TWC Week 6

This week's lesson was on the BioBusiness Revolution, and its increasing share of the world's economy.Being in Singapore, I'm able to relate to this as the government has shifted its focus to the biobusiness side of the economy as seen in the set up of institutions like AStar to focus on biomedical research, so as not to be left behind by the world. In one of the slides under opportunity areas, there was an agricultural segment. I was immediately reminded of Monsanto and its total domination on the genetically modified crops market as well as its huge influence on the agricultural industry. Through clever patenting and filing high profile lawsuits on its competitors, it has virtually rid itself of all competition, an example of global domination through the biobusiness industry.

Through a slide showing the changing trends in cause of death, I can takeaway the fact that the advancements in healthcare together with the improvement in standard of living over the past few years has eradicated diseases like tuberculosis and measles as causes of death. On the other hand, with the higher standard of living, 'lifestyle diseases' like heart diseases are increasingly common. From what I know, colon cancer which originates from a highly unhealthy diet is also another increasingly common cause of death today.

Another key takeaway I had from the lecture was the increasingly advanced medical technology used in developing more and more sophisticated prosthetic limbs for the handicapped, which aids greatly in restoring their life back to the same quality. From wooden limbs in the past, there are now mind controlled prosthetic limbs in existence today. Who knows, the level of prosthetic limbs as shown in the movie Robocop could be a reality in the near future.

An issue I felt could be used for further discussion would be whether there should be increasing government involvement in medical technology research rather than leaving it to the private sector. I'm sure one has heard of the numerous conspiracy theories regarding HIV treatments, and today HIV treatments are one of the most expensive in the world. And from a pharmaceutical company's point of view, its main aim is still to maximise profit rather than for selfless reasons. As such, maybe some form of government influence/intervention might actually propel medical technology forward even more?

I would rate this week's lecture 9/10.