CHAPTER XXIV 

 BIOLOGY AND HUMAN WELFARE 



Man is part of a web of life which he continues to fashion, and the 

 success of his weaving depends upon his understanding. — Thomson. 



Now that we have made a general survey of the foundations of 

 biology, it is important to consider some of the outstanding con- 

 tributions of biology to human welfare — contributions made, for 

 the most part, within a century, but already so interwoven with 

 our everyday life that they have become indispensable. 



Strange as it may at first glance appear, usefulness is not the 

 basic standard of value adopted by most scientific men: the dis- 

 covery of truth is their aim, lead where it will. Although their 

 controlling motive is increase of knowledge and enlargement of our 

 outlook on nature, it is nevertheless a fact that the practical ap- 

 plication of their discoveries is responsible for most of the conditions 

 which constitute the environment of modern life. "Science brings 

 back new seeds from the regions it explores, and these seem to be 

 nothing but trivial curiosities to the people who look for profit from 

 research, yet from these seeds come the mighty trees under which 

 civilized man has his tent, while from the fruit he gains comfort 

 and riches." Indeed, the supreme test of the intellectual life of a 

 community is the importance which it attaches to research and 

 creative intellectual effort. Unless research is held in high esteem, 

 with adequate facilities for its maintenance and adequate rewards 

 for those who devote themselves to it, the development of applied 

 science will be retarded. 



One of the most surprising illustrations of the way in which 

 seemingly useless biological research often reveals itself almost 

 overnight as of the greatest utility to business, is afforded by the 

 present interest of the oil industry in certain Protozoa known as 

 For aminifera : not living Foraminifera but fossil forms from the 

 geological past. A short time ago oil companies were wasting large 

 sums in sinking drills from which no oil came: frequently such a 

 drilling cost as high as sixty thousand dollars, eventually to be 

 paid chiefly by the motor-car owner. Then it was noted that 



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