The vast world of data.

Salty Wave Story #2

Image by This Is Engineering

Data exists everywhere and the data researchers collect is preserved either on paper, in the cloud or storage drive systems. Many people share misconceptions about data and what the word represents. In this story, I review what data is, types of data, and how we use it.

One of the things I've learned from science, is there are various pathways to approach the study of a topic and the development of solutions to problems. The process is like a puzzle, and the challenge is finding all the right pieces to fit the picture or outcome you are working towards. It might be that you want to study a frog species, the productivity of a new technological invention, the amount of rain that falls in a country or predict the likelihood of disease. These studies are very different in their design and participation by subject matter experts from the science community. What is more interesting is you can drill down to more detail by breaking these studies into parts that focus on one aspect. For instance, the type of call the frog species communicates with, what its eyes can and can't see, whether climate change is affecting its reproductive cycle, or how it emits a toxin as a defense mechanism. When it comes to rainfall in a country, you might study how much rain falls in each district, its historical weather pattern, or how its geography influences precipitation. All this information in its many parts, represents data.

Data records

The word science encompasses a fearful amount of information or data that has been gathered, discussed, refuted, and reincarnated over thousands of years. All this data will continue to be updated, added to, and challenged way into future. You might be wondering how do people store all this data? Well, these days, your first answer would be libraries, where reference textbooks, both ancient and modern-day versions, magazines, science reports, and many books in general are maintained and you would be right. Most of that data is now stored on external drives and cloud-based systems, especially ancient texts, because the material used to record the information are gradually disintegrating over time. Photographs of prehistoric cave drawings and rock art, ancient stone engravings and carvings, or hieroglyphic scripts and illustrations are preserved for future studies, because these wonderful ‘snapshots’ of the past are endangered by exposure to changes to climate either inside ancient structures or externally. Cloud storage systems are popular because if your computer shuts down unexpectedly from a virus, a hacker or physical damage, your data, and your access to it via another device, will not be affected.  

Digital Data

Researchers can also sample data from a pool of information that is collected to run experiments specific to their study. The data might represent information collected to support environment studies, for example, the total area of forest cover in a country; the number of a species in a habitat; or the type of fish populations inhabiting coral reefs. Data about the genetic profile of a group of people, for instance, an individuals' height, weight, genetic profile, eye and hair colour, and many other traits, are often collected and available to help scientists test a hypothesis in experiments designed to assess whether a gene expresses a particular trait for a disease or condition, for instance, obesity or diabetes. The personal identity of the individual who contributed the information remains anonymous.

Biological Data

Another form of data is biological. This data might be in the form of plant seeds that are stored in a seed bank. Seedbanks are being established to future proof crops against climate change, and to preserve plant species negatively affected by increasing temperature change, forest clearing, plagues of exotic pests, or exposure to disease. Arboretums are safe harbors for the cultivation and growth of plant species, or the storage of sampled plants from overseas and locally, that are described, and digitized for future reference. Similarly, coral species are being preserved and maintained through research programs or Citizen Science projects, enabling individuals to care for and monitor a coral species in an aquarium situated at their own home or business to assist preserve it. Wildlife enclosures and zoos are safe places for animals that are threatened by the impacts of human activities. The best examples I can think of are the Northern White Rhinos and efforts made by scientists to bring the species back from the brink of extinction (from hunting and poaching) through a breeding program; or the Orangutan populations in Asia whose numbers are slowly diminishing because of habitat destruction, forest clearing for palm oil production, wildlife trade and poaching. There are many zoos that invest in breeding programs to protect species like orangutans and rhinos and facilitate release programs for the animals to return to the wild so their population numbers can increase usually in national park areas that are protected by Park Rangers.

Is AI OK? … Maybe I should ask Chat GTP!

The rise of AI recently has also caused a paradigm shift, especially for creative industries. Anyone can request help from Chat GTP software to write a story or find a picture, based on the criteria it is given. The program accesses all the data about that topic published on the internet and suggests various processes or steps to follow with links to the information as a guide. Despite the initial negativity and paranoia surrounding these programs, individuals are exploring ways to use this innovative technology to their best advantage. Adobe have introduced the Firefly program that enables artists to manipulate their illustrations, photos or videos using text-based commands. It is an exciting avenue for artists because the software provides limitless opportunities for the imagination, especially for those who need to gauge how their artistic inspiration will appear in a short space of time. And time is such a valuable commodity in any industry.

Data at home

We depend on data for our daily lives. Basically, all your online activity is captured as data and stored in the Cloud, like booking a plane flight, shopping online or going to the cinema. Data is not such a frightening word after all, it is everywhere and when stored correctly, data contributes to the science community's objective to improve life and make living it simpler.

Written by Gabrielle Ahern, Salty Wave

(Chat GTP or AI didn’t write this blog).