Dr. Terry Grossman

While advances in computer or information technology have been occurring at an exponential rate, changes in medicine have proceeding much more slowly. The old paradigm is changing as medicine has started to become an information technology and will experience rapid advancement in the decades ahead.

In his latest book "Transcend: Nine Steps to Living Well Forever," Grossman compares the changes that will occur in medicine in the years ahead to a passage over three bridges. Bridge one consists of the therapeutics and modalities available today, while bridge two will derive from biotechnology breakthroughs and bridge three will be based on advances in nanotechnology and artificial intelligence. Bridge two biotechnology will include gene therapies, robotics, rejuvenation therapies including enhanced and bionic organ replacement along with a multitude of stem cell therapies. Nanotechnology has already advanced to the point that nanoscale molecules have been produced that can home in on cancer cells and deliver targeted chemotherapy with minimal destruction to normal tissues. Within two decades nanoscale robotic devices (nanobots) such as respirocytes (nanobiotic red blood cells) and microbivores (nanobiotic white blood cells) will control many aspects of human physiology far better than the original cells they will enhance. Blueprints for these devices are on the drawing boards today and plans are being made for their eventual fabrication and use within the human body.