when I was 13 years old my grandmother
had a stroke and I remember this because
it was during the summer and it was a
time where my brothers and I were
actually visiting her at her house
and she came out of her room and she was
talking very incoherently she was acting
our acting flustered and very strangely
and it wasn’t until later that we
actually even found out she was having a
stroke and I remember at the time my
feelings that I had of pain and
resentment and wanting her to be okay
now she eventually did pass away later
from the complications of the stroke but
I remember distinctly wanting to spend
more time with her and though even at
the time I was already interested in
science and biology I remember this
point because it was one of the
experiences that got me really
interested in biomedicine and biomedical
research and biomedical advancements and
if you think about it this is a reason
why a lot of biomedical advancements are
done because we have this innate
characteristic as humans that we want to
connect and spend time with people that
we love people that we care about and
this has allowed us to do our many great
things and allowed us to change
completely the landscape of biomedicine
at a global scale we now know more about
biomedical technology and discoveries
than ever before in life and not just on
the global scale but also at the
microscopic or cellular level so we now
know more things about things like
viruses for instance and we’ve developed
or created vaccines that can treat or in
some cases eradicate or even nearly
eradicate certain diseases caused by
viruses like smallpox and polio another
example is induced pluripotent stem
cells we’re scientists or researchers
are actually able to take cells from one
part of the body say the skin and
actually change those into a different
cell type which could be used to help
treat patients with cardiac disease or
heart attacks and one of the more recent
and interesting technologies is this
CRISPR technology that we’ve all been
hearing a lot about we’re actually able
to genetically modify or edit specific
parts of the
name and this has a lot of potential for
potentially curing or at least treating
genetic diseases like sickle cell anemia
or cystic fibrosis and this is a
beautiful thing because it allows us to
spend more time with our families more
time with the ones we love and more
times with the the people that we care
about and it’s actually as a result it’s
allowed us to live longer and progress
as a species and live more fulfilling
and fooful lives with the ones that we
care about and for ourselves as well and
as a result our population is actually
increased and grown exponentially
especially over the past few centuries
and this has been an amazing and
beautiful thing but um one thing that I
I tend to think about a lot especially
as a biologist is what does this mean in
terms of all life on Earth so you know
we think about you know living longer
and wanting to live long healthy and
fruitful lives but what does that mean
on kind of the global scale so we have
you know biology in life it’s a system
that’s been developed and created and
optimized over millions of years to be
as efficient and effective as possible
kind of like a a balance or a scale with
maintaining equilibrium and uh you know
a disease and even death are actually
normal and necessary parts of the system
kind of like you know the circle of life
and the lion king but um one thing about
biomedical advances and biomedicine is
that with each discovery that we make
each cure that we find we’re actually
tipping or actually changing the scale
ever so much ever so often with each new
discovery or advancement that we have
now I don’t think this is necessarily a
bad or even a good thing I think it’s
just something that’s happening and a
change that’s occurring but I think this
is interesting because it’s something
that’s unique to humans see humans are
one of the only species that have been
able to advance and come up with a lot
of the discoveries and creations that we
as humans do which gives us a unique
ability or unique perspective to
actually bypass certain things that
would normally regulate or limit the
expansion growth and progression of a
species and I think this is
that can be kind of summed up in a
notion of something that’s known as the
pro factors theory this is a theory that
states that humans have uniquely reached
a level of advancement due to our high
intelligence that allows us to bypass
regulating or limiting factors that
would traditionally regulate growth of
the progression of a species and this is
unique to humans because it allows us to
advance beyond our wildest dreams and
our wildest means but it also is
something that allows us to tip the
scale or tip this this balance ever so
often in a way that no other species on
this earth is able to do and the thing
about that that we have to realize that
you know no one wants to see someone
that they care about die or undergo
hardship or go through a disease that’s
normal that’s that’s what makes us human
our bonds and our strong emotional
connections with other people and I
always zone when I think about this I
always think about my grandmother and
how if there were any treatment or
there’s any type of therapy that could
have prevented her stroke or even
prolonged her life and made her more
healthy after she had went through this
I would have wanted this for her and
that’s normal that’s part of what makes
me human that side to me that’s feeling
a strong emotional attachment or bonds
to other humans and people out there
that’s what gives us our part of the
characteristic of our humanity and I
don’t think that that’s something we
should change but it’s something that I
think we need to think about and every
time that we’re looking or that we’re
going through with advancing biomedicine
it’s a it’s kind of a hard thing
sometimes to juggle them because you
know on one side you’ve got you want to
spend more time with the people you love
and that’s an innate characteristic of
our biology and then humans you know we
have to juggle well okay but what about
the implications of biomedical advances
on not just human life but life as we
know it in that scale or that balance
that’s always trying to maintain itself
so it’s a it’s a very you know
interesting or fine line that we have to
think about a lot as humans that were
uniquely put or positioned to think
about this and actually undergo this as
a species
and so I want to urge you next time you
know you get sick or even someone that
you care about get sick
think about how beautiful it is that
biomedicine and biomedical advances are
allowing you to spend more time with
that person spend more time learning and
getting to know them better and building
and bonding more efficiently but I also
want to or I want to urge you to spend
an equal amount of time thinking about
what implications that has or not just
humanity but on the biological scale or
balance of equilibrium that we’re all a
part of because as any scientist or
engineer can tell you a system can only
withstand so much change in equilibrium
before there are significant effects
thank you [Applause]
had a stroke and I remember this because
it was during the summer and it was a
time where my brothers and I were
actually visiting her at her house
and she came out of her room and she was
talking very incoherently she was acting
our acting flustered and very strangely
and it wasn’t until later that we
actually even found out she was having a
stroke and I remember at the time my
feelings that I had of pain and
resentment and wanting her to be okay
now she eventually did pass away later
from the complications of the stroke but
I remember distinctly wanting to spend
more time with her and though even at
the time I was already interested in
science and biology I remember this
point because it was one of the
experiences that got me really
interested in biomedicine and biomedical
research and biomedical advancements and
if you think about it this is a reason
why a lot of biomedical advancements are
done because we have this innate
characteristic as humans that we want to
connect and spend time with people that
we love people that we care about and
this has allowed us to do our many great
things and allowed us to change
completely the landscape of biomedicine
at a global scale we now know more about
biomedical technology and discoveries
than ever before in life and not just on
the global scale but also at the
microscopic or cellular level so we now
know more things about things like
viruses for instance and we’ve developed
or created vaccines that can treat or in
some cases eradicate or even nearly
eradicate certain diseases caused by
viruses like smallpox and polio another
example is induced pluripotent stem
cells we’re scientists or researchers
are actually able to take cells from one
part of the body say the skin and
actually change those into a different
cell type which could be used to help
treat patients with cardiac disease or
heart attacks and one of the more recent
and interesting technologies is this
CRISPR technology that we’ve all been
hearing a lot about we’re actually able
to genetically modify or edit specific
parts of the
name and this has a lot of potential for
potentially curing or at least treating
genetic diseases like sickle cell anemia
or cystic fibrosis and this is a
beautiful thing because it allows us to
spend more time with our families more
time with the ones we love and more
times with the the people that we care
about and it’s actually as a result it’s
allowed us to live longer and progress
as a species and live more fulfilling
and fooful lives with the ones that we
care about and for ourselves as well and
as a result our population is actually
increased and grown exponentially
especially over the past few centuries
and this has been an amazing and
beautiful thing but um one thing that I
I tend to think about a lot especially
as a biologist is what does this mean in
terms of all life on Earth so you know
we think about you know living longer
and wanting to live long healthy and
fruitful lives but what does that mean
on kind of the global scale so we have
you know biology in life it’s a system
that’s been developed and created and
optimized over millions of years to be
as efficient and effective as possible
kind of like a a balance or a scale with
maintaining equilibrium and uh you know
a disease and even death are actually
normal and necessary parts of the system
kind of like you know the circle of life
and the lion king but um one thing about
biomedical advances and biomedicine is
that with each discovery that we make
each cure that we find we’re actually
tipping or actually changing the scale
ever so much ever so often with each new
discovery or advancement that we have
now I don’t think this is necessarily a
bad or even a good thing I think it’s
just something that’s happening and a
change that’s occurring but I think this
is interesting because it’s something
that’s unique to humans see humans are
one of the only species that have been
able to advance and come up with a lot
of the discoveries and creations that we
as humans do which gives us a unique
ability or unique perspective to
actually bypass certain things that
would normally regulate or limit the
expansion growth and progression of a
species and I think this is
that can be kind of summed up in a
notion of something that’s known as the
pro factors theory this is a theory that
states that humans have uniquely reached
a level of advancement due to our high
intelligence that allows us to bypass
regulating or limiting factors that
would traditionally regulate growth of
the progression of a species and this is
unique to humans because it allows us to
advance beyond our wildest dreams and
our wildest means but it also is
something that allows us to tip the
scale or tip this this balance ever so
often in a way that no other species on
this earth is able to do and the thing
about that that we have to realize that
you know no one wants to see someone
that they care about die or undergo
hardship or go through a disease that’s
normal that’s that’s what makes us human
our bonds and our strong emotional
connections with other people and I
always zone when I think about this I
always think about my grandmother and
how if there were any treatment or
there’s any type of therapy that could
have prevented her stroke or even
prolonged her life and made her more
healthy after she had went through this
I would have wanted this for her and
that’s normal that’s part of what makes
me human that side to me that’s feeling
a strong emotional attachment or bonds
to other humans and people out there
that’s what gives us our part of the
characteristic of our humanity and I
don’t think that that’s something we
should change but it’s something that I
think we need to think about and every
time that we’re looking or that we’re
going through with advancing biomedicine
it’s a it’s kind of a hard thing
sometimes to juggle them because you
know on one side you’ve got you want to
spend more time with the people you love
and that’s an innate characteristic of
our biology and then humans you know we
have to juggle well okay but what about
the implications of biomedical advances
on not just human life but life as we
know it in that scale or that balance
that’s always trying to maintain itself
so it’s a it’s a very you know
interesting or fine line that we have to
think about a lot as humans that were
uniquely put or positioned to think
about this and actually undergo this as
a species
and so I want to urge you next time you
know you get sick or even someone that
you care about get sick
think about how beautiful it is that
biomedicine and biomedical advances are
allowing you to spend more time with
that person spend more time learning and
getting to know them better and building
and bonding more efficiently but I also
want to or I want to urge you to spend
an equal amount of time thinking about
what implications that has or not just
humanity but on the biological scale or
balance of equilibrium that we’re all a
part of because as any scientist or
engineer can tell you a system can only
withstand so much change in equilibrium
before there are significant effects
thank you [Applause]
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