The Bio Revolution: Innovations Transforming Life Sciences

Over the past few decades, the biotechnology industry has made huge leaps, introducing new technologies and inventions that are impacting the daily lives of society. As life sciences continue to merge with digitalization and new technologies, a bio revolution is beginning to occur, which will affect not only life sciences but also the economy, healthcare, agriculture, consumer goods, and energy, and can benefit global challenges like pandemics, chronic diseases, and worldwide food security.

Here are some of the emerging trends in biotechnology, how they are shaping the bio revolution, and a look at how biotech helped our global response to coronavirus. 

The Role of Biotechnology During the Covid-19 Pandemic

The global response to Covid-19 was a great illustration of the advancements biotechnology has made over the past decade. Scientists were able to sequence the genome in a matter of weeks, revealing the virus’ lineage. AI and data analytics also played a key role in the response to the disease outbreak. These tools allow for the quick introduction of vaccine trials, the search for alternative therapies, and a deeper look into the transmission patterns of the Covid-19 virus.

The Bio Revolution’s Societal Impacts

Like the industrial revolution and digital revolution, the Bio Revolution involves a massive convergence of technologies. The Bio Revolution is being driven forward by new developments in computing, automation, and artificial intelligence, which are all being utilized across many fields.

In healthcare, the Bio Revolution is paving the way for new methods to treating diseases like cancer and serious medical conditions like high blood pressure, which affects nearly 47% of the adult population in the United States. Biotechnology is constantly influencing and innovating the healthcare industry, including:

•   Creating new options for diagnosis and treatment, like bio printing
•   Genetically engineered insulin
•   Gene therapy
•   Molecular diagnosis

In the pharmaceutical industry, some of these technological innovations are also playing an increasingly larger role in the field. Just like most industries, artificial intelligence is becoming a more widely used and dynamic tool. AI allows for improved drug trials, large data management, and updated manufacturing processes. With all the data that is stored about patients, and the increasing use of technology, digital privacy is a concern, but blockchain technology is an emerging industry trend that creates a transaction ledger to prevent data hacking and alteration. Blockchain technology can help the pharmaceutical industry by improving the safety of data storage, improve data sharing, and strengthening supply chains.

In agriculture, the Bio Revolution is helping to improve the cultivation of food by increasing yields and reducing the impact on the environment.  Improving plant growth is a perfect example of biotech in agriculture. Since the dawn of time, farmers have been breeding their plants to get the most desirable result, such as larger size or improved flavor. In the past, this process would usually require generations of experiments to reach the goal, but with the use of biotechnology, sustainable plant growth can happen much more efficiently.

The Evolving Risks in Biotechnology

With the increased digitization and digitalization of the medical industry, people are becoming more concerned with their digital privacy. Just like websites tracking our shopping habits, in terms of biotech, data related to our bodies and brains are being collected and stored digitally. Some jurisdictions have taken a tough stance on genomic data sharing, adding special provisions under the General Data Protection Regulation. With these risks in mind, personal biological data needs to be handled very carefully. 

Another potential risk is that biological organisms are, and always will be, self-sustaining and self-replicating. This means that genetically modified/engineered organisms should be able to reproduce, and potentially sustain themselves long term, which could influence entire ecosystems. 

Working Together

With these groundbreaking new technologies emerging, it’s imperative that governments, the creators of these technologies, and businesses purchasing these technologies, sit down and have conversations about the risks and potential regulations. Regulation of the biotech industry is very uneven, and without a coordinated plan to govern bio innovation, there could be a risky race to the biological frontier. As amazing and promising as the Bio Revolution is, to solve the global issues we are facing, we will need to work together to maximize its full potential while managing the risks.

Biotech is creating the jobs of the future, from pharmaceuticals to medical devices. ">Get in touch with a Life Sciences Consultant to advance your biotech career.