Health Expectancy: A Smart Step Forward

Most people forget that we've only mapped the complete genome of a few people.  Although significant, the real breakthrough will come from population level analysis of genetic variation. 

The International HapMap Project is doing just this.  Haplotypes are genetic sequence blocks that are shared by many people.  Once these haplotypes are mapped it will form ``a powerful and elegant shortcut'' to identifying inherited gene sequences linked to disorders such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, said Dr. Francis Collins, head of the National Human Genome Research Institute.`This work will have a profound impact on the future of medicine,'' Collins said. 

Biomedical breakthroughs extending life and health are closer than we think. The aggressive timeline for the Human Genome Project started in 1990 was 15-years.  It was completed in 10.

4:54:47 PM    comment []  

Meaning Within Our Time

During each technological revolution humans have focused on developing new tools to solve a major constraint limiting human survival and progress. The agricultural revolution enabled food production (more people) The industrial revolution brought new levels of control over energy creation, precision goods production and rapid resource distribution (better health eventually).  Today’s information revolution improves data collection and analysis. (more effective resource use).   So what will be the focus of the biological revolution?

Think: What is the great challenge facing humanity at this stage in our evolution as a species?   What will be the important tools of our time that will again enable us to move forward?

3:06:05 PM    comment []