Wisdom / Jane Metcalfe
What’s fueling this transformation?
u Innovation in genetic se-
quencing has driven down the cost of decoding a human genome from $100 million in the year 2000 to less than $1,000 today.
u Advances in imaging are lay-
ing bare biological circuits and systems that we can harness for other uses.
u A profusion of sensors is re-
cording, measuring and tracking events both inside and outside our bodies.
uMassive amounts of data
from sensors, imaging and other sources are feeding machinelearning software that spots patterns and makes decisions, generating fresh insights that we can put to use.
We’re already exploring the breadth and depth of our new powers. Entrepreneurs Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Bryan Johnson are investing heavily in neural implants. Companies like Halo Neuroscience and Humm are working on noninvasive brain stimulators designed to boost performance in athletes and electronic gamers. Koniku is melding silicon and disembodied neurons in devices that can sense chemicals in the air. Meanwhile, insights gleaned from reading DNA are revolutionizing medicine, thanks to some 75,000 available gene tests, and genomic data is driving treatment and drug discovery. Patients like Onno Faber, a tech entrepreneur who is fighting a rare disease, are getting their own genomes sequenced to discover and develop the treatments they need. Companies including Nebula Genomics, hu-manity.co and Seqster are building systems that allow individuals to take control of their own health data, so they can realize not only health benefits but also profits by licensing their records to researchers. The Neobiological Revolution isn’t quite a household word–yet. But it already permeates our collective unconscious through films, TV shows, and books like Altered Carbon, Autonomous, Black Mirror, The Nexus Trilogy, Orphan Black, Seveneves, Westworld, and many others. Most of these stories feature rogue biohackers, synthetic humans in revolt, and clones manipulated by evil corporations. But that’s not actually how I think the 16
Issue 3
StartUp Health Magazine
“...we need experts in a particular field who are willing to become novices in another, because this revolution demands collaboration and cross-fertilization across disparate fields of science, technology, and philosophy. Neobiological Revolution will play out. For one thing, the vast majority of scientists are highly principled people who hold human advancement as their highest goal. For another, their innovations are laying the groundwork for better and more equitable healthcare, more productive agriculture, cleaner energy, and more. I believe we will work through the challenges because the benefits on the other side are so compelling. It’s true, we’re building tools to manipulate things we don’t yet fully understand. Technology is getting ahead of science, and business is getting ahead of technology. That calls for us to proceed with caution and humility. We have to be clear about what we do and don’t know. We need to re-think what we consider “natural.” And we need experts in a particular field who are willing to become novices in another, because this revolution demands collaboration and cross-fertilization across disparate fields of science, technology and philosophy. The Neobiological Revolution is already bringing immense social change. In-vitro fertilization was hugely controversial 40 years ago, but now it’s considered every couple’s right. Genetically modifying embryos to prevent inherited diseases seems like a human right to me. What may strike you as outrageous today may seem like business as usual to your children in 20 years. We are alive at an extraordinary moment in the history of our species. We can make tremendous advances—and enormous mistakes. So we need to bring all our humanity, intellect and wisdom to bear in deploying these powerful tools. What do we want our future to look like? I can’t wait to find out.
Curious minds can peer inside Jane Metcalfe’s head any day of the week, thanks to her latest venture, Neo.Life, a newsletter and online magazine focused on “the people, companies, and technologies that are improving, repairing, and extending life.” 4 neo.life