| Convergence
in Biotech
The economy is once again poised for a major
reshuffling, this time emanating from biotech.
Just as we witnessed the eventual overlapping
of publishing, TV, movies, radio, telecom and
computing in the infotech transformation, so might
we expect the convergence of companies as far
flung as soaps, cosmetics, beverages, pig farming,
food, energy, health care and family counseling.
The result may be an industry that may rival or
even surpass infotech as a dominating force in
the market and in people’s lives.
Energy: Microorganisms on the sea floor may become
a source of energy, as might hydrogen-producing
algae. As the search for natural energy producing
bioorganisms advances along with genetic engineering,
we may see many more energy companies going the
way of Monsanto and moving into agriculture and
cloning.
Interior and Exterior Fashion: Biosensors will
increasingly be imbedded in clothing or made wearable,
as might computing. Biosensors using nanotechnology
bundles similar to those found in living cells
may be used to warn people of biological or chemical
warfare. This will lead to biocomputing environments
that marry translation, monitoring (for things
like temperature, health, behavior), and caring
for humans. Robotics now used in surgery may eventually
come to surround us in all manner of caregiving.
Aging and Lifelong Management of the Body: With
the aging of the world and the U.S. baby boomers,
business related to aging, and especially the
amelioration of it, will be highly successful.
Cloning may prove to extend the life of cells,
affecting geriatrics. And genetic mapping may
lead to the unlocking of the genes that trigger
aging. New collaborations based on genetic mapping
will bring together researches in behavior, aging
and drugs. A human’s genotype will be known
at birth, and much of the expert knowledge to
manage that individual’s health will be
programmed into software. More work is advancing
in the area of the teen years, brain development
and hormones. In addition, researchers are compiling
a complete pediatric neuroanatomy map –
the world’s first database of normal brain
development – and at the end of the 6-year
study, they will have access to that map on the
Web. Brain mapping is indicating that brain cells
can continue to grow when the host organism is
in enriched environments. And in the marriage
of biotech and computing, progress is being made
toward a simulation of the complete human body
– a virtual human, for total analytic purposes.
The Environment, Food, Agriculture and Health:
Work is being done to study the effects of chemical
pollution on the human endocrine system, even
while discoveries are being made of drugs polluting
water systems, affecting the aquatic life that
is part of the food chain. Although environmentalism
is not high on U.S. consumers’ list of reasons
to buy a particular product, organic and so-called
natural foods do well. Biotech is making major
inroads in farming, from discoveries related to
resistant strains of blights, to genetic modifications
- i.e., in rice – that can boost yields
and cut global warming. Surprises will change
how we see some crops as we make more discoveries
about health, such as the positive influence of
chocolate on the heart. With depression emerging
as a major global health issue and with earlier
links between certain depression-relieving foods
(like chocolate) and eating behaviors, agriculture
will be increasingly tied directly to health management.
And the cloning and genetic modification of animals
originally for food purposes is now extending
to replacement organs for humans, production of
pharmaceuticals, and even the cloning of pets.
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