.
The Human Genome Project was completed back in 2003, but the scientific community is not done exploring human genes. Human Longevity Inc. (HLI) is looking to translate human biological information, so they can ultimately lengthen the human lifespan by addressing diseases associated with aging.
HLI is looking to develop an “integrated health record” for individuals joining their database. This record would include a wide range of information from maternal and paternal nucleotides to MRI images. Once this data is collected, HLI is looking for a way to translate this information, so they can decipher a person’s health outcome.
In a blog Peter Diamandis, vice-chairman and co-founder of HLI, compared this translation process of this data to that of Google Translate (GT) an apt comparison considering they have tapped Franz Och, the man who built GT, to serve as HLI’s Chief Data Scientist. The idea behind GT is that the technology goes through a learning process to understand the rules of the language, rather than being taught every rule. Och is looking to build a team to work on the process of translating all of this biological information and ultimately HLI is looking to address age-related illnesses like dementia, cancer, and heart disease.
The concept of being able to better address the health decline associated with aging is an appealing one. Of course people living longer and a healthier life is of great benefit, but there are also other societal impacts to consider.
If doctors are better able to diagnose and treat illnesses, health care costs could decrease. As HLI notes, globally more than 7 million USD are spent on healthcare and around half of these costs are accumulated in the later years of a person’s life due to afflictions brought about by old age. HLI’s goal of increasing the human lifespan, as well as making it a healthier lifespan, would decrease these costs associated with treatment, because medicine could transition to being a more preventive practice.
Another major consideration with this kind of technology should be access. Long, healthy lives should not be limited to just the developing world or one sector of society. If real gains are made in understanding human illnesses through this translation, these gains should be realized by all rather than a few. This of course is a larger issue with the global health industry, but it is something to consider when contemplating who will benefit from this kind of technology.
Overall, this new endeavor is exciting. To see how quickly technology is advancing is impressive and it will be intriguing to see where the next development takes us: hopefully to a healthier a world.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
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The Future of Human Longevity
DNA molecule is located in front of a colored background. abstract collage
July 22, 2015
The Human Genome Project was completed back in 2003, but the scientific community is not done exploring human genes. Human Longevity Inc. (HLI) is looking to translate human biological information, so they can ultimately lengthen the human lifespan by addressing diseases associated with aging.
HLI is looking to develop an “integrated health record” for individuals joining their database. This record would include a wide range of information from maternal and paternal nucleotides to MRI images. Once this data is collected, HLI is looking for a way to translate this information, so they can decipher a person’s health outcome.
In a blog Peter Diamandis, vice-chairman and co-founder of HLI, compared this translation process of this data to that of Google Translate (GT) an apt comparison considering they have tapped Franz Och, the man who built GT, to serve as HLI’s Chief Data Scientist. The idea behind GT is that the technology goes through a learning process to understand the rules of the language, rather than being taught every rule. Och is looking to build a team to work on the process of translating all of this biological information and ultimately HLI is looking to address age-related illnesses like dementia, cancer, and heart disease.
The concept of being able to better address the health decline associated with aging is an appealing one. Of course people living longer and a healthier life is of great benefit, but there are also other societal impacts to consider.
If doctors are better able to diagnose and treat illnesses, health care costs could decrease. As HLI notes, globally more than 7 million USD are spent on healthcare and around half of these costs are accumulated in the later years of a person’s life due to afflictions brought about by old age. HLI’s goal of increasing the human lifespan, as well as making it a healthier lifespan, would decrease these costs associated with treatment, because medicine could transition to being a more preventive practice.
Another major consideration with this kind of technology should be access. Long, healthy lives should not be limited to just the developing world or one sector of society. If real gains are made in understanding human illnesses through this translation, these gains should be realized by all rather than a few. This of course is a larger issue with the global health industry, but it is something to consider when contemplating who will benefit from this kind of technology.
Overall, this new endeavor is exciting. To see how quickly technology is advancing is impressive and it will be intriguing to see where the next development takes us: hopefully to a healthier a world.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
