After the huge advances in medical science that have almost doubled life expectancy in developed countries over the past century, more miracles are in the offing in what many researchers believe will be the Century of Biotechnology.

As computing power and knowledge of the gene come together -- symbolised earlier this year with the completion of the mapping of the human genome -- further breathtaking developments can be expected in the years ahead in the cure or prevention of previously fatal diseases.

Not only is lifespan being extended, healthspan too is improving amid growing awareness of the importance of exercise and better eating habits.

But there may be some unpleasant surprises in store. Some diseases have awesome staying power, while others may mutate, possibly leaping the species barrier.

And costly innovations may still lie tantalisingly out of reach for the majority of humanity who live in poverty.

Among the areas in which major developments can be expected during the next quarter-century are:

DIAGNOSTICS: Diagnosing ailments will be simpler, faster, more accurate and cheaper, using non-invasive scanners, teleconferencing and the Internet.

Farther down the track -- perhaps 10-15 years -- are biochips, which will contain a scrap of your DNA and analyse it for genetic anomalies that could make you predisposed to fatal diseases or have an adverse reaction to certain drugs. You could then make lifestyle changes enabling you to avoid exposure to conditions or substances known to trigger the disease. Another possible innovation in the near future is the introduction of wearable health monitors that keep a constant check on life functions.

NEW DRUGS: Advances in molecular biology mean that scientists now know more than ever about the genetic causes of disease and how to target them. The search for the individual genes that cause specific diseases and dysfunctions has become a boom industry. Over the next decade or so, enzyme inhibitors and gene therapy will make great inroads against various kinds of cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and even crippling brain diseases such as Alzheimer's.

NEW SURGERY: The surgeon of the future may look back on the present era with the same sense of distaste as his present counterpart views the blood-soaked sawbones of the 19th century. In the coming decades, surgery will be carried out only as a last resort and as minimally as possible.

Robots will help carry out long or tricky operations such as organ transplants. Nano-probes may be used to scour the arteries free of dangerous plaque buildups. Another possibility: microchip implants and transplants into the central nervous system to help treat diseases brain tumours, epilepsy, movement disorders and stroke.

TEST-TUBE ORGANS: Tissue engineering has reached the point where scientists can envisage growing entire limbs in the laboratory. New cartilege, new bone, new tendon and new liver tissue can now be grown, and clinical trials are currently being designed to bring them into use. Implanting grown cartilege into patients may be possible within a few years. The technique could make organ transplants obsolete.

ARTIFICIAL HEART/BLOOD: With the shortage of natural hearts available for transplants, scientists are working on the prototypes of pumps that would replace the heart in the belief that a small, efficient pump could make donor hearts obsolete. Meanwhile biotech companies are attempting to devise a form of artificial blood that would get around the world blood shortage and the risks of infection.

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES: At present some 300 million people per year catch AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia or other sexually transmitted diseases. The good news is that a new series of antiviral drugs, the fruit of billions of dollars in AIDS research, should soon come on stream. But getting these technological innovations to the people who need it most will require money and expertise in countries that can least afford it.

NEW PLAGUES: Diseases that were previously localised have the ability to spread quickly, thanks to modern jet travel: a person incubating a new strain of flu in one continent can take it to another in a matter of hours. In addition, humans are more exposed than before to viruses that leap the species barrier such as mad-cow disease and haemorrhagic fever.

On the other hand, microbiology and epidemiology are so advanced that scientists can now quickly spot a new disease and find out how it is transmitted. This can help prevention, although a cure or a vaccine are a different question, as the elusive search for a "silver bullet" against AIDS has shown.

Other revolutionary advances in the life sciences that research teams have set their sights on are the prevention of cancer, the introduction of artificial lungs and kidneys, artificial brain cells, synthetic muscles, fully functional artificial eyes and, several decades from now, the creation of an artificial brain.

(From ChinaDaily)