Comments on: The future of medicine is now

By: Andre Mugnier

Andre Mugnier — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 12:21:57 +0000

Sure Mr X, everything being relative. Then again, if you can make the case against the 700-page argument for it in The Singularity is Near, we’re all ears (so to speak).

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 10:38:03 +0000

especially if they create the app for android phones which is practically free compared to iphones. For example in my country you can get a nexus 4, nexus 7 and nexus 10 (all of them) for the price of one iphone5.

By: alliwant

alliwant — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 18:21:28 +0000

My question is if gene therapy could be used to treat allergies, by correcting some of the immune system’s crazy overreaction. Not life threatening (usually) but life changing.

By: Mr.X

Mr.X — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 11:30:32 +0000

Law is a misnomer.

By: Andre Mugnier

Andre Mugnier — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 04:14:29 +0000

I hear you Jack, being older than you. I like Kurzweil’s argument of “a bridge to a bridge to a bridge”. For some of us, the Merck innovation can be the first bridge. New bridges will be available in increasing numbers – it’s the law (of accelerating returns). All the best.

By: Leo Allen

Leo Allen — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 01:53:42 +0000

I agree. I hope they release more details on how they are able to accomplish this. If this scientific field becomes a fashionable topic, perhaps more gifted people will get involved and immortality could finally be achieved during our own lifetime.

By: Leo Allen

Leo Allen — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 01:43:09 +0000

You got that right Russell. Now this is what I’m talking about! I hope the pace of improvement of these technologies keeps accelerating without the interruption of new wars/problems by rogue world leaders and/or nations.

By: Brian Roberts

Brian Roberts — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 23:47:53 +0000

since they have portable MRI machines it may not be too much longer before it is reduced in size further-perhaps down to phone size.

Always read of things like this article and it sounds great. I’d buy into it more if they could do more mundane things like grow hair or something.

By: Aaron Wright

Aaron Wright — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 17:50:45 +0000

The iPhone app that lets doctors take an ECG is very cool. Sure, doctors can already take an ECG, but the iPhone tool has major implications in poorer countries. The lack of infrastructure makes a more mobile option very powerful.

By: haglin

haglin — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 16:23:34 +0000

I’m still waiting for the nanobots that can travel in my bloodstream. They must come soon, if I’m going to be able to buy a billion of them for a low cost by 2030.

By: spencer

spencer — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 12:05:54 +0000

some beautiful language right there. truth is beautiful.

By: Jack Reeve

Jack Reeve — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 23:04:36 +0000

Vlad, I agree completely, though it is likely that by this time time next year the number of staggeringly important development stories will grow exponentially. Indeed, one of the potential drawbacks to this tremendous explosion of beautiful technologies is the risk is growing of great discoveries being drowned in the pool of announcement.

By: Jack Reeve

Jack Reeve — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 22:47:24 +0000

Happy New Year to all! A year from now we’ll all be somewhat less than an old-style year older. I have a bit of achallenge for you all – Can anyone tell us just what that value is these days? I just turned 56. Will I be 0.9 years older this day next year? 0.8? Let’s assume we’re speaking of those of us in otherwise good health, with reasonably current knowledge of nutrition, and an up-to-date awareness of good health habits. Live on… and on… Best regards all, Jack

By: Steve Waclo

Steve Waclo — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 19:40:03 +0000

You folks are making all this up, right :-)?

Arthur C. Clarke’s Three Laws are three “laws” of prediction formulated by the British writer Arthur C. Clarke. They are:

When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.

The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

By: Bob Vasquez

Bob Vasquez — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:21:04 +0000

Wow, being able to grow a complete heart from half a heart; too bad this technology wasn’t available for certain legislators in the House and Senate this year.

By: Zychowski

Zychowski — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:13:59 +0000

Fantastic progress I just hope it keeps going and the life spans extend to the hundreds and thousands of years.

By: Vladislav

Vladislav — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 16:35:10 +0000

This innovation of 2012 deserves to be on that list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gladstone_Institutes
Deepak Srivastava, MD—Regenerated the damaged hearts of mice by transforming cells that normally form scar tissue after a heart attack into beating heart-muscle cells. This discovery, now moving forward with pre-clinical trials, could one day change the way doctors treat heart attacks.[12]

By: Gorden Russell

Gorden Russell — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 15:30:57 +0000

DNA sequencing devices the size of a cell phone! This is the kind of medicine Dr. McCoy practiced on the Starship Enterprise.

By: Warren

Warren — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 15:17:32 +0000

I find the first one to be most interesting. Regenerative medicine and anything similar leads to what will probably be the most popular path towards immortality.