We are in the Bio Revolution
Over the last three decades, the life science industry has grown dramatically and has had an enormous impact on improving our lives from healthcare, the environment and to the economy. Up to 60% of the things in this world can be produced biologically from what we eat and wear, medicine, fuel and energy and even how we construct the physical world.
Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, a pioneer on Environmental, Climate and Energy policies drafted a timeline that shows the rise and fall, like negative parabolas or upside down Us, as waves of innovation. Focusing on life sciences, we started with digital networks, biotechnology and software at the fifth wave starting in 1990 and we are now accelerating to the peak of the 6th wave of sustainability, radical resource productivity, biomimicry, green chemistry and renewable energy since the early 200s.
Artificial intelligence and digitization has facilitated life science trends and the innovation boom. Artificial intelligence uses machine learning and deep learning to make predictions and execute actionable methods. It has made its way into the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, and can now streamline the drug discovery process, allow for more efficient and effective research and development, lowering the cost of drug and therapies and significantly improve image classification algorithms and patient screening and diagnosis. Pharmaceutical companies such as Astrazeneca have announced three year expansion plans using artificial intelligence for lupus and heart failure research.
Digitization has also drastically facilitated the life science industry, and wearable technology to patient monitor applications has allowed for decentralized and precision medicine. Patients can monitor their glucose levels using a glucose sensor at home or any place in the world, biomedical feedback devices, and even conduct clinical trials from the comfort of the patients home thus reducing labor and hospitalization costs significantly. Even further, digitizing the life science industry has implemented cloud based data storage, improved security of confidential patient information and integration of different research fields like genetics with biomimicry allowing for researchers to explore new out-of-the-box ideas.
After the first industrial revolution in rapid expansion of textiles and machinery, to the second industrial revolution where study of electricity brought the invention of light bulbs and telephone lines, all have permanently improved society. Each wave of innovation has brought ideas and inventions to revolutionize the world, and the bio revolution will do the same.
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