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http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/print/10349 1/10
Printed:20150508
Instit ituteforEthicsandEmergingTechnologies
IEETLink:http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/dvorsky20150501
9BizarreJobsThatWil l RedefineOurLivesInThe2050sGeorgeDvorsky
http://io9 .com/9weirdjobs inbiotechandmedicineto lookfor in the1701486512
io9
May08,2015
Thefieldsofbiotechnologyandmedicinearerapidlyevolving,andwiththemtheirassociatedemploymentopportunities.Hereareninebiomedicalprofessionstolookforinthecomingdecades.
Tohelpmecompilethislist,IrecruitedthehelpofIC/Futures,acollectiveoffuturistsatIdeaCouture.ThegroupincludesEmilyEmpel,MatLincez,JayarLaFontaine,MelissaRicher,andShaneSaunderson.Lastyear,theIC/Futuresteambrainstormedanumberofjobsthatarelikelytoappearbythe2030s.Thistimearound,however,wegazeddeeperintothefutureandonlyconsideredjobsthatmightemergeintheincreasinglyrelatedfieldsofmedicineandbiotechnology.Hereswhatwecameupwith.
1.PersonalMicrobiomeSteward
Wehaveonlyjustbeguntocomprehendthecomplexityoftherelationshipbetweenhumanbeingsandthetrillionsofmicroscopicorganismsthatliveonandinsideus.Butwhatscientistshavelearnedsofarsuggeststhatourbodiesmicroorganismalcommunitiesplayaroleineverythingfrombodyweight,toenergylevels,tomentalhealth.
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Bacteriaonthetongue.(SteveGschmeissner/SPL)
Thefirsteverfullbodyscansofchemicalsonthesurfaceofhumanskinarerevealingthatmanyareresiduesfromtopicalskinproducts,raisingconcernsthatmanmadechemicalsaredisruptingfunctionoftheskinmicrobiome.Itseasytoimagineafuturewhereprofessionalmicrobiomestewardsassistusinbecomingconscientiousshepherdsofourownmicrobiota,throughfeeding,culling,andrebalancing.
2.TraitSelection Advisor
Lastweek,scientistsinChinareportedtheyhadeditedthegenesofhumanembryos.Theresearchershadattemptedtotinkerwiththegenebehindthalassaemia,adangerousblooddisorder,withatechniquecalledCRISPR/Cas9.Thestudymarksthefirstdocumentedattemptathumangermlineediting,andhasrevivedthedebateovertheethicsofhumanaugmentationanddesignerbabies.
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ATraitSelectionAdvisor,asportrayedinGattaca.
Germlinemodificationcouldonedaybeusedtonotonlymendgeneticsequences,butinsertnewonesinpursuitofdesirabletraits.Inthelongterm,wellhavetothinkpracticallyabouthowtoregulatethemarketformadetoorderhumansandadviseparentslookingtohavegeneticallyengineeredchildren.Apersonaltraitselectionadvisorcouldhelpparentsunderstandthelegallimitsofgermlineeditingwhileworkingwiththemtodefinewhatgeneticeditsmightbebestfortheirfutureoffspring.
3.MindUploadingRe in tegration Specialist
Minduploadingsoundslikepuresciencefiction.Itshardenoughtodigitizeanalogbookswithoutcreatingunwantederrors,sowhathopeistherefordigitizinghumanselves?
Whileminduploadingiscertainlymindbogglinglycomplex,somescientistsbelieveitspossible.Thethinkinggoeslikethis:Ifourselvesareencodedinthestructureandactivitypatternsofourbrains,thenaslongaswecancaptureandcatalogthenanostructureofahumanbrain(see:#9ConnectomeArchitect)wecanreinstantiatethosesamestructureandactivitypatternsinanothersuitablemediumthatisequalorsuperiortobrainmeat.Like,say,amainframecomputer.
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Illustration:ChristoperBarnatt.
Minduploadinghasbeenputforwardasapossiblefuturestateforentirehumancivilizations.Butitcouldalsobeaneffectivewaytowarehousehumanselveswhosebodieswereravagedbydisease,whilenewbodiesarebeingpreparedforthem.
Whoknowswhateffecttheroundtripfrommeattosilicontomeatwouldhaveonahumanmindespeciallyifthepersonreemergedintoaradicallychangedworld?Anewclassofreintegrationspecialistcouldinstructnewarrivalsfromthedigitalotherworldineverythingfromphysicaltherapytonewculturalnorms.Thesenewarrivalscouldevenbesuspendedinaphygitalzoneasortofhalfwayhouseincorporatingelementsofdigitalandphysicalsubstatessothattheycouldacclimatethemselvestolifeamongliving,breathing,excretingbodiesgraduallyandgently.
4.Organ Farmer
Organshortagesarealreadyahugeproblemtoday.EachyearintheU.S.thereareabout28,000transplantswhileanother120,000peopleareassignedtowaitinglists.Ithasbeenestimatedthatsome35%ofallannualU.S.deathscouldbepreventedbyorgantransplantation.Hencetheimpetustodeveloplabgrownorgans.
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(Organovo)
Asregenerativemedicinecontinuestoadvance,sotoowillourcapacitytoproduceorgansaffordablyandenmasse.SanDiegobasedOrganovoisaleaderinthisareathroughitsdevelopmentofa3Dbioprinter.Itslabcangenerateminiliverassaysthatarevirtuallyidentical,architecturallyandbiologically,tohumanlivers.Anotherapproachistocreatea3Dscaffoldofanorgan,suchasaheart,liver,kidney,orlung,anduseapatientsstemcellstogrowanentirelyneworganfortransplantation.Lookingtothefuture,andgiventheintensedemandsfororgans,thejobofanorganfarmercouldbecomeanappealingone,indeed.
