Session 6 / Dosage 6

Brief Overview/Summary:

Session 6 was introduction to BioBusiness and the so called ‘part 1’ out of 2 of the topic. It was interesting to find out that prof was one of the people who was involved in creating the term BioBusiness. BioBusiness is a very broad term, basically it is any commercial activity based on life sciences. Yet prevalence of BioBusiness was underestimated.

Interesting Observation and Ideas:

There is a significantly higher percentage of people involved in BioBusiness than the percentage of GDP which is constituted by BioBusiness. I guess it is mainly due to the large number of people needed for the agriculture and environmental industries. However, I believe that if the relevant technologies are spread and made available to these industries worldwide, the labour needed would be significantly reduced. On the downside, many people would be unemployed.

The level of obesity rates are astounding. Especially in rising powers India and China. With increasing urbanization and technologies present today we indirectly promoted a trend of higher consumption and less exercise. Jobs and easy accessibility to food are some ‘benefits’ of urbanization. We do not even need to step out of our house for meals, they can be delivered right to our doorstep. In addition, the availability of internet, computers, consoles and televisions have given us more reason to stay home. In cities, people might have more stable and higher income jobs but they tend to be of longer working hours. After a day’s of work don’t you just want to head home and relax? Also longer working hours, means a heavier workload which implies more stress. Having more stress could lead to higher consumption of food, maybe even unhealthy food. All these factors and many more have caused people to consume more and/or exercise less. These could also contribute to an increasing amount of health problems. On the other hand, I am sure there are factors and technologies that promote a healthy lifestyle.

The importance of healthcare is paramount. Countries strive to increase the efficiency and productivity of the healthcare system. In the US they the use of Disease Management have significantly benefited them. Lowering cost, decreasing waiting time and reducing workload. However, I wondered why it has been implemented in the US but not other countries like Singapore. Well, different countries have different characteristics so the benefits reaped in the US might not be enjoyed in another country. Hence, countries need time to analyse and evaluate the feasibility of the concept of Disease Management before they implement it. Furthermore, Prof mentioned that healthcare and education are the slowest areas for changes to occur. I feel that it should be otherwise. These areas are important aspects of society and needs to be improved and adjusted constantly. Though careful evaluation of the change is needed, it should not be delayed. The timing of the change could be ever so significant.

The collaboration of technology makes it so much more convenient. Imagine if the world collaborates the way humans are trying to make technologies do so. It would be simply amazing. (Just a thought)

 

Key Takeaway Points:

1)      People need to start taking personal responsibility of their health. Parents need to guide their children to live a healthy lifestyle. Governments can aid their citizens by improving the healthcare system, making it more convenient and accessible, e.g. Disease Management.

2)      Potential of BioBusiness is limited by ethics and morals.

3)      Complement others not replace their roles (takeaway point from reading 6)

Issue for further discussion:

We have focused mainly on the benefits of BioBusiness and the potential it holds. What about the negative effects it brought along with it? We could discuss more on the negative impacts and how it could be mitigated.

Personal Rating:

8/10 More or less well balanced and insightful session.