• Question: in your opinion, which area of science has the most potential to benefit our lives and why

    Asked by anon-220247 to Shobhana, Patrick, Nina, Deepak on 7 Jun 2019.
    • Photo: Shobhana Nagraj

      Shobhana Nagraj answered on 7 Jun 2019:

      In my opinion, I think that public health (that is preventative medicine) has the most potential to benefit our lives. This is because, if we lead healthy lives – eat the right foods for our bodies, look after our health by doing exercise, making sure we take care of our planet (planetary health) and keep our minds strong and peaceful, most illnesses can be prevented. The leading killer worldwide are non-communicable diseases – and at the top of these, is heart disease. Two of the biggest risk factors for heart disease are high blood pressure and diabetes – these two risk factors can be prevented through diet (healthy eating) and lifestyle changes such as exercise.
      Thinking more specifically of an area of science to benefit others – I think engineering solutions to prevent water shortages worldwide (which will become more common with climate change) and purify water for drinking, would also have greatest impact on the lives of many people worldwide.

    • Photo: Nina Rzechorzek

      Nina Rzechorzek answered on 7 Jun 2019: last edited 7 Jun 2019 8:31 pm

      Well – in a very biased way – biomedical research to improve health. But in truth, no area of science exists in isolation, and for sure, advances in programming and artificial intelligence are already having a major impact on how we exploit data in many healthcare settings; from predicting/preventing disease spread and reducing disease risk, to comparing genomes, analysing medical images, planning surgeries, creating synthetic molecules, and understanding how the brain works….No matter what area of science you work in, data handling, data integrity, and data security are all essential. Whilst the power of AI has huge potential to benefit our lives, it also comes with some risks and we need the regulation of this power to keep pace with the technology. My hope is that we are smart enough as a species to use this power wisely, and for the benefit of all.

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