5.SyntheticProtein Designer
Globaldemandformeat,fishandothersourcesofproteinisincreasing,ascountrieslikeChinagrowinsizeandeconomicinfluence.AccordingtotheUN,worldwidemeatconsumptionpercapitadoubledbetween1961and2007,andisprojectedtodoubleagainby2050.Globalmeatdemand,coupledwithshortagesinresourceslikewaterandarableland,issparkinginnovationwithinthefoodsciencespace.If,by2025,meatislessavailable,affordableorpalatable,whatproteinswillconsumersbeabletoaccess?
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(Photo:DavidParry)
Today,startupslikeModernMeadowandBeyondMeataredevelopingalternativestofarmraisedmeatthroughinvitroandmeatsubstitutiontechnologies.Iftheindustrytakesoff,thedemandforpalatablesyntheticproteinsandthepeoplewhodesignthemstandstoflourish,aswell.
6.Deextinction Zoologist
Scientistsaroundtheworldaremakingheadwayonbringingextinctspeciesbacktolife,andwhiletherearemanyvalidquestionsandconcernsovertheethicsofdeextinction,theprocessholdspromiseforrestoringandconservingthreatenedenvironments.
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(RoyalBCMuseum)
Forinstance,manyvarietiesofelephantonceroamedtheearthandplayedanimportantpartinthehealthoftheplanetsecosystems.Arenewedelephant(ormammoth!)populationintheUScouldtrampledryearthinthevastdesertifiedswathsoftheAmericanmidwest,aidinghumanreforestationefforts.Oneofthebiggestunknownssurroundingdeextinctionishowpreviouslyextinctanimalswouldfareinecosystemsthathad,inaveryrealsense,leftthembehind.Adeextinctionzoologistcouldhelpmanageaspeciesreintegrationtothewild,andassessanyunintendedecologicalimpactsofthespeciesintroductiontothehabitat.
7.Biomechan icsServicePerson (orMedchan ic)
Withagrowingamountoftechnologybeingintegratedontoandintoourbodies,itsnothardtoenvisiontheriseofinformalspecialistswhocanrepair,upgrade,andmaintainspecificcyberneticaddons.
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(DeusEx:HumanRevolution)
Thesemedchanicsmightworkoutofprivateshops,andvisitingoneoftheseshopsmightbeliketakingacarinforatuneup.Imaginehavingyourbodywornorembeddeddevicesconfigured,repaired,oroverhauledbytheequivalentofavehiclemechanicforthebody.Thepositionmaylackthetheemotionalandpsychologicalaspectsofmoretraditionalhealthcare,butitsefficiencyandsimplicitywillbeawelcomeelementinthefuturecareofourcyborgselves.
8.PharmaArtisan
Onepossibleoutcomeofthepushforpersonalizedmedicine,lowcostgenesequencing,andrapiddrugprototypingisafuturewheresmallbatchesofhighlycustomizeddrugsaredesignedquicklyandsynthesizedondemand.Pharmaartisansmightcraftsmallbatchdrugsbasedonacomprehensiveunderstandingofanindividualsgeneticmakeup,personalhealthhistory,socioeconomicenvironment,personalhabitsanddailyroutines,andsoon.
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TiborKdek/CC
Today,cookingdrugsinaprivatelabconjuresimagesofoutlawsandmisfitsworkingindarkandgreymarkets.Tomorrow,independentdrugproducerscouldoccupyamorelegitimate(andmoretherapeutic)placeinthehealthcareecosystem.
9.ConnectomeArch itect
Thehumanbraincontainsaround115,000neuronspercubicmillimeter,witheachindividualneuronmakinguptoathousandconnectionstotheneuronsaroundit.Thecomplexityinabarelyvisiblecubeofbraintissueisastonishing.Nowconsiderthattheaverageadultbraincontainsaround1.3millionsuchcubes.
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(jgmarcelino/Flickr/CC)
Thatstoputitlightlyalotofwiring.Thetaskofcreatingadiagramthatspecifiestheseinputsandoutputscalledthehumanconnectomeisarguablythemostcomplextechnicalprojecthumanshaveeverembarkedupon.
Butthisprojectisprobablyworththeoverhead.Acompletehumanconnectomecoulddrasticallyimproveourunderstandingofthecircuitleveloriginsofbraindiseasesandmentalillnesses.Itcouldalsohelpfuturehealthprofessionalscreatetargeted,nanosurgicalinterventionsonthehumanbrain.Thinkabouttheconnectomeastheschematicsofabuilding.Ifthebuildingrequiresworkonitsfoundations,theblueprintcanhelpusunderstandwhatpartsofthebuildingrequirebuttressing.Inlikefashion,theconnectomecouldprovideaguideforplanningsurgeriesthatrerouteneuronalprocessestoeliminateunwantedmentalcharacteristics(orenabledesirableones).
GeorgeP.DvorskyservesasChairoftheIEETBoardofDirectorsandalsoheadsourRightsofNonHumanPersonsprogram.HeisaCanadianfuturist,sciencewriter,andbioethicist.Heisacontributingeditoratio9wherehewritesaboutscience,culture,andfuturismandproduceroftheSentientDevelopmentsblogandpodcast.HeservedfortwotermsatHumanity+(formerlytheWorldTranshumanistAssociation).GeorgeproducesSentientDevelopmentsblogandpodcast.
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