SESSION EIGHT

And so, this is the week everyone is feeling all restless and tired! The week after break! The break was not much of a break with all the projects and homework piled up. Anyway, snapping out of the break mode, this week’s lesson was on Energy and World Change, from past, present to future.

Energy is vital to human civilization in today’s day and age. Since the industrial revolution, the consumption of energy has been increasing exponential. Almost everything around us requires energy, our lights, stoves, heaters, cars, airplanes etc. However, the sources of energy that we use today are non-renewable; which mean that ones we use it, it is gone forever. At the rate at which humans are consuming energy in the world, it should not be of a surprise that our resources are depleting. About 78% of the world’s consumption of energy comes from fossil fuels and this is expected to run out in 2060. Only about 19% of our energy are renewable, and these numbers in my opinion, should rise to 80% in the future years. This is to ensure sustainability so that our future generations will not be shortchanged in any way. However, 80% is hardly a possible target within the next 10, 20 years. This is due to our high reliance on fossil fuels and changing to renewable may be hard to adapt. Renewable sources of energy are not as efficient and convenient as fossil fuels for sure, but I believe that advance technology will continuously provide more ways to increase the efficiencies of these alternatives sources of energy.

There are so much potential sources of energy around, which gives us a reason and optimism to believe that we will someday be able to ensure the sustainability of energy. Firstly, the sun is one such potential source of energy. As mentioned in the slides, the sun provides more energy to the Earth in one hour than humankind currently uses in an entire year. Concepts of solar power have already been used, although not much(1.4% consumption of energy). However, if we could invent a more efficient technique to capture the solar energy from the sun, the problem of energy scarcity will be resolved! The concepts of solar power is a stepping stone, who knows perhaps in a few years time, advanced technology will be able to capture 50% of the solar power. Secondly, tornado energy. This was mentioned by one of the presenters today which I thought was quite interesting. Tornados exert a huge amount of energy, and if we could capture some of these energy, we would be able to power households with these energy. Personally I thought that more investments should fund this potential source of energy as discusses in class. Although some classmates addressed the fatal issues that were attached to the idea, I thought that precisely because of the issues, more investments should be pumped in so to reduce or eliminate those. We have exhaust almost every resource we have on Earth, and I feel that if we do not dare to take a step forward to try out different potential sources, we will not ever succeed in attaining sustainability. Therefore, I feel that this source of energy is feasible and more investments should be pumped in to fund research. Lastly, the anti-matter source of energy. Personally, I felt that to use this form of energy is a little overboard because it is truly fatal. We would disappear in a split second when we come in contact with anti-matters. However, like the tornado energy, I feel that we should be daring to try new potential sources to achieve the target we want.

Also, I feel that to be able to achieve sustainability for energy, everyone should play a part. Governments must have strong political will to enforce stricter rules for corporations’ usage of energy or to raise prices of energy. These will act as deterrence to wastage of energy.

Overall, I would rate the lesson 8/10 :)

TWC Individual Report Draft 1

Executive Summary

Innovation for discussion : In Vitro Fertilization

What will be included in this paper :

· Background of IVF

· Historical perspective

· Current situation

· Future consideration

· Conclusion

Background/Introduction

The revolutionary innovation of the IVF has gone down into history. Never before man could artificially create a new life, never before there would be a solution to infertility. No one would have imagined the IVF made possible decades ago. This was certainly a big leap forward in technology and marks a great milestone for mankind. IVF rewrote the rules and has brought hope to millions of infertile couples and older women who have difficulties conceiving at their age. Biological deficiency is no longer an obstacle to having children unlike before. Before IVF was introduced, couples who were clinically diagnosed infertile could not start their families, let alone carry on their family’s lifeline. This is of a grave importance, especially to traditional Asian families where the males are expected to have off springs to carry on their family’s lifeline. Therefore, infertility is not an option in these families, if not consequences will dire. Therefore, the benefits that we can reap from IVF are unprecedented.

