How Life Science Is Addressing Global Challenges

Life science has always played a crucial role in human progress, blending biology and technology to come up with innovative solutions for various global challenges. We all remember the COVID-19 pandemic, when the whole world saw what science could achieve in just a few months: vaccines were developed and disseminated in record time, and new technologies enabled students to continue their education remotely while the virus was at its height.

But how else does life science address today’s global challenges? Keep reading to find out…

 

Healthcare

Life science fields like genetics and microbiology are helping humanity to address many global healthcare challenges, from understanding diseases to discovering new drugs and treatments. On top of fighting the coronavirus, life scientists have helped to develop vaccines for malaria, treatments for HIV, solutions to antimicrobial resistance, and answers to many other major global health issues.

Scientists are also actively working on solutions for other major global health concerns such as the ageing population, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and mental health issues. For many of these health concerns, life scientists are exploring modern approaches like personalised and regenerative medicines – fields that have only recently developed thanks to ongoing developments in stem cell research.

 

Climate change

Climate change is a major challenge for the entire planet. The life sciences have been addressing the interconnected problems of climate change and biodiversity loss for over a hundred years and have come up with a variety of ways to help combat the global effects.

For example, scientists have worked on engineering crops that produce higher yields, require less water and have enhanced resistance to pests and extreme weather events like heat waves, droughts and floods. This process is helping to optimise our agricultural processes and reduce our reliance on chemical pesticides, reducing overall emissions.

Life scientists are also…

• Studying microbes and algae to develop methods for capturing atmospheric CO2.
  
  
• Researching alternative energy sources derived from plant biomass.
  
  
• Developing strategies to restore coral reefs and seagrass beds (which are important carbon sinks).
  
  
• Studying ecosystem reliance to better understand and protect vulnerable environments impacted by climate change.

 

Food security

Another big global health concern is the issue of food security. Life scientists have worked hard to bridge the food security gap, utilising research in genetics, microbiology, ecology and biotechnology to engineer crops with improved yields and higher nutritional value.

They have also worked to improve:

• Food preservation
  
  
• Fish breeding and disease management in aquaculture
  
  
• Sustainable farming practices

And then there’s the push to develop alternative protein sources by using cell culture technology to grow meat substitutes in labs. This will help to meet humanity’s growing food demands while reducing the environmental impact of animal agriculture.

The life sciences will continue to develop in response to global challenges thanks to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence for drug discovery and CRISPR gene editing for improved crop traits and genetic disease therapies.

By choosing a career in life science, you will be contributing to the overall quality of life and health on our planet—and who knows? You could be at the centre of the next ground-breaking piece of research that will solve some of these global challenges once and for all.

If you want to get involved in the life science industry, HRS can help! Search our latest vacancies or get in touch with us to find out more.