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Tedtalks: Decoding the future with genomics |
HenryTo
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 Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 1:17 pm Post subject: Tedtalks: Decoding the future with genomics |
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Another gem from Tedtalks. This one is by Juan Enriquez, and his awesome discussion revolves around "Decoding the future with genomics" - and ending the talk with what will drive the global economy going forward.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/80
About the Author:
| Quote: | A broad thinker who studies the intersection of science, business and society, Juan Enriquez has a talent for bridging disciplines to build a coherent look ahead. The founding director of the Harvard Business School Life Sciences Project, Enriquez has published widely on topics from the technical (global nucleotide data flow) to the sociological (gene research and national competitiveness), and was a member of Celera Genomics founder Craig Venter's marine-based team to collect genetic data from the world's oceans.
Formerly CEO of Mexico City's Urban Development Corporation and chief of staff for Mexico's secretary of state, Enriquez played a role in reforming Mexico's domestic policy and helped negotiate a cease-fire with Zapatista rebels. He is chair and CEO of Biotechonomy, a research and investment firm helping to fund new genomics firms. The Untied States of America, his latest book, looks at the forces threatening America's future as a unified country. |
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Tedtalks: Decoding the future with genomics Replies |
HenryTo
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HenryTo
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| Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2007 2:12 am Post subject: |
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Dash,
Thanks for the recommendation - I'll check them out.
Here is another talk (17-minute) from the man himself - Craig Venter:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/6
Henry |
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dash
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| Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | To me, there is no doubt that the best days and the best investment opportunities are still ahead for the US - not just in biotech but in alternative energy, information technology, and the financials sectors as well. |
I agree. Quantum physics gave birth to the computer and telecom revolutions via the transistor and laser, and the biomolecular revolution via X-ray crystallography and the theory of chemical bonding. It's now giving birth to nanotechnology, which from the little I've read seems to hold great promise for developments in solar energy. These will be the areas of future wealth creation, probably the next bubbles.
| Quote: | | At some point, I may need to go back to school and get at least a better general education in the sciences - perhaps take some intermediate level university courses on biology, chemistry, and maybe some biochemistry and organic chemistry classes. |
It's already the case that those research scientists without a working knowledge of computers, biotech, and physics are at a severe disadvantage to those who have. The same will probably also be increasingly true of investors, especially if they look at individual companies. So best of luck!
MIT has put much of its course material online for free, though you wouldn't be accredited. I've always found the knowledge that has been most useful to me, is that which I've taught myself, from books and via the net (currently reading 'Biology for Dummies'). |
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HenryTo
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| Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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I believe China is going to try to find a way to catch up. The central government realizes how strategically important the biotech industry will be going forward and they will do anything to develop talent and to retain the talent. That being said, China is still decades away from being able to train the same quality of talent that is being trained here in the US. The only way that China can succeed right now is to send their best students to the US and to hope for them to go back to the Mainland.
To me, there is no doubt that the best days and the best investment opportunities are still ahead for the US - not just in biotech but in alternative energy, information technology, and the financials sectors as well.
At some point, I may need to go back to school and get at least a better general education in the sciences - perhaps take some intermediate level university courses on biology, chemistry, and maybe some biochemistry and organic chemistry classes. |
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dash
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| Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2007 2:37 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks Henry,
A really excellent presentation, done with lot's of humor. It's interesting (and perhaps not surprising given his background), that he views an understanding of biotech to be a key competitive advantage in the global economy, which runs somewhat counter to the authodoxy that China and India will soon catch the US. I was surprised not to see other Asian nations (especially S Korea and China) on his traffic map of countries accessing GenBank.
Biotech and IT certainly seem to have adopted a wonderfully symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationship, which is helping accelerate progress in both fields: biologists once despaired of ever deciphering the genome, until we got the benefit of an exponential increase in computer power. Similarly silicon chips will eventually go the way of vacuum tubes, and computing will probably be taken forward by DNA research which will allow information to be processed on organic molecules.
The BBC reported a very exciting breakthrough today:
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A major advance in understanding the genetics behind several of the world's most common diseases has been reported.
[...]
Professor Peter Donnelly, chair of the WTCCC and professor of statistical science at Oxford University, said the research was a "new dawn" and they had learnt more in the past 12 months than they had in 15 years.
"If you think of the genome as very long road that you are trying to find your way along in the dark, previously we have only been able to turn lights on in a small number of places, but now we can turn on lights in a large number of places - in this case half a million lights." |
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6724369.stm |
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