The evolution of medical knowledge and of medical technologies has led to something unthinkable even a few years ago. It is now possible to build an exact replica of you digitally, which can then be experimented on to determine best treatment options, as well as model the impact of several decisions, such as lifestyle changes, diet improvement, or therapies that could extend your lifespan or diagnose diseases before they even occur.
Computers, machine learning, and artificial intelligence now combine to analyze and sequence your DNA, allowing the genetic code that makes you to be digitized. It is then simply a question of running your DNA through tests and scenarios to see what happens to you. Virtual You describes the process of creating a digital copy of you, from all of the intricacies of the human body to more philosophical questions, such as the impact that predictive medicine would have on people, especially in its infancy where only those who can afford it would benefit from it. One step removed will be the interaction of your digital twin with the digital twins of other people. Would you like to know you might have colon cancer in your 50s when you are 15? What your child could look like and be like based on the digital twin profile of a prospective lover? Would you change how you live based on a prediction?
Fans of medicine and of what the future will look like will appreciate the latest scientific advances described in Virtual You, and how these will change society in the years to come.
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