Rare and neglected diseases remain a serious problem in our modern world, despite advances in science and technology. Big pharmaceutical companies don't fund research and development into treatments for these diseases because they aren't profitable. The drugs end up costing much more to make than they'll earn back, so they remain un- or underfunded.
Recently a 57-year-old man received a breakthrough operation. He was bedridden for several months and desperately needed a heart transplant. However, he had several health conditions which made him not suitable for the operation. In a last attempt to save the patient’s life, the Food and Drug Administration gave permission to attempt a genetically modified pig heart transplant for the first time in history.
Vaccines can be a controversial issue in some cultures. For instance, according to the Washington Post, in the United States, 9 per cent of adults oppose vaccinating children against measles. Also, many people believe that the coronavirus vaccines are not safe.
Countries have different policies regarding whether it should be mandatory to vaccinate children. Have a look at the map below and discuss what you see with your teacher.
Vaccination against the COVID-19 virus started in December 2020. It has progressed at an unequal rate around the world. As of late April 2021, only a few million people had received a vaccination in the whole of the African continent, while over 200 million Americans had been vaccinated.
However, for some smaller countries, the situation can change very quickly.
Please take a look at the graph below and discuss what you see with your teacher.
Today, more than a quarter of Japan's population is aged over 65. This is set to increase to 40% by 2055. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has warned that Japan will need to add one million nurses and care workers by 2025 to cope with this demographic change.
Encouraging immigration may seem like a simple solution—but it's not a popular one. Japan is still one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries in the world, with foreigners making up less than 2% of the population. Opening up Japan to large-scale immigration is a very sensitive subject.
Sarah’s Instagram feed is pretty typical for a 21-year-old model-slash-influencer living in Florida. There’s one important difference: In all of her pictures, she’s wearing scrubs.
Being a "nursefluencer," a term that I have admittedly made up but that describes a growing population, is similar to being a regular influencer.
Two scientists who discovered how to harness the body’s immune system to fight cancer won the 2018 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine. James Allison, of the US, and Tasuku Honjo, of Japan, shared the 9m Swedish kronor ($1m/¥113m) prize.
The scientists’ groundbreaking work on the immune system has paved the way for a new class of cancer drugs that are already dramatically changing outcomes for patients. It is the first time the development of a cancer therapy has been recognised with a Nobel prize.
The number of tourists to Japan has more than quadrupled since 2009, and the government aims to boost that figure to 40 million by 2020 and 60 million by 2030. But the growing influx is likely to put a greater strain on Japan’s hospitals as many patients from overseas arrive without insurance and are unable to pay for treatment.
The problem is not limited to cost, however. Communication is also a hurdle, both at hospitals and especially small clinics. While some facilities can conduct treatment in foreign languages, many can only do so in English or Chinese.
A Japanese medical school has been accused of manipulating the test scores of female applicants for years to artificially depress the number of women in the student body, a scandal that has triggered sharp criticism.
The revelations have highlighted institutional barriers that women in Japan still face as they pursue work in fields that have long been dominated by men.
According to Keith Rabois, a Khosla Ventures partner and former executive at LinkedIn, PayPal, and Square, areas that require human expert judgment, like healthcare and law, are most likely to see disruption in the coming years.
"One of the most interesting things we’ve noticed over the last decade is the ability of math and machines to replace human judgment, particularly expert judgment," Rabois said on Founder Calls, a new podcast run by Box CEO Aaron Levie.
