Modern Medicine's Success and Its Unintended Effects on Our Genetic Future
Thousands of years ago, people were lucky if they made it past 30. Why? Because everything was out to get them — infant mortality, immune diseases, infectious diseases, hygiene (lol), food, and a lack of basic medical knowledge. Hell, people were probably dying because they sneezed wrong.
Even in pre-Industrial times, you were looking at maybe 40 years if you didn’t keel over from a paper cut. Fast forward to today, and thanks to modern medicine, we’re living to a ripe old 70, sometimes 80, depending on where you‘re Japanese or not. We’ve figured out how to slap down diseases that used to take us out, manage chronic conditions, and pretty much extend the game for everyone.
But, of course, there’s always a catch — and this one’s genetic.
Let’s talk about genetics, because it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Your genes pretty much dictate what your body’s up to behind the scenes. Some even argue that they decide every single thing you will do and say from the day you were born.
Sure, they’re in charge of keeping things running smoothly, but they can also screw you over by handing you a set of mutations that say, “Congrats, you’re predisposed to dying as an infant. Have fun with that.”
Reminds me of my kindergarten girlfriend. Died at 11 from cancer. My first, and probably most traumatic, heartbreak.
Some of these genetic mutations hit you early in life, while others wait until you’re older — like a ticking time bomb set off by stress, pollution, or just old age. The point is, genetics aren’t just a footnote in your medical history — they’re the whole chapter (book?).
Here’s where modern medicine unintentionally steps in with its, uh, contributions. Back in the day, if you had a serious genetic disorder, chances are you weren’t making it to adulthood, much less passing those genes on to the next generation. Problem solved, right?
Well, now we’ve gotten so good at keeping people alive that folks with conditions that would’ve killed them by 20 are living into their 50s or beyond. Great for them, sure, but here’s the kicker: they’re still passing on those genetic time bombs to their kids.
So, congratulations to us all — more people are being born with genetic conditions every generation.
Now, here’s the part where we all collectively scratch our heads. On the one hand, it’s amazing that we can save lives and give people with genetic disorders a shot at a full life. On the other hand, those genetic conditions are sticking around in the gene pool, and future generations are going to have to deal with it.
What does that mean for us? More healthcare costs, more strain on resources, and more pressure on families.
It also raises some pretty big questions: how much responsibility do we have in managing these risks? And what happens when we realize our medical advances come with side effects we didn’t see coming?
WHAT DO WE DO, FORREST??? One idea is gene editing, like using CRISPR to go in and cut out the bad stuff. Sounds awesome in theory — just snip the problem genes, and bam, no more issues. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This stuff isn’t exactly foolproof, and it comes with its own set of technical, ethical, and “holy crap, should we even be doing this?” challenges.
Plus, you have to make sure it’s safe, figure out who gets access to it (hint: it’s probably not going to be those working 9 to 5), and avoid accidentally creating some sci-fi dystopia. Clinical trials are showing some promise, though.
We’ve done an incredible job extending life with modern medicine, but now we’re staring down the consequences.
If we want to keep winning at the whole “longer life” game, we’re going to have to tackle the genetic implications head-on. It’s complicated, it’s messy, but if we don’t deal with it, future generations are going to be left holding the bag.
And trust me, they‘ll likely damage some government property over it.
