Bioconvergence
Encyclopedia
Bioconvergence is the merger of previously distinct technologies
into a new form; requiring new theories
, new product
s, and new practices.
The "Nanotechnology Age” is the first stage progenitor of what may become the phenomenon of bioconvergence. This phenomenon co-incides with the massive changes in agricultural processes along with the management of our bioresources. Eventually, humans may be able to bioengineer entire ecosystems from scratch. The actual scale of economic implications rivals even the Industrial Revolution
and is likely to affect virtually every nation
, geographical region
, and their associated population bases; regardless of their role in this transitional process. Allowing several distinct technologies to converge into a single form of technology can also be considered a socioeconomic model of an completely irreversible nature.
Information technology
in addition to nanotechnology
and other key technological disciplines like robotics collectively play a role in today’s bio-based markets for humans, plant
s, animal
s, and the natural environment
that surrounds us daily. Even plastic
products are evolving into biological-based systems; plastic bottles for certain soda drinks are becoming plant-based. Most of the biotechnology
sector incorporates and relies on workers from the other technology sectors; they create the services that enhance the sector.
health. What is about to transpire is the rapid evolution into an era where health care
, the very definition of “medicine,” and life
itself is in a state of transition. Health care is shifting towards the path of applying the “human genetic mapping
” to everyone, providing preventive medical strategies, therapies that are specific to an individual patient's needs, and the genetic targeting of disease and pathologies.
This convergence will change the way decisions are made about locating new corporations. As the technology matures, clinical trials will become more important, requiring companies to align themselves with the state-of-the-art hospital
s. Pharmaceutical design relies heavily on software and computer systems talent that is now found in many regions of North America
that are usually not associated with biotechnology. As the technological capacity and personal wealth of the world constantly increases, the health care sector will become even more specialized and demand for new services will increase. The current generation of knowledgeable adults (baby boomer
s born between 1946 and 1964) will continue to age out of the workforce and into retirement. As a result, the current generation of aspiring youth (most people belonging to Generation Y
and all people belonging to Generation Z
) will have to become savvy in the technological and scientific skills needed for the careers of the 21st century.
Medical regions that have never been considered to be technology hubs will require more specialized companies and talent in the near future. In effect, this will transform almost every community in North America with at least one active hospital into a miniature version of Silicon Valley
. Even now, hospitals across the country are now undergoing massive investments in facilities to meet demand. This is to establish their dominance in regional and national markets for the emerging "bioconvergence industry."
now uses biotechnology to modify agricultural feedstocks to be more productive. This could either be an enhancement of crop productivity or increased resistance to disease. Nutraceutical
s is the use of food or agricultural inputs to provide health and medical benefits. These food or agricultural inputs are frequently used to combat and prevent diseases.
New consumer products based on biomaterials and research will breathe new life in the continent’s agricultural regions after years of cutbacks and declines. These products may include in vitro meat
and/or skyscraper farms
. Research and development
is heavily emphasized in the the field of bioconvergence.
Ultimately, entirely new classes of synthetically contrived organisms, which would not evolve under “natural” circumstances, can be conjured up as protein
-sequence codes, mapped onto a chip
, and cloned
out on demand. Artificially enhanced evolution
, synthetic organism
s, genetically derived and targeted pharmacopia, cellular cybernetics
, intracellular systems, and bioengineering may become commodity resources in the future. “Biotech-dollars” may begin to drive the major economies of the world and influence the politics of the era instead of the current system of "petrodollar
s" that are generated from the oil companies. These events may reshape the economies of the world in the future, and perhaps even the very definition of life itself.
profession in North America today despite the worldwide economic recession. Locating near a large research university, an institute
, or a cultural incubator can allow new bioconvergence-related jobs to find employees and inexpensive laboratory
space.
