Touchpoint 1
Unraveling the Mystery: The Reasons Behind the Shorter Lifespan of Men Compared to Women
What is it?
The X chromosome has genes for immunity and vitality and women have two of these chromosomes whereas men only have one. This may be one reason women live longer than men. Estrogen has also been linked to health benefits. And researchers also think gender roles and expectations for each play a role too.
Potential message to students:
If you have a choice between chromosomes, hormones, and societal factors, which one do you think has the most impact on men living shorter lives? So you think science will figure out what helps women live longer and make it available to men as a drug?
Touchpoint 2
Reshape wants to help ‘decode nature’ by automating the ‘visual’ part of lab experiments
What is it?
A startup in Copenhagen is working on a robot that can watch experiments in petri dishes and other mediums and watch for tiny changes using AI. This means no human is needed to look at and analyze experiment outputs. This could usher in a new era where experiments are conducted only by machine and run 24 hours a day.
Potential message for students:
Would you trust AI to watch your experiments? What if the AI only noticed something and you then put eyes on it to confirm outcomes? Do you think the largest company on earth in 2050 will be a biology company? Do you think there will ever be a trillionaire who made all her money in biological technology?
Touchpoint 3
Language Model Reads the Genome and Designs More Effective mRNA Vaccines
What is it?
Genome information has its own grammar, syntax, and narrative. Scientists think they can use existing large language models, like ChatGPT uses, to train a chat engine that understands and answers questions about the human genome. This could lead to brand new treatments including vaccines.
Potential message to students:
Do you think there will be a day when you can upload your entire genome to a model and not only get a report back but be able to “converse” with your genes and ask them questions? Do you think this will lead to drugs being made that are tailored to your exact genes?