56.Future of Medicine

Chapter 56. Predicting the Future of Medicine 

Predicting the future of medicine can be done using the same tools we use to predict the weather or anything else. In order to predict the future, we must first glean a few clues from the history books, and examine the major forces driving historical change over thousands of years.  

The History of Western Civilization-A Few Milestones

Anthropologists argue over exactly what was the first major milestone in the development and success of humans as the dominant species on the planet.  I think it was the appearance of language, the ability to verbalize and communicate complex thought.  The exact moment in history when mankind first used language is unknown, but it must have been thousands of years ago.  

Left Image: surface of moon, Callisto, photographed from the Gallileo spacecraft on its ninth orbit around Jupiter.  Courtesy of NASA Jet Propulsion laboratory.

The Invention of the Phonetic Alphabet

This event, as great it was, was followed many years later, by an even greater event, the invention of written language about 5,500 years ago.  Literacy, and the use of the phonetic alphabet, provided the earliest technology to record and play back human thought.  The human brain can be regarded as a recording device for sensory input, and has the capability to remember (or play back) images, sounds, smells, etc.   However, our mental ability to remember and recall, to record and playback, is limited.  Some form of amplification or enhancement would be useful, and this can be accomplished with an external recording device.  The first external recording device was, and still is, writing words down on a piece of paper with a pencil.   In today’s modern times we have electronic audio and video recording, and there is no need to actually write anything anymore.

Transition from Slavery to Freedom

Amazingly, the transition to literacy also marks transition from slavery to freedom.  Throughout history, illiteracy has always been associated with slavery, and literacy with freedom, nobility and privilege.  One of the earliest historical examples of this transition appears in the bible story describing the transformation of an illiterate group of slaves into a literate group of free men at Mount Sinai in the desert after they escaped from Egypt.  Although written language makes possible enrichment of all forms of human thought, both in the realm of spiritual life and in the realm of natural science, we will restrict the following discussion to science, and focus on medical science.

College Graduation as Medieval Ritual

As I attended my son's college graduation a few years back, I was struck by the obvious symbolism denoting the dual transitions of the college student, from a state of illiteracy to literacy (with a degree in Arts and Letters), and the transition from a symbolic state of serfdom (poor college student burdened with college loans) to the freedom of a symbolic "Medieval Nobleman".  The symbolism is completed by the medieval clothing of cap and gown.  We will discuss individual freedom and government later on.

The Dark Ages - Knowledge Restricted

During early civilization, written documents were rare because paper was scarce and the method of reproducing written documents by hand was tedious and time consuming. Writing remained in the hands of a privileged few during a period called the Medieval Dark Ages.  During