Session 6

Just a recap of the things when learn so far J

Technology is the way of applying knowledge.

Innovation: Deals with change and developing new ways of doing things

Sustainable development: Ability of meeting generation needs without compromising the needs of the future generations.

Bio-business is a very broad sector as it encompasses healthcare, agriculture and the biomedical areas. Just some facts about bio-business, it occupies 25% of GDP and employs some 40% of the population. The bio-business has a lot of potential to be further developed.

In this session, we focused on mainly the healthcare and biomedical sector. As the world becomes more globalised, the standard of living of people increases as well. Many people move from the rural areas to live in cities in search for better jobs. The increase in population living in the cities would cause the demand of healthcare would increase greatly over time.

There are different disease pattern throughout the years. In the past, where the lack of facilities saw people living with poor sanitation conditions which cause problems like respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases and perinatal conditions. However, as the infrastructure gets better over time, most people now have access to a clean supply of drinking water hence the number of such cases greatly decreases. People of today are plagued with health problems such as heart diseases and depression. This may be due to the type of food we consume. The increase in consumption of unhealthy fast food which is high in fat content causes problems like high cholesterol which in turn leads to heart diseases. Obesity is also another problem that is on the rise. This is due to people becoming more affluent causing them consume more. Moreover, the rise of technology (video games and television shows) results in people leading a more sedentary lifestyle. All these contribute to the worsening problem of obesity.

If this problem is not addressed, we will be the first generation where the next generation live shorter than their parents. Hence, this is actually an opportunity for companies to create weight loss solutions.  

There is a difference between infectious and chronic diseases. Infectious diseases are diseases that are transmittable through contact however; people usually get chronic diseases when they are older. It is astonishing that more than 60% of the world’s diseases were infectious diseases.

During the session we also discussed about how ICT (information and communication technologies) and healthcare are closely related. Robots are increasingly being used in hospitals to facilitate the provision of healthcare. An example would be robots being used to sanitise room in hospitals. The hospital has the presence of superbugs which are harmful to patients hence with this robot, the room can be better sanitised with the use of UV rays to kill bacteria that is unseen to the naked eye.

Prof also mentioned about the problems facing the pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical industry is a very profitable sector. The challenge the sector faces is to decide which types of drugs to focus and make. There is a rise in preference for specialised drugs that is designed for each individual. In the past, the industry manufactures drugs for the mass public to use. However, that has changed. There is more specialisation in the types of drugs and research is done about nano-medicine.

Just a thought but with all these advancement in medicine and healthcare, is there still a place for traditional medicine?

I feel that the effects of the Chinese traditional medicine are only showed after a long time of using them. The western medicine is however is based on science. I have seen the Chinese physicians before and the medicines they give are usually bottles of black liquid. But it amazes me that it actually works but the effect is only shown after a long period of time. There has also been an increase in the number of people learning this traditional form of medicine. So, I do think that there is a place for traditional medicine in today’s world and also the future.    

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