Biology, like any other stream of modern science has seen
great discoveries leading to mind-blowing inventions and a better understanding
of disease, disease progression and ‘life’ in general. Great discoveries
starting from the discovery of penicillin (in 1928 but actual use started in
the 1940s) to advances in stem cells research led to a renaissance in the field
of medicine. However, the current technologies and the drug discovery paradigm
still leave a lot to be desired in terms of understanding the biology of the
healthy and the diseased! So what is missing?
The basic understanding of the life processes has improved
and different approaches both “top-down” and “Bottoms-up” viewpoints are being
looked into. We have moved ahead with great advances in the hardware side
wherein we can now observe single cell in action; we can sequence the whole
genome/transcriptome of humans, yet I believe that we are not there where we should have
been. What is missing is a holistic approach to understanding the healthy and
the diseased. A collaborative effort looking at the broader picture is the need
of the hour. Authors like Dr Amit Goswami (Book- The Quantum Doctor) has argued
in the favour of an approach that takes into consideration not only the
different branches of biology but also includes various aspects of quantum physics
and alternate medicine to better understand and deal with disease. This is not
a farfetched idea and is doable. Various well reputed thinkers/writers like Dr Roger
Penrose, Dr Deepak Chopra have opined that the current thought process of considering
the human body and the cellular processes therein as mechanistic sans
consciousness is fraught with naivety and therefore a paradigm shift is
probably needed!
So what is
going to be the next “Eureka” moment in the field of Life sciences? Probably, a
holistic approach to understanding life and disease!
