[extropy-chat] Genomics will transform economy and society

[Giu1i0 Pri5c0]

>From SeedQuest: Genetic code will become the dominant language in the world,
making possible everything from personalized prescriptions and diets to
chickens with three wings, while transforming the economy and society.
Best-selling author Juan Enriquez, Chairman and CEO of Biotechonomy and
former Director of the Life Sciences Project at Harvard Business School,
told a Canadian audience last week that Canada needs to educate its
population and attract some of the world's best brains to compete in this
revolution. Enriquez stressed that countries in a knowledge economy need
only a few thousand smart people. "You can build the richest country in the
world on a Caribbean island by cherry-picking brains. You don't have to move
a bank account. You don't have to move a building. All you have to move is
brains. That's a very different economy," he said. Genomics will have a
revolutionary impact on numerous industries, including medicine, insurance,
pharmaceuticals, and information technology. Medicine will be based on
assessing whether genetic tendencies increase or decrease the probability of
disease, instead of whether a patient is sick or well. "That leads to a very
different type of medical system, because instead of getting a yes-no from a
doctor, they're getting a series of probability curves," he said. "Maybe you
should start taking chemotherapy before you get breast cancer. This is a
very different world. It's a world in which people are going to start
getting personalized prescription profiles. By the way, should your
insurance agent know, should your employer know, should the government
know?"
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