In Vitro Fertilization is a process by which egg cells are fertilized by the sperm outside the human body. The term “in vitro” originated from the Latin word “ in glass” as biological experiments in the past were carried out in glass containers. Mature eggs from the women’s ovary will be collected after being artificially stimulated to increase the numbers of mature eggs produced. After which, fertilization will take place when the eggs are placed together with the sperm. Embryos will be formed after 2 to 5 days and will be implanted back into the women’s uterus. However, before the actual process actually takes place, there is a long procedure to follow before this is made possible. The women will be given drugs to suppress the natural cycle and following this, fertility hormone drugs will be taken to increase the number of eggs produced. The IVF process is taxing on the woman’s emotional, physical body and require much determination and perseverance, therefore proper checkups will be facilitated by clinics before executing the process. (The issues will be explained further in detail.) Medicine is never absolute, so is IVF. After the implantation of embryos into the uterus, it does not guarantee a pregnancy. Therefore, couples have to be prepared for the outcome. Retrieved from : http://www.fertilityjourney.com.sg/therapyOptions/AssistedReproduction/IVF/TheIVFProcess/index.asp?C=41845408256931828704

Historical Perspective

Although the IVF made its grand entrance in the 20^th century, similar innovations and ideas that led to the development of it had begun decades before 1978 when the first successful “test-tube baby” was born. The concepts behind IVF then and now were also different. It was reported that the concept behind IVF begun in the 1981 when a professor and physicist named Walter Heape experimented to transfer the embryos of one pregnant rabbit to another. He inserted the embryos of a one breed (Angora) into the uterus of another recently mated breed (Belgian) and this resulted in 4 Belgians and 2 Angoras of rabbits being born. This was the first ever successful transfer of preimplantation embryos into a gestational carrier without affecting their development. (Randy S Morris M.D ) After the successful transferring of embryos, numerous of scientists became interested in this field of science. Subsequently, scientists like Gregory Pincus reported that human eggs would mature within 12 hours in a laboratory in 1939 and MC Chang reported the first unequivocal case of a live birth in 1959. The legacies of these great scientists were then carried on, with more and more breakthroughs in this area.

As we can see, the concept of IVF is not completely new. However, it was never thought of an infertility treatment before unlike now, where the similar concept is used to provide solutions for infertility. Research continued and it was not until the late 1960’s that it was made possible to fertilise a human egg outside the human body. The only possible alternative for infertile parents to have children at that time was to adopt, but numbers available for adoption were low. Then in July 1978, the world saw a medical breakthrough nevertheless in this field of science and marked the first successful birth of a “test-tube baby”. Years of failed attempts and medical research have finally introduced In vitro Fertilisation to the world and gave hope to millions of infertile couples. After the first successful birth however, success rates still remained low. Medical specialists and professionals continue to embark on their research based on the process to create the “test-tube baby”. As years past and technology became more advanced, success rates increased tremendously. In 1985, there was only 5% success rate of pregnancy for those who underwent the treatment. However, fast forward to today, that number had climbed up at a tremendous rate. The average success rate for women under the age of 35 is 44% and for women above 40 years of age range from 7% to 35%. (IVF success rates, 2011 ) These statistics are expected to rise even higher in the near future and this will definitely benefit more couples.

Current situation

Benefits

IVF has indeed revolutionized the medical arena in the area of child birth. In the world today, approximately 1 out of 7 couples have difficulties conceiving. As stress levels are rapidly rising around the world due to strive for efficiency and productivity, the numbers for infertility are also increasing rapidly around the world. Infertility could be due to either the men or women or due to unexplained causes. Therefore, the introduction of In Vitro Fertilization can offer hope to such parents. It also offers an opportunity for older women to conceive despite their age. As technology advances, success rates have seen a tremendous improvement. Success rate for women below 35 is now 47.6% and about 30% for those above 35 and these rates are unprecedented. (IVF success rates, 2011 ) Due to success of IVF, it is no longer the last option for infertile couples after every treatment have failed. It has become the first option as it maximizes the opportunity to conceive as soon as possible. The high success rates also boost the confidence of these couples.

Also, the selection of embryos allows the detecting of genetic abnormalities and avoiding of inheritable diseases before implanting the eggs into the patient. Though this is mentioned as a major ethical issue, it is undoubtedly beneficial for parents in terms of the financial and emotional aspect. This is also very beneficial since some women have a higher risk for having a child affected by various complications, and thus the selection of embryos will reduce the health risks of the mother.

Issues

As put forward aptly by George Bernard Shaw, co-founder of London School of Economics, “Technology does not solve a problem without creating 10 more” and IVF is no exception. Despite all the benefits we can reap from the invention, there are a whole lot of issues attached to it and many of which are controversial issues up till today. These are some issues and benefits that arise from the revolutionary innovation.

Ethical issues

Ethical issues are perhaps the most glaring issues with the advent of IVF. They have made headlines and sparked debates all over the world by many different groups of people. The IVF process require the fertilization of the sperm and the egg outside the human body, and only the best embryos will be transferred to the women’s uterus, while the rest of the unused embryos will be discarded. Ann, M. Some moral and ethical issues concerning IVF techniques. Retrieved April 15, 2009, from http://brendakaren.wordpress.com. As we read this simple description of the process, we can easily pinpoint the existing issues involved. Every single process in itself is an ethical issue.

Firstly, the first issue raised is the fact that human life is created outside the human body. This has been argued by many religious groups that life should only be created through the closest intimacy of the husband and wife. Also, proponents argue that children should be a gift from God rather than defying nature, creating them outside the human body. Scientists have been criticized again and again for playing “God” by using artificial contraception. Lehardy, C. ( 2007, November 10)

Adding on, embryos, to some people are human lives, but to some are not. This debate has been ongoing for as long as humans acquire the technology to extract embryos from the human body. Therefore, for those who believe that the embryo is a human life, are we freely discarding lives while discarding the embryos? Although one life is created through IVF, many are destroyed in the process. Is this the extent we take onto creating a life? Do we have the rights to do so? Can killing one embryo be justified to save another? It is almost impossible to have absolute answers to these questions. Depending on one’s belief, the answers will defer.

Another major ethical issue about IVF is that, as mentioned before, there is a careful selection of the embryos before transferring into the woman’s uterus. This is done to avoid inheritable diseases being passed on to the child. This is again argued by religious groups that scientists have no rights to alter genes as they are not “God”.

In a modern capitalist world we live in today, it should not come as a surprise that eggs are being commoditized. Women, especially those single and desperate to earn quick cash, are “donating” their eggs and receiving cash payments in return for it. https://www.eggdonor.com/ is one site that offers these incentives in exchange for eggs. One would not believe the extent these women will go to earn cash quickly, but this is an issue that arose.

In today’s day and age, it is evident that science and religion can never strike a compromise. Science has time and again dispelled religious beliefs but does this mean that science is always right and will always prevail? The question now is, where do we draw the line with regards to morality or what it means to be ethical, or is it even possible to do so? In my opinion, one should not be too caught up in religion if one wants to advance in the society. Since science and religion can never be on the same line, I believe that none should impede the progress of the other. Certainly, one can be a strong believer of his own religion and not commit anything against his values. However, they need to recognize everyone has their own set of beliefs and values and if an individual believes that IVF is suitable process to go through, no one should or has the right to criticize her for being unethical in her decision. Those who made the decision to undergo IVF should fully recognize the process they will be going through.

Also, since there is the technology and opportunity to prevent a defect baby, we should not disqualify but rather carry out with the process as we have agreed that science and religion can never come to an agreement. A non-defect child will not cause an additional burden to parents as defect children generally needs more attention and attentive care. Parents then need to dedicate lots of time to their children and by doing so, this will deny them of lots of opportunities. Financial wise, parents’ burden will not be too heavy as medical fees are hefty.

Moreover, religious groups should have seen this coming from the very start when the idea was first proposed to create life outside the human body. These arguments are not unfounded as no strong believer will ever support the idea at all.

Social issues

IVF was also in the limelight regarding several social issues. The most common issue raised by non -supporters is that there is growing use of IVF for lesbian and gay couples to conceive and they are no longer confined by the biological means of child-bearing. Lehardy, C. ( 2007, November 10). They are able to have genetically linked children of their own. This is a growing concern as not all countries are liberal to accept the lesbian gay bisexual transgender(LGBT) community, let alone them having children of their own.

Another social issue there is a possibility of IVF baby mix-up. Ann, M. Some moral and ethical issues concerning IVF techniques. Retrieved April 15, 2009, from http://brendakaren.wordpress.com. News of such cases has surfaced in the recent years and caused a major out roar on the incompetency of clinics. Imagine conceiving a child then realizing the baby’s is not your own due to the mix up of sperms or eggs. This scenario may seem to happen only in television dramas, but it exists today. This will cause an emotional trauma and have detrimental effects on the family. The parents, especially the father, will feel detached from the child, knowing he/she does not have his genes.

Of course, conceiving a baby comes with a price tag, a hefty one to be more exact. Although opportunities and hope are given to infertile couples, many are being left out due to the cost of the treatment. An average cost for treatment is about $12,000, and while this seems to be a reasonable price tag for a baby, the less affluent will not be able to afford. Skoch, I. ( 2010, July 21 ) Should IVF be affordable for all? Newsweek. Hence, while IVF hopes to help infertile couples to conceive, it only helps those affluent ones.

Lastly, the emotional trauma that parents could face if the treatment is not successful. Success rates differ from person to person. It is dependent on many factors like age, number of embryos inserted, health condition on the woman etc. Since IVF is the last resort for most infertile couples, if the treatment does not carry out smoothly and they are still unsuccessful in conceiving, the emotional impact on them will be dramatic. This may cause women to go into depression, or even strain relationships.

The price tag placed on the treatment may seem relatively expensive compared to other infertility treatments. However, the cost of the treatment in my opinion is nothing compared to the cost of not being able to have children of your own at all. The emotional torture and time spent worrying is also a form of cost that cannot be put into or compared to monetary terms. ( Dr Malpani ) Therefore to me, costs should not be a major deciding factor for those who can afford it. As for those who are less affluent, there are several schemes put in place to help these people afford for the treatment. For example in the case of Singapore, these parents are entitled to various medical schemes like the Medisave or Medishield so to help them afford for these treatments. Also, in the case of the US where IVF treatments costs are exorbitant, several private clinics charge only half the price of what the public hospitals are quoting. This is because they believe everyone should be given an equal opportunity to get access to the treatment and if there are more competitors in the field, prices will be brought down eventually. The clinics in the US have been aiming to bring the price down so that more people are given the opportunity to receive the treatment. Skoch, I. ( 2010, July 21 ) Should IVF be affordable for all? Newsweek

The issue on the mix up of babies has been under scrutiny and more regulations have been put in place so to ensure such cases are minimized or will not occur at all. Clinics are given huge fines and warnings when such cases occur and this has been an effective deterrent for such unforgiveable mistakes to occur.

Procedure issues

While IVF seems to be the extraordinary baby making technology, it is not all that mighty. It has flaws in its procedures too. Around 1 in every 4 couples will have twins for those who successfully conceived, in comparison with 1 in every 80 couples in population. Triplets are not surprising as well as not only one embryo would be implanted into the woman’s uterus but a few. While this may seem like a blessing to have more children, it increases the chances of miscarriage. (Tuohy. W, 2003) Also, parents may not be prepared or financially-abled to support more than one child.

New restrictions have been put in place to prevent this from occurring as this issue is of a significant risk to the mother. The number of embryos that can be transferred have been reduced so that there will also be reduced chances of multiple births from occurring. It is also made compulsory for doctors to advise and notify the risks of multiple births to their patients before carrying out the process. (2009, October 20) New IVF Guidelines Aim to Reduce Multiple Births. Healthday News. This is to educate the patients so that they would make more informed choices and would be mentally prepared if the situation were to occur. Issued guidelines over the years have reduced multiple births by 60%, and this has a tremendous positive impact on this issue. Thus, the new restrictions put in place will most likely further reduce the number of multiple births from occurring.

In all, although it seems like issues raised by IVF outweighs the benefits, and it is unethical to go forward with the invention, more and more countries are adopting and legalizing this artificial method of contraception. To date, close to four million healthy babies have been conceived through IVF. Melina, R. (2010, October 5) However, the less developed countries are still not able to get access to IVF.

Future considerations

The potential of IVF seems limitless as it is still a fairly young but impactful innovation.

Many couples in the developed countries are postponing marriages and this can be attributed by the following factors: expensive to have children due to rising standards of living, women pursuing their careers before starting a family due to higher education and the declining value of marriage. Therefore, IVF is projected to be widely used by not only infertile couples but also those fertile women who decide to give birth at a later age. Also, as technology advances, the success rates of IVF will too increase. This will then lead to about 30% of all couples might eventually be undergoing IVF to conceive in the future. Therefore, will IVF one day be one of the solutions to the declining population growth in developed countries? Infertile couples and older women can now conceive and this will contribute to the population numbers.

In addition to the point above, about 30% of all couples might eventually be undergoing IVF to conceive in the future is also due to efficiency. The word “efficiency” may sound a little crude to describe the child bearing process. However, it seems that couples will eventually view IVF as a shorter route to pregnancy. Blackburn-Starza, A. (2008, August 12) The future of IVF remains problematic. Bionews. As we live in a world where productivity and efficiency are of paramount importance, conceiving will not be of an exception. IVF’s success rate is projected to increase in the future and this will help couples conceive more conveniently and efficiently, thus attracting more couples to undergo IVF. Also, IVF has a higher percentage rate of being able to conceive twins as compared to natural contraception. This will in a way “entice” women to undergo IVF as they are able to have two children in one process.

One other future consideration is that IVF will be used more widespread than ever and there will lead to more IVF centres being set up due to lucrative profits. With increased competition, costs will then be kept at minimum level as prices will be competitive. In this way, people are able to afford and are given equal opportunities to receive these treatments. Also, advanced technology will perhaps increase the efficiency of the process and drive costs down. As mentioned in the above, since costs still remain as a deciding factor for infertile couples, it will less likely to be an issue in the future.

Another future consideration is perhaps a little controversial – designing our next generation. Since scientists can decide to select which embryos to insert into the uterus to avoid diseases, can they alter genes such that parents can choose the sex or a specific code of genes before inserting into the uterus? This issue may sound a little crazy, but as we all know that nothing is impossible to scientists. They are able to beat against all odds with their scientific research, thus, designing our next generation with IVF will remain as a future concern.

Lastly, single women or the gay community use donated sperms to conceive. The profiles of donors are not to be disclosed to prevent discrimination. This will lead to a serious issue when a few more millions of people will undergo IVF in the future – incest. When sperm donors donate their sperms, their sperms will be “distributed” to several women. This will mean that the children of this sperm donor share the same father. In the future when more children are conceived through IVF with donated sperms, we are not able to verify who their fathers are and will only be able to do so through DNA testing. This may lead to the issue of incest when the children of the same father marry and give birth.

Conclusion

I personally support IVF treatments. Although it may have raised certain controversial issues, it is undoubtedly a revolutionary breakthrough in the medical field and for mankind. It has changed the history of contraception. Children are our future and their innocence makes the world a better place to live in. Thus, since infertile parents are given an opportunity to conceive, why deny them of a chance to? Also, with the decline in population growth in developed countries, IVF will certainly encourage infertile parents to have children of their own.

However, despite how impactful IVF may seem, we must recognise that we should not abuse this treatment. It is a double aged sword. Millions of people will be able to reap the benefits from this invention if it is used with consideration. Many have treated the IVF as a money making invention whereby people can commoditized their sperms or eggs. This has led to an out roar from non -supporters as well as religious groups. To prevent similar allegations, people should not take advantage of the innovation.

References

IVF success rates (n.d) para. 5. Retrieved from http://www.ivf-success-rates.net/

Morris, R.S. IVF – In Vitro Fertilisation

Para 5 -7. Retrieved from http://www.ivf1.com/ivf/.

Malpani, A. Benefits of IVF

Para 8 – 12. Retrieved from : http://www.drmalpani.com/ivfbenefits.htm

Fertility process (n.d) para 16 – 21. Retrieved from

http://www.fertilityjourney.com.sg/therapyOptions/AssistedReproduction/IVF/TheIVFProcess/index.asp?C=38225408273089699074

Ann, M.(2009, April 15) Some moral and ethical issues concerning IVF techniques. Devotion to the

Holy Souls in Purgatory. Retrieved from :

http://brendakaren.wordpress.com/2009/04/15/some-moral-and-ethical-issues-concerning-ivf-techniques/

Tuohy. W (2003, February 8) Multiple Problems from IVF births.

Retrieved from : http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/02/07/1044579934913.html

Eggs are being commoditized. Retrieved from https://www.eggdonor.com/

Lehardy, C. ( 2007, November 10) IVF and the ethical dilemmas of infertility. One Christian’s view of

Post-modern life. Retrieved from

http://www.anotherthink.com/contents/postmodern_culture/20071110_ivf_and_the_ethical_dilemmas_of_infertility.html

Skoch, I. ( 2010, July 21 ) Should IVF be affordable for all?

Retrieved from : http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/07/20/should-ivf-be- affordable-for-all.html

(2009, October 20 ) New IVF Guidelines Aim to Reduce Multiple Births.

Retrieved from : http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/womens-health/articles/2009/10/20/new-ivf-guidelines-aim-to-reduce-multiple-births

Blackburn-Starza, A. (2008, August 12) The future of IVF remains problematic.

Retrieved from : http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_38009.asp

SESSION SEVEN

This week’s lesson(before the break:D ) is the topic on Biobusiness Revolution : Agribiology, Environmental Life Sciences and Industrial Biotechnology. It is yet another fresh topic for me and my knowledge bank expanded again J

First and foremost, we started the lesson with a quote by Prof : “ When we are able to grow the resources we need, we will finally be on the road to sustainability”. There is no doubt that the way humans are exploiting the environment today, it is hard to imagine what will be left for our future generations. Unless we can make products sustainably, we will never have a sustainable world. However, with regards to Prof’s quote, I believe human ingenuity will enable us to grow the resources we need. We see improvements in the world today and some examples include proving Malthusian’s theory wrong, continuing innovating bio-degradable and renewable resources like bioplastics, biofuels, nuclear energy, green technology, blue technology etc. We are at least off to a good start to creating a sustainable world.

Also on Tuesday’s lesson, we had the honor to have a Japanese guest with us during lecture and she is a part of the Unicef. She mentioned that Unicef is doing their part by providing education to the less fortunate. This preventive measure is commendable as they are practicing “Be the change you want to see in the world” as mentioned a few lessons ago. In this way, the world will have less people suffering by being uneducated, and vicious cycle will affect lesser people in the world.

Another quote I would like to comment on is : “There’s enough on this planet for everyone’s need but not for everyone’s greed” by Mahatma Gandhi. I thought this quote really hit the nail on the head. Everyone is talking about food shortage and more food shortage for the world. In fact, in the world we live in today, there is more than enough food to feed everyone. However, why are there still about 1 billion people short of food? The reason is greed. Corruption is rampant in some of the most affected less developed countries. There are millions of people starving and dying in Zimbabwe for example because of the incompetency of the government. We shouldn’t be in the situation whereby a billion people are suffering but because of greedy and selfish people, some people are unfortunately still stuck in the poverty cycle.

GM food was mentioned during class too. In my opinion, whether or not GM food are labeled or not, it does not really matter to me. I think not only me, but a lot of people out there have been consuming GM food all their lives and since they have not been labeled from then, I think the tradition can still be carried on. However, objectively speaking, companies should label as some people might be allergic to certain common food substances like peanuts or milk. The health of these people are put at a risk if they do not label the GM food.

Overall, I would rate the lesson 8/10.

SESSION SIX

Today’s lesson was pretty interesting and fresh! The topic was on Biobusiness and I honestly had little idea about this topic before I went into class. Biobusiness, as we can infer from the term, is the commercial activity based on the understanding of life sciences and life science process. For example, the everyday pharmaceutical, healthcare are all part of Biobusiness. It has an increasing share in countries as well as the world’s GDP.

This is one of the tables Prof showed us as trends of global burden of disease. From the table, we can compare the differences in causes of death from 1990 to 2020. We can see that lower respiratory infections dropped from the top cause of death in 1990 to the 6^th in 2020, while the heart disease rose from the 5^th top cause of death in 1990 to the top cause of death in 2020. In 1990, it is perhaps hard to imagine that heart diseases and major depression would be the top 2 cause of death in 2020. However, in today’s day and age, it is of no surprise. There is a new global middle class rising from emerging countries and people are more affluent all over the world. We are able to afford to eat comfortably, and sometimes perhaps, excessively. Despite increased awareness of obesity and education on eating healthy, there are still 1 billion adults overweight and 300million obese worldwide today. This statistics is a stunner and it is increasing rapidly. This is why is not surprising why heart disease is the top cause of death as obesity will lead to heart diseases. Adding on, in today’s context, efficiency and productivity is crucial. This is has caused increasing stress levels as having to constantly meet deadlines. Stress will also contributes to aggravating the heart and therefore lead to a heart disease. Stress also contributes to depression, which is the second top cause of death in 2020. There are lots of reasons why people go into depression and perhaps rising divorce levels, stress levels, deprivation are some examples why people do so. I personally agree that the heart disease and major depression will be the top 2 causes of death in 2020, however, I do not agree that war will appear in the top 10 of causes of death. The world today is so globalized and connected that countries are so dependent on each other. China has huge amounts of bonds in the US, Singapore has large reserves in Switzerland banks, currencies are pegged against the US, every country is so economically interconnected with one another. Thus, I feel that waging war will be farfetched in the future, and will not be in the top 10. Even if there is war, it will be an economic one.

Also, during the lesson, one question was brought up about counterfeit drugs, whether or not we are able to stop counterfeiting drugs. Personally, I think it’s not possible at all. Firstly, there is just too many syndicate groups out there to actually bust each and every one of them. Even if we manage to bust one, another one will pop up. Why? The reason is simple, there are huge profits to be earned in this business. Due to asymmetric information by consumers, it is easy for these syndicates to bluff their way through. Besides, since aesthetically it is exactly the same as the real ones, consumers will not question. This makes the business more lucrative as it is an essential to consumers. Secondly, the procedures to check if the drugs are real or not is time consuming. Since it is not possible for investigators to check on the spot, they have to run several tests before being able to detect if it is counterfeit or not.

Another question brought up during class was also if technology will cause healthcare to be more expensive or not. I did not get to voice out my opinions but I feel it technology will cause healthcare to be cheaper. Initially, yes healthcare will be more expensive due to fees needed to pay the researchers and practitioners. However, the technology will become a fixed cost whereby when it is used commonly by people, it will be made cheaper. An example is that of LASIK. Initially, when it was first introduced, it was a revolutionary breakthrough in the medical field. A treatment cost about 10k in the past, however now, it only costs an average of 3k. Therefore I feel that technology will eventually cause healthcare to be cheaper.

I would rate the lesson 9/10 as I had an enjoyable time learning new stuffs :)