BioTechnology

Bio technology is a really interesting topic; it covers everything that is living – from the microscopic cell inside your body to the bio diversity in the planet. We may never solve the mystery of how did life ever form on earth, be it a sheer chance of chemical compound in the sea in the ideal situation, panspermia , or  god’s creation, but we can study and improve on what we know.

We know that our health is a study of the human biology, and the lifespan of human is getting longer and longer. As technology in the medical field advances due to Research and Development as well as the availability of electronic products and information sharing, people get to enjoy the fast pace of medical marvels that was previously considered far-fetched. However, will this make humans grow reliant on such technology that they would adopt the “do what you want now, repair broken parts later” attitude? When times were difficult in the past, humans get by with what they have and work harder, leading a much healthier lives than our present desk workers. Right now, we are either too busy or lazy to maintain a proper diet and exercise regime that we grow so reliant when we fall sick.

It is a good thing that modern medical devices as discussed in class actually provide pre-emptive solution, as the saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure”. These devices monitor the person’s health, checking for tell-tale signs of the development of any diseases with its database of information. It will then update the hospital via the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system. This way, people are able to lead a healthier life by doing more of what is good for their health and avoiding pitfalls. With that said the user must accept this system and use it on a regular basis for it to work. Technology is easy, humans are just plain lazy.

Another thing we discussed in class is Genetic Engineering. Chimpanzees is said to have 99% similarity (the figure has dropped to 96% ) in DNA and banana 50%. Then it occurs to me that since banana is 50%, I believe a large percentage of the genetic codes are information on life itself – like cell structure, multi-cellular organism, binary fission, etc. The remaining information would then determine your physical attribute, behavior, intelligence, etc. Although the codes of biotechnology are hard to break, scientists are working on it. Hopefully humans are able to decipher the genetic codes and give superhuman ability such as the regenerative tissue of plants.

One thing that really amazes me is the guest lecturing section where our classmate introduce us the formation of a synthetic beating heart from cells. Cells are put in a regular inkjet printer and start printing out a 3D heart. Amazingly, the heart works. With such technology, soon people are able to find body part replacements or even do cloning with the transfer of their conscious mind to the clone. Who knows what the future hold, technology is always changing. We might even live like other social creature in the future with telepathic/psychic abilities when we unlock and use more than the 10% of our brain – the physical manipulation with the mind.