Summary

Have humans reached a turning point in their evolutionary journey? Have they been preparing the way throughout their history for the advances that will enable them to overcome or eliminate previously incurable illnesses this century? Will they reach immortality by the end of the 21st century?

The «scientific» approach to knowledge about the human body began with the observation of its inanimate anatomy on the dissection tables during the Renaissance, moving on to knowledge of the functioning of the organs, then the tissues, the cells and their organelles, finally leading to the decoding of DNA, which then opened the door to an era of promising technologies allowing the manipulation of our bodies at the molecular level. The same process has occurred in other fields, with reality being gradually broken down into its most basic elements. Whether this degree of progressive «unpacking» of our bodies will translate into everlasting health, and even immortality as some prominent scientists suggest, remains to be seen.

Regardless of where the ongoing scientific revolution leads, aggressive efforts are being made to conquer chronic diseases by harnessing the power of genomics, robotics, infonomics and nanotechnology. This technological foursome, also known as GRIN, is driving enthusiastic hordes of innovators to devote their energy and funds to the reverse engineering of existence, working back towards the artificial reconstruction of our very selves. Within this great field of integration, referred to by many as the «grand technological convergence of the 21st century», lie many potentially useful contributions to the fight against illnesses, in particular those currently considered incurable and chronic. These technologies also promise to re-shape the destiny of our species.