The Future of Biomedical Research
People are healthier and live longer than ever before thanks to biomedical research. A number of diseases that used to cause permanent complications or even death can be easily treated or prevented, or both. Improved public health and the rising life expectancy are a result of multiple factors but biomedical research is undoubtedly one of the main reasons why most of the UK’s population can hope to live nearly 80 years. However, biomedical researchers have not managed to find a solution for all health problems, while some health issues that seem to have been successfully managed started posing a threat to the public health again.
Antibiotic resistance is one of the main challenges biomedical scientists will probably have to deal with in the near future. Many bacterial infections became extremely rare (in the developed world) due to the mass use of antibiotics, however, some germs evolved resistance to antibiotics and people are starting dying from diseases that should be easily treated. Particularly concerning are the so-called super bugs or super bacteria which are not responding to any available antibiotics. In addition, the scientists believe that there is a great chance that even bacteria that are still easily killed by antibiotics will become more challenging to deal with in the future. Development of completely new classes of antibiotics therefore seems to be a necessity to prevent bacterial diseases from becoming a public health concern once again.
Development of more effective treatments for AIDS is one of the greatest achievements of biomedical scientists in the recent years, however, they still have not managed to develop a cure nor vaccine for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). Cancer is another disease that threatens to become an epidemic. As much as every 1 out of 4 people is estimated to have cancer at some point of their lives. Biomedical researchers developed several successful treatments for the disease and also improved preventive measures but the exact causes of cancer are still poorly understood, while the chances of survival are very small in some types of cancer.
Although biomedical scientists do not have all the answers, they tend to be on the edge of a major discovery - stem cell therapy. The researches made so far have revealed that these cells which are not necessary obtained from the discarded human embryos are able to turn into any kind of cells and even muscle or tissue. Stem cell therapy is therefore believed to have potentials to cure a number of diseases including cancer. Unfortunately, it remains unknown whether the so-called iPS cells which are an alternative to the controversial human embryonic stem cells are equally potent. Another major concern is potential development of tumours that could form if the transplanted stem cells would continue to multiply uncontrolled.
Gene therapy is another recent discovery that seems to have great potentials in treatment of conditions that are influenced by genetic factors but just like stem cell therapy, gene therapy is not yet developed to the extent to be made available to the general public.