly lead to many ground-breaking discoveries and helped in improving public health over time. But scientists have also too many a times realized that not everything that is modeled and tested in cell culture or animals can be replicated in human systems. Aside the obvious confounding factors, the effects of climate change and pollution, which most normal human beings cannot avoid at present, are to get strengthened in the coming times.

For instance, it is known that in India the lung health is generally poor due to high rates of outdoor and indoor pollution, differing in urban versus rural areas. It will be fairly difficult to mimic all the effects on a lung, exposed to air pollution on a regular basis, in a laboratory where every condition is artificially created. But with a jump in air pollution due to climate change and resultant weather alterations- turning into a vicious cycle- the damage to health is almost unprecedented. No amount of computational predictions can truly capture region-wise, dosage-dependent multi-systemic effects of air pollution. The following modelling and biological research would approach the reality even lesser. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The vicious cycle of air pollution and climate change is just an ace in what definitely is a terrifying deck of cards. With the increasing rates of chemical (viz. pesticides) pollution and micro-plastic pollution, nothing we consume- water nor food, is non-toxic. Chronic consumption of micro-contaminated food and water will eventually precipitate, which has been certainly proposed as one of the reasons for higher incidence of cancer in the recent times. Thus, the research on a particular problem will also be demanded of multi-pronged solutions, with respect to the environment to which the subject of research is exposed to.

Another imperative observation environmentalists have made is that with the melting of ice- caps, many of the deadly viruses and other pathogens frozen will resurface as new mass- killers. The fact that these killer pathogens might have existed many years ago and the immune systems of present day living beings may not be prepared to face the horde of attackers is quite alarming. The consequences of the changing climate is much outside predictions and precautions, ultimately endangering all existing life.

In the light (read imminent doom) of climate change, our pristine laboratories may not remain so, our controlled work spaces may become reminiscences from the past. Therefore, if a basic biology researcher envisions the impact of their discovery in decades to follow, it's not a very encouraging picture. On one hand pollution(s) would have risen from a mere confounding factor to a major dictating factor in determining many of the mechanisms you thought you have solved. On the other hand the world's problems would have moved over to a whole different level, a combat against the effects of the overtly polluted environment, which may become the new normal. In which case your current research may seem irrelevant and insignificant.

A related and inevitable problem tying basic biology research and polluted environment, is well the research itself; or it's byproducts. As mentioned before, basic biology research demands specialized equipment and working spaces, all of which are indirectly taxing on the environment stretching to a break point. Call it a necessary evil, but basic biology research also generates tonnes of plastic waste. On a day I multi-task to the best of my abilities, I can generate up to 1 kg of plastic waste. This pinches at my conscience too often, which is one of the reasons from where I get the inspiration to write this article.

Hence in order to decelerate the approach towards research in an era of looming and omnipresent pollution, one must take rigorous steps to reduce wastage of resources, manage byproducts and ultimately prioritize projects to be undertaken. It may too be right to predict that if the balance tips towards inescapable pollution in day to day life, the funding in coming decades would certainly favor research to ameliorate effects of pollution and climate change.

In summary, like every other responsible 'citizen of earth', also bestowed with the knowledge of the perils of what small changes in environment could do to biological systems and in effect life, it is time for every biological researcher to look into the future. And choose one with no life to apply their research on versus one with enough life so that the research can go on.