Haileybury Gazette | Hope | Issue 9

However, the inquiry thesis covers more aspects of the word. As it acknowledges that the
goal of medicine is a cure but states that its core business is understanding more fully and
engaging the undertaking project to comprehend the nature and causes of health and
disease. This approach is fairer and more appropriate to use. Hence if you searched up the
word medicine on the internet now, the definition will be ‘the science or practice of the
diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease (in technical use often taken to exclude
surgery)’.
AMAZING BREAKTHROUGHS IN MEDICINE
To sum up, 2020 has been a turbulent year. From a medical perspective, it has been turned
upside down with a lethal worldwide pandemic reorienting our daily routine and goals. Yes,
it has been challenging and devastating for many of us, however, the pandemic shouldn’t
obscure a time of great medical innovation. Life-changing developments in oncology, gene
therapies, heart health, and most importantly, the development of COVID-19 vaccines that
are being distributed around the world were discovered last year.
1. ‘THE YEAR OF THE GENETIC CODE’
In October 2020, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A.
Doudna were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for
discovering the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. The gene
’scissor’ tool is when enzymes ‘snip out pieces of DNA to
restore them to their normal function’. They demonstrated
that the genetic tool could be controlled to cut any kind of
DNA molecule at a designated location. According to the
Nobel Prize’s official announcement, this implies that we can
‘change the code of life’. This development could potentially
change and prevent a wide range of genetic conditions.
2. HEART DISEASE AND STROKE RESEARCH.
Recently, the American Heart Association released its list of innovations
in medical treatments. One of the key developments is that there is a
better way to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (when the heart
muscle thickens and can stiffen). Besides, there will be new treatments
to prevent stroke and a new trial that will uncover better treatments for
coronary heart disease.
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