Research universities
are one of the most important tools for allowing the "bioconvergence industry" to grow and prosper. These universities not only supply a workforce
based around knowledge, they also plant the entrepreneurial seeds to apply the research in a more practical manner. Professors and students often transform technologies into their own business ventures when it's clear that the established employers will not grant them jobs due to the global economic slowdown. It is likely that these self-employed technology gurus may find themselves establishing the foundation of the post-recession economy thanks to a combination of ubiquitous computing
, evolving computer network
s, and an emergent virtual commodity resource domain. It has been noted that every major economic era has stimulated a global revolution both in the kinds of jobs that are available to people and the kind of training they need to achieve these jobs, and there is concern that the world's educational systems have lagged behind in preparing students for a possible age of nanotechnology.
Jobs, even those revolving around tomorrow's technologies, don't grow unless an entrepreneur
spends his/her energies in the field of learning. The opportunity and lifestyles that middle class North American citizens have become accustomed to may disappear forever unless people are encouraged to get an education in the technological fields of tomorrow (including gifted and talented students, students with learning disabilities
, at-risk students, recent immigrants, women in transition from homemaking to employment, in addition to senior citizen
s). Five million manufacturing
jobs were outsourced several years ago to "low cost havens" like India
and the People's Republic of China
. This massive outsourcing of secondary sector jobs makes the search for traditional (non-bioconvergence) work nearly impossible; especially for people who only hold a high school diploma
and for people who dropped out
of high school.
These jobs will never come back to North America because wages are too high and the corporate tax
es are too high. Workers are still replaced in the secondary sector after they retire. However, they are replaced by employees that are already employed with the system of a specific corporation rather than through "outsiders" with impressive résumés. However, it may be possible that the technological sectors end up recovering from the worldwide economic slowdown before most other industries, slowly thawing out the hiring freeze that has become a part of North American culture since the late 2000s. Employers are toughening educational requirements so that students are more prepared for the bioconvergence-related jobs of tomorrow. In 2011, an epidemic of university students at McMaster University
in Hamilton
, Ontario
, Canada
were prepared to learn the new jobs (66% of jobs created in the future will require a post-secondary education). Governments are pushing more students to have post-secondary credentials; so that the "bioconvergence revolution" will be led by educated people. An increasingly competitive job market (for high-tech jobs) is pressuring people to go to university just to get a job. The jobs of the future may also rely on three other factors - that require a post-secondary education for a complete understanding of the theories - genetics
, nanotechnology
, and robotics
.
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
into a new form; requiring new theories
Theory
The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...
, new product
Product (business)
In general, the product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prōdūce ' lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced...
s, and new practices.
The "Nanotechnology Age” is the first stage progenitor of what may become the phenomenon of bioconvergence. This phenomenon co-incides with the massive changes in agricultural processes along with the management of our bioresources. Eventually, humans may be able to bioengineer entire ecosystems from scratch. The actual scale of economic implications rivals even the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
and is likely to affect virtually every nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
, geographical region
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, and their associated population bases; regardless of their role in this transitional process. Allowing several distinct technologies to converge into a single form of technology can also be considered a socioeconomic model of an completely irreversible nature.
Information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
in addition to nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
and other key technological disciplines like robotics collectively play a role in today’s bio-based markets for humans, plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s, animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s, and the natural environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
that surrounds us daily. Even plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
products are evolving into biological-based systems; plastic bottles for certain soda drinks are becoming plant-based. Most of the biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
sector incorporates and relies on workers from the other technology sectors; they create the services that enhance the sector.
Five primary vectors
There are five primary vectors of bioconvergence:- Human Genome Mapping
- Applying Nanotechnology
- Bioengineering of Crops and Ecological Systems
- Cross Convergence of Microscale Fabrication Technologies and Biological Materials
- Emergent Economic Ecology of Process-Based Intellectual Property Resource Development and Deployment
Health
People generally see the massive convergence of technology sectors in solving problems in humanHuman
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
health. What is about to transpire is the rapid evolution into an era where health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
, the very definition of “medicine,” and life
Life
Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
itself is in a state of transition. Health care is shifting towards the path of applying the “human genetic mapping
Genetic linkage
Genetic linkage is the tendency of certain loci or alleles to be inherited together. Genetic loci that are physically close to one another on the same chromosome tend to stay together during meiosis, and are thus genetically linked.-Background:...
” to everyone, providing preventive medical strategies, therapies that are specific to an individual patient's needs, and the genetic targeting of disease and pathologies.
This convergence will change the way decisions are made about locating new corporations. As the technology matures, clinical trials will become more important, requiring companies to align themselves with the state-of-the-art hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s. Pharmaceutical design relies heavily on software and computer systems talent that is now found in many regions of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
that are usually not associated with biotechnology. As the technological capacity and personal wealth of the world constantly increases, the health care sector will become even more specialized and demand for new services will increase. The current generation of knowledgeable adults (baby boomer
Baby boomer
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom and who grew up during the period between 1946 and 1964. The term "baby boomer" is sometimes used in a cultural context. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve broad consensus of a precise definition, even...
s born between 1946 and 1964) will continue to age out of the workforce and into retirement. As a result, the current generation of aspiring youth (most people belonging to Generation Y
Generation Y
Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation , Generation Next, Net Generation, or Echo Boomers, describes the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates for when the Millennial generation starts and ends, and commentators have used birth dates ranging somewhere...
and all people belonging to Generation Z
Generation Z
Generation Z is a common name in the US and other Western nations for the group of people born from the early 1990s through to the present....
) will have to become savvy in the technological and scientific skills needed for the careers of the 21st century.
Medical regions that have never been considered to be technology hubs will require more specialized companies and talent in the near future. In effect, this will transform almost every community in North America with at least one active hospital into a miniature version of Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
. Even now, hospitals across the country are now undergoing massive investments in facilities to meet demand. This is to establish their dominance in regional and national markets for the emerging "bioconvergence industry."
Agriculture
Agriculture is shifting ever more toward an arena of bioengineered plants and entire multi-functional “contained ecologies.” Economic sytems are driving the politicians of all nations towards adopting the polices of the emergent “biotechnology epicenter” driven global economy. AgribusinessAgribusiness
In agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term for the various businesses involved in food production, including farming and contract farming, seed supply, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing, and retail sales....
now uses biotechnology to modify agricultural feedstocks to be more productive. This could either be an enhancement of crop productivity or increased resistance to disease. Nutraceutical
Nutraceutical
Nutraceutical, a portmanteau of the words “nutrition” and “pharmaceutical”, is a food or food product that reportedly provides health and medical benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. Health Canada defines the term as "a product isolated or purified from foods that is...
s is the use of food or agricultural inputs to provide health and medical benefits. These food or agricultural inputs are frequently used to combat and prevent diseases.
New consumer products based on biomaterials and research will breathe new life in the continent’s agricultural regions after years of cutbacks and declines. These products may include in vitro meat
In vitro meat
In vitro meat, also known as cultured meat, is an animal flesh product that has never been part of a complete, living animal.This form of meat has been described, sometimes derisively, as "laboratory-grown" meat. In vitro meat should not be confused with imitation meat, which is a vegetarian food...
and/or skyscraper farms
Vertical farming
Vertical farming is a concept that argues that it is economically and environmentally viable to cultivate plant or animal life within skyscrapers, or on vertically inclined surfaces...
. Research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
is heavily emphasized in the the field of bioconvergence.
Genetic applications
Molecular genetics, biomolecular and physiological modeling software, advanced genome cloning and synthesis technologies, in addition to developments in synthetic tissue and organs, are contributing to the bioconvergence process. This statement applies to bioconvergences as a business model in addition to a model of the global economy.Ultimately, entirely new classes of synthetically contrived organisms, which would not evolve under “natural” circumstances, can be conjured up as protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
-sequence codes, mapped onto a chip
Chip
- Food :* Potato chips , a snack food made from potatoes, also known as crisps in the UK and some other English-speaking countries...
, and cloned
Cloning
Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
out on demand. Artificially enhanced evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, synthetic organism
Organism
In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
s, genetically derived and targeted pharmacopia, cellular cybernetics
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
, intracellular systems, and bioengineering may become commodity resources in the future. “Biotech-dollars” may begin to drive the major economies of the world and influence the politics of the era instead of the current system of "petrodollar
Petrodollar
A petrodollar is a United States dollar earned by a country through the sale of petroleum. The term was coined by Ibrahim Oweiss, a professor of economics at Georgetown University, in 1973...
s" that are generated from the oil companies. These events may reshape the economies of the world in the future, and perhaps even the very definition of life itself.
Economic realities
However, there is an acute shortage of research dollars and specialized workers of the life sciencesLife sciences
The life sciences comprise the fields of science that involve the scientific study of living organisms, like plants, animals, and human beings. While biology remains the centerpiece of the life sciences, technological advances in molecular biology and biotechnology have led to a burgeoning of...
profession in North America today despite the worldwide economic recession. Locating near a large research university, an institute
Institute
An institute is a permanent organizational body created for a certain purpose. Often it is a research organization created to do research on specific topics...
, or a cultural incubator can allow new bioconvergence-related jobs to find employees and inexpensive laboratory
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
space.
Research universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
are one of the most important tools for allowing the "bioconvergence industry" to grow and prosper. These universities not only supply a workforce
Workforce
The workforce is the labour pool in employment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic region like a city, country, state, etc. The term generally excludes the employers or management, and implies those involved in...
based around knowledge, they also plant the entrepreneurial seeds to apply the research in a more practical manner. Professors and students often transform technologies into their own business ventures when it's clear that the established employers will not grant them jobs due to the global economic slowdown. It is likely that these self-employed technology gurus may find themselves establishing the foundation of the post-recession economy thanks to a combination of ubiquitous computing
Computing
Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
, evolving computer network
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
s, and an emergent virtual commodity resource domain. It has been noted that every major economic era has stimulated a global revolution both in the kinds of jobs that are available to people and the kind of training they need to achieve these jobs, and there is concern that the world's educational systems have lagged behind in preparing students for a possible age of nanotechnology.
Jobs, even those revolving around tomorrow's technologies, don't grow unless an entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
spends his/her energies in the field of learning. The opportunity and lifestyles that middle class North American citizens have become accustomed to may disappear forever unless people are encouraged to get an education in the technological fields of tomorrow (including gifted and talented students, students with learning disabilities
Learning disability
Learning disability is a classification including several disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors...
, at-risk students, recent immigrants, women in transition from homemaking to employment, in addition to senior citizen
Senior citizen
Senior citizen is a common polite designation for an elderly person in both UK and US English, and it implies or means that the person is retired. This in turn implies or in fact means that the person is over the retirement age, which varies according to country. Synonyms include pensioner in UK...
s). Five million manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
jobs were outsourced several years ago to "low cost havens" like India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. This massive outsourcing of secondary sector jobs makes the search for traditional (non-bioconvergence) work nearly impossible; especially for people who only hold a high school diploma
High school diploma
A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED.-Past diploma styles:...
and for people who dropped out
Dropping out
Dropping out means leaving a group for either practical reasons, necessities or disillusionment with the system from which the individual in question leaves....
of high school.
These jobs will never come back to North America because wages are too high and the corporate tax
Corporate tax
Many countries impose corporate tax or company tax on the income or capital of some types of legal entities. A similar tax may be imposed at state or lower levels. The taxes may also be referred to as income tax or capital tax. Entities treated as partnerships are generally not taxed at the...
es are too high. Workers are still replaced in the secondary sector after they retire. However, they are replaced by employees that are already employed with the system of a specific corporation rather than through "outsiders" with impressive résumés. However, it may be possible that the technological sectors end up recovering from the worldwide economic slowdown before most other industries, slowly thawing out the hiring freeze that has become a part of North American culture since the late 2000s. Employers are toughening educational requirements so that students are more prepared for the bioconvergence-related jobs of tomorrow. In 2011, an epidemic of university students at McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
in Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
were prepared to learn the new jobs (66% of jobs created in the future will require a post-secondary education). Governments are pushing more students to have post-secondary credentials; so that the "bioconvergence revolution" will be led by educated people. An increasingly competitive job market (for high-tech jobs) is pressuring people to go to university just to get a job. The jobs of the future may also rely on three other factors - that require a post-secondary education for a complete understanding of the theories - genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
, and robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
.