When a major new area of science starts to develop it is often far from clear where the breakthroughs will lead. A development in one area may well prove to have major applications in others.
The pharmaceutical industry is well used to this. A drug in clinical trials may fail its primary endpoint, but could subsequently prove effective in treating another condition entirely – erectile dysfunction drugs being the classic example.
Nanotechnology had its origins in molecular chemistry and its earliest applications were in materials science; now it is set to touch just about every area of our lives: clothing, buildings, electronics and not least nanomedicines. In fact, its greatest potential applications could be in diagnostics and drug delivery.
Another technology that could make its mark in the medical arena is 3D printing. Originally developed to achieve rapid prototyping of three-dimensional objects, it is now being used in a wide range of fields, including to build medical implants and devices to replace damaged bones and support cartilage.
There are even specialist 3D bio printers that are capable of 'printing' using living tissue. The creation of replacement body parts may still be years away, but a miniature 3D lung has been created that can be used to replace animal testing in lung cancer treatments as it mimics exactly what happens in the body.
A 3D heart model has also been developed that simulates how a patient’s heart may respond to a wide range of interventions without the need for additional invasive diagnostic procedures. And OxSyBio is using 3D printing techniques to create synthetic tissue for wound repair and drug delivery.
The decoding of the human genome has opened the way to a greater understanding of what makes us individuals and why therapeutics that cure one person may be ineffective in another. Applying that knowledge is not the sole preserve of the traditional pharmaceutical sector; adopting technologies from all scientific disciplines is the way forward to ensure that we enjoy not only longer lives, but healthier ones.