On of the main themes of this blog is that it is good to be informed and prepared for the rapid acceleration of changes that will affect life here on Earth. There is so much information out there that it is nearly impossible to keep up. This blog has a focus on curation - or compiling various content from other sources to help provide a bigger picture for readers and possibly the motivation to learn more. This is especially important in the area of bio-technology and genomics.
While there seems to be a tidal wave of change in this field, there are also voices that disclose possible hidden agendas, dangers, abuses and control of populations. My view is to see the possibilities for a positive future for humanity. I do not ignore the potential negatives, but choose not to dwell on these for my own peace of mind.
By reading the book discussed below, it has opened up my mind to see the importance of top scientists emphasizing on ethics and the safety of humanity when it comes to further research being needed before certain applications are deployed.
from Wikipedia
Biotechnology is a broad area of biology,
involving the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make
products. Depending on the tools and applications, it often overlaps
with related scientific fields. In the late 20th and early 21st
centuries, biotechnology has expanded to include new and diverse sciences, such as genomics, recombinant gene techniques, applied immunology, and development of pharmaceutical therapies and diagnostic tests. The term biotechnology was first used by Karl Ereky in 1919, meaning the production of products from raw materials with the aid of living organisms.
"Genomics is an interdisciplinary field of biology focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA, including all of its genes
In April 2021 I decided to purchase the book Codebreaker - Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the HUman Race by the award winning biographer Walter Isaacson.
from Amazon
"The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a gripping account of how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases, fend off viruses, and have healthier babies.
Should we use our new evolution-hacking powers to make us less susceptible to viruses? What a wonderful boon that would be! And what about preventing depression? Hmmm…Should we allow parents, if they can afford it, to enhance the height or muscles or IQ of their kids?
After helping to discover CRISPR, Doudna became a leader in wrestling with these moral issues and, with her collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier, won the Nobel Prize in 2020. Her story is a thrilling detective tale that involves the most profound wonders of nature, from the origins of life to the future of our species."
The ethics of changing DNA is an area that I am concerned about. Even if there is an international consensus that would not prevent countries like China or secret labs in the world to modify DNA in a way that is harmful to humanity. Part 7 of the book discusses this and I look forward to that section as well as the entire book.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/books/review/walter-isaacson-the-code-breaker.html
Top 25 Biotech blogs
The pandemic accelerated the development of cutting edge biotech methods to develop vaccines.
Nature - Nanomedicine
Covid 19 - Nanomedicine's Finest Hour?
"While there is much uncertainty about how this next generation of nanotechnology-enabled vaccines may be deployed in the future, the advances made over the past year suggest that the field of nanomedicine has now come into its own, and with it comes significant promise for addressing other leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. Nanotechnology and nanomedicine, in particular, have rightly earned their place in the spotlight, suggesting that nanotechnology-enabled vaccines may provide the cornerstone for addressing other pressing global health challenges going forward."
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-021-00901-8
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