Category: Medicine

By 2050, the ways in which we watch our health, seek medical advice, get treatment, and what we’re treated for will change dramatically.

By  Matthew S. Williams

Welcome back to the “Life in 2050” series. In previous installments, we looked at how technological advancements, climate change, and changes in the geopolitical landscape will alter the nature of warfare, economics, living at home, education, transportation, and space exploration (in two installments) in the coming decades.

Today, we will look at how these same changes and advancements will revolutionize medicine by the middle of this century. As with all the other aspects of life we’ve explored, this revolution is already well underway, but will accelerate dramatically as we get closer to 2050. This will present new opportunities for healthier living, but also new hazards.

“T Regulatory Cells” [Microscope image].

By Ned Pagliarulo

Five cancer cell therapies are approved in the U.S. Scores more are in clinical testing as drugmakers work to repurpose human cells as a platform for new medicines, many of which are similarly targeted at different types of cancer.

Fungi containing psilocybin – otherwise known as magic mushrooms – will be part of government-funded trials into mental health treatments.

By Rob Harris

Clinical trials using magic mushrooms, ecstasy and other psychedelic drugs in potential breakthrough therapies for debilitating mental illnesses will be funded by the federal government as part of global efforts to advance innovative treatments.

There is growing international evidence showing substances such as ketamine, psilocybin and MDMA can successfully treat resistant mental illnesses, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, when used in a controlled environment and supported by psychiatric care.

Many standard treatments for illnesses, including addiction and eating disorders, can have varied efficacy and recovery rates and there have been few advances in novel pharmaceutical discoveries in recent years.

The Morrison government will on Wednesday launch a $15 million competitive grant round to kick-start Australian clinical trials of potential breakthrough combination therapies.

By TONY TRAN

It’s the stuff of legend: a way to stop — or at least slow down — aging. 

Unlike Ponce de León searching for immortality in the swamps of Florida, though, a growing number of scientists now believe a treatment for Type 2 diabetes might be the key to slowing down the aging process, according to The Washington Post. 

More specifically, the scientists believe that the treatment — called metformin — can help prevent or slow down three age-related ailments: dementia, heart disease, and cancer. If metformin can effectively combat these diseases, it can also potentially extend our lifespan.

Note the language: it might extend our lifespan. Not make us immortal.