Future for Genomics, Therapeutics, And Longevity

Genomics refers to the study of the human genome, therapeutics refers to the treatment of diseases that is based on the administration of medicines that aim at reducing these diseases or preventing them from occurring altogether while longevity refers to the lifespan a person has before their demise.

There is a correlation between the three with concepts regarding the human genome being used to produce drugs that target various stages of the genetic cycle and ensuring that life is prolonged amongst people suffering from fatal diseases. In the past, genomic studies have been used in research projects that enabled the discovery of drugs and synthetic manufacture of some such as insulin that has enabled the treatment of people suffering from diabetes mellitus (Mandal, 2019). Synthetic insulin has been crucial in prolonging the lives of diabetics and bettering their health conditions.

This paper pays close attention to genomics, its use in therapeutics, and its influence on longevity in the future. We strongly believe that the fast adoption of Genomics and accessibility to testings will make genomics testing the new normal in the future to clinical disease diagnosis and prognosis.

In the recent past, human beings have begun viewing aging as a disease (Diam, 2020). They have shifted from the past view of this phenomenon as an inevitable natural condition that cannot be evaded.

There have been significant efforts by genomic scientists to understand this phenomenon and perhaps enable them to reverse it. Huge support has emerged for proponents of such ideas who have received enormous financial and resource funding to enable them to carry out their work efficiently (Green et al., 2020).

Scientists advocating for this view have carried out gene sequencing studies to understand the role of genes and human DNA in the aging process. These scientists recon that should they find the genes involved in aging, they can develop medicines that harbor the actions of these genes, ensuring that the body continues to thrive, evading the destruction phenomenon of aging that climaxes at death (TMF, 2020).

A breakthrough is surely on the horizon for these scientists. In a few years, scientists will discover the genes responsible for aging. They will develop appropriate sequencing measures that will enable them to manufacture drugs that arrest the aging genes. Arresting the actions of the genes responsible for aging will ensure this phenomenon is kept at bay and people do not age, preventing death. Longevity in life will also be achieved.

The current state of relating genomics to longevity looks promising. Glycan tests are becoming ever more available, accessible and accurate. These tests can play a vital part in determining people’s biological age over their chronological age.

The impact of various diseases on the human body genes has been given proposed as a reason for aging. These diseases significantly harm the human genome interfering with various genes.

The affected genes act as triggers for the cells to slow down the replication process. Decreased replacement of worn-out cells as a result of decreased genetic stimulation leads to saturation of the body with old cells(Franck, 2019). The phenomenon of aging is therefore well and truly underway.

Genomics aims at providing preventive medicines that target the genes that are responsible for slowing down cell replication after infection. Others seek to provide prevention medicines that prevent almost all diseases from occurring in the first place, rendering the planet disease-free. This initiative is bound to ensure the rate of cell replication remains constant throughout life (Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2021). Such efforts are bound to contribute to longevity. With the triggers to reduced cell division reduced and the switches eliminated, longevity is bound to be achieved and the human is bound to live longer.

This will ensure that humans have more control over the lives they lead and how their lives come to a halt. This is only possible if genomics continues advancing at the current or faster rate.

Diseases such as cancer have been the hallmark of global medicine for a while now. Cancer is caused by the rapid and uncontrollable division of abnormal cells of the body. These compete with the normal cells for oxygen and nutrients. When the normal cells are starved of the requirements, they become weak and die. This is how cancer leads to death. Cancer also has a high mortality rate wiping out huge chunks of the global population (Baer, 2020).

Cancers occur due to a glitch in the cell division cycle. This is potentially an error in the instructing of the body. This error occurs in the genomic sectors of the body. Genomics targets to identify the glitches that occur in the genes during each cancer and come up with specific medicine that deals with that error in the genome. In a few years, genomics will be capable of producing drugs for each cancer that tackle the errors occurring in the cell division machinery (Modern Healthcare, 2019).

These drugs will aid with the eradication of these cancers in their entirety.  Elimination will boost lifespan and ensure longevity, aiding in the achievement of this human vision.

In conclusion, the genome project is the future of healthcare and medicine worldwide. There have been tremendous steps made in ensuring that the genome is understood adequately and appropriate inventions made along that line.

The ones mentioned are sufficient examples of what human ingenuity coupled with immaculate resilience has been able to achieve. There is a need for more focus to be lent to the study of genes in detail and the development of drugs from these studies to tackle various diseases.

This support should be in the form of sufficient budgetary allocation by various institutions. Resources should also be set aside in the form of personnel and infrastructure to enable the achievement of this noble initiative. There is also a need to ensure that people are availed with this information to ensure their optimist and participation.

References:

Baer, J. (2020, August 10). Digital health, genomics and extended longevity – three trends defining the future of healthcare. Julius Baer. https://www.juliusbaer.com/es/insights/future-health/digital-health-genomics-and-extended-longevity-three-trends-defining-the-future-of-healthcare/

Chinese Academy of Sciences. (2021, January 9). Scientists Develop New Gene Therapy Strategy to Delay Aging and Extend Lifespan. SciTechDaily. https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-develop-new-gene-therapy-strategy-to-delay-aging-and-extend-lifespan/

Diam, P. (2020, June 26). A Renaissance of Genomics and Drugs Is Extending Human Longevity. Singularity Hub. https://singularityhub.com/2020/06/26/a-renaissance-of-genomics-and-drugs-is-extending-human-longevity/

Franck, T. (2019, May 8). Human lifespan could soon pass 100 years thanks to medical tech, says BofA. CNBC; CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/08/techs-next-big-disruption-could-be-delaying-death.html

Green, E. D., Gunter, C., Biesecker, L. G., Di Francesco, V., Easter, C. L., Feingold, E. A., Felsenfeld, A. L., Kaufman, D. J., Ostrander, E. A., Pavan, W. J., Phillippy, A. M., Wise, A. L., Dayal, J. G., Kish, B. J., Mandich, A., Wellington, C. R., Wetterstrand, K. A., Bates, S. A., Leja, D., & Vasquez, S. (2020). Strategic vision for improving human health at The Forefront of Genomics. Nature, 586(7831), 683–692. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2817-4

Mandal, A. (2019, January 21). Insulin Gene. News-Medical.net. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Insulin-Gene.aspx

Modern Healthcare. (2019, December 18). The future of genomics: Improving outcomes with a “sequence once, query often” model. Modern Healthcare. https://www.modernhealthcare.com/patient-care/future-genomics-improving-outcomes-sequence-once-query-often-model

TMF. (2020, October 13). Longevity Is The Future If We Tackle Digital Health First. The Medical Futurist. https://medicalfuturist.com/longevity-is-the-future-if-we-tackle-digital-health-first/

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