Probable Near-Term Developments
- Increasing use of “personalized medicine”: diagnoses and treatments that use genetic information gathered from sequencing an individual’s genome.
- Increasing use of stem cells to treat and prevent disease and disorders.
- Curing of genetic diseases via precise gene editing (e.g. the CRISPR/Cas9 technique).
- Growth of replacement organs outside the body using an individual’s own cells.
- Continued advances in the detection and treatment of various types of cancer.
- Complete mapping of the human proteome: every protein in the human body.
- Complete understanding of the structure of each human protein (i.e. how it is folded).
- Advances in combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
- Improved diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, such as depression.