Can you imagine a world without electricity, transportation systems, temperature control mechanisms, machines to run X-rays and MRIs, and communication devices? Where would we be as societies if such were the case?
Fortunately, it is not, and technology has provided humanity the tools to improve our lives and make them more enjoyable and interesting. One day, they might even prevent our own extinction as species.
As we keep that in mind, let us look into three key science and technology trends in business, the environment, and healthcare.
Business: Security Above All
In the 21st century, and perhaps also at every other point since the industrial revolution of the mid-nineteenth century in several European countries and the United States, security has been an integral part of how business is conducted both at a local and global scale. While in years past, it was about protecting physical products, manuals, and corporate infrastructure. Today, it entails the safety of information, namely as it pertains to research and development, trade secrets, and employee and customer data.
We live at a time when ill-purposed individuals and organizations the world over are willing to pay a lot of money for confidential information that will, in turn, generate more profit for themselves and the entities they run.
Luckily, as knowledge and intelligence become more vital to a firm’s success, so do the mechanisms designed to protect it. In this day and age, companies big and small can work hand in hand with high-tech, state-of-the-art commercial security systems that provide multi-layered security capabilities, including door access controls, motion sensors, fire alarms, panic buttons, smart locks, and many others. As a result, firms can now conduct their businesses in a safe environment ideal for organizational growth.
Environment: Paying it Forward
The high-frequency active auroral research program, or HAARP, began in 1993 and was decommissioned in 2014. While the specifics of HAARP are too complicated to explore in this article, in essence, it entailed the use of high-frequency signals triggered into the ionosphere with the purpose of exciting particular areas within it. According to several theories, this would lead to people being able to control weather patterns in different areas of the globe, which in turn would maximize the sowing of crops, prevent floods and times of drought, and even predict natural disasters such as typhoons and to a lesser extent, earthquakes.
In the past few decades, there has been environmental destruction than in centuries before that, and thousands of species of flora and fauna have either gone extinct or find themselves at the brink of disappearing. In addition, the world is getting hotter and more populated, leading to the slow but steady meltdown of the polar icecaps, and our resources are now vastly fewer than before.
Yet, while we might never be able to fully control the weather, science and technology continue to provide us with alternative sources of energy and other ideas that will enable us and the generations to follow to enjoy all the benefits this world has to offer.
Health: Leaps and Bounds
The process of developing a new medicine is a long, winding, and expensive affair. On average, a prescription drug will take anywhere between ten and 15 years to be developed and cost more than two billion dollars. Clinical trials alone often last six to seven years to complete. And this doesn’t even take into account patents, commercial capabilities, and distribution.
But, if that is the case, how come the covid-19 vaccine was ready in less than a year? How was it possible for companies like Pfizer, Moderna, Astra Zeneca, and others to develop, try out, and mass-deploy vaccines for this treacherous disease?
Regular folk like you and me will never know the answers to these and other questions, and in all honesty, they shouldn’t matter to us. Needless to say, billions of lives have been saved, and the only thing we should feel is a deep sense of gratitude to those who have spent their time, resources, and energy to help us.
There is nothing to be happy about regarding the covid-19 global pandemic. Still, these challenging times have resulted in a greater technological development in healthcare than any of us could have expected. And it looks to continue for many years to come.
Three of the most important science and technology trends currently at the forefront are cutting-edge security systems in businesses, a renewed focus on environmental protection and sustainability, and pushing the envelope in terms of healthcare and medical advancements. In an ever-changing world where nothing appears to be certain and decisions shift from one moment to the next, they continue to be fundamental aspects of human development and survival.