As time passes, achievements and improvements are visible in every aspect of our lives. Being into medicine 50 years ago and now is not the same. There have been discoveries, new treatments, and new diseases – medicine improved and, therefore, once again, proved its need to be studied constantly.
In the 21st century, everything altered. Not only did we get new phones, books, or governmental changes, but we also noticed an outlandish improvement in medicine.
In today's article, you'll learn about recent findings that put medicine on top of the rank in science updates.
mRNA technology
MRNA, or messenger ribonucleic acid, is a particular kind of single-stranded RNA that transports information about proteins from the DNA to the ribosome. Some vaccines, including the one for COVID-19, contain mRNA in their structure.
mRNA started proliferating when it began being a component in the COVID-19 vaccine. Not only is it highly effective, but it can also be more effective with a meager price.
mRNA vaccines give cells the genetic information they need to build viral proteins, which the body can use to mount an immunological defense. The Covid-19 mRNA vaccines’ effectiveness has dramatically accelerated efforts to create more mRNA vaccines for diseases ranging from cancer to the Zika virus.
The fascinating fact about mRNA vaccines is their potential to expand their use, not just for vaccines. mRNA can code for almost every protein, so the same basic technology also allows us to develop various treatments by getting the body to produce a drug-like response.
Many of those protein-based drugs have been proven highly effective! And as I mentioned before, one of mRNA's benefits is its low cost of production. Consequently, this would save a lot of money since our body would be set to manufacture its proteins instead.
Virtual Reality
We have all at least watched someone play a VR game on Youtube or in real life. Whatever your experience is, you probably didn't know its use for medical and psychological purposes.
VR has been used as a stimulus for positive cognitive functions. Its ability to escape from the real world and go to another one in just a few clicks makes it one of the most reliable ways of improving mental health and helping with pain management.
Medical students have a long, hard way of becoming certified doctors. They often joke about anatomy being hard. but VR could change that!
Oculus, a VR software, has recently introduced us to a game called “Human Anatomy VR,” which is supposed to help medical students and professionals learn anatomy more leisurely and effectively.
While there is still a lot of VR potential, we are happy to have a futuristic game that helps our medical heroes help others. Other focus areas on medical advancements include preventive healthcare, rehabilitation, assistive living, cancer therapy, and surgery.
Neurotechnology
Numerous elements of life could be improved by neurotechnology. It has countless potential future applications in various settings, including education, workplace management, national security, and even sports, in addition to the medical and wellness industries, where it is currently being used in practice.
Neurotechnology contains all segments developed to comprehend the brain, visualize its processes and even control, restore, or improve its functions. These segments can be computers, electrodes, or any other devices set up to block electric pulses running through the body.
Neurotechnology in medicine is currently used in brain imaging by recording magnetic fields constructed by the electrical activity within the brain.
Although most neuro devices are still in the research stage, they have an excellent prospect for treating brain disorders. Neuralink is a prime instance of this.
Elon Musk is the inventor of Neuralink, which is constructing a device that would be inserted into the human brain and record brain activity before wirelessly transmitting it to a computer. Researchers could then analyze these data and utilize them to stimulate brain function electrically.
Neuralink has been tested on animals, but Elon Musk claimed the business aimed to implant its chips in people in 2022.
Neurotechnology, while therapeutically very exciting, remains very controversial. It raises problems surrounding rights to data and privacy.
While its potential applications are not yet fully understood, neurotechnology is anticipated to grow significantly in the global healthcare market over the next few years as neurological disorders and conditions continue to be discovered and diagnosed.
Health Wearables
Since Bluetooth's release in 2000, the desire for wearable devices has dramatically increased! Nowadays, we use devices we connect to our phones, and afterward, we track the data, such as steps, physical fitness and heartbeat, and even sleeping patterns.
In this day and age, wearables can effectively monitor patients’ fitness health – especially for those with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Smartwatches continue to be one of the most popular wearable devices in the healthcare industry, with major tech corporations such as Apple, Google, and Samsung all competing for market share.
Depending on the model, they can record sleep patterns, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and electrocardiograms. Manufacturers are now working on incorporating blood glucose measuring sensors into their smartwatches, making life easier for people with diabetes.
The developments continue beyond this point – they will continue to be upgraded until we get insideables and implantables!
So far, these microcomputers, which work from inside the body, have been used to support organs such as the heart and brain.
Insideables, also referred to as intelligent pills, are considered by many to be the next phase after external wearables. These are consumed as a hard capsule and send calculated values, such as glucose levels or photos inside the body, to aid diagnosis approaches.
I hope you liked the article and that I interested you in the medical field! These innovations are significant; we hope they see the light of day soon!
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#Move on!
*An article was prepared and written by Balša Kićović, Textual Content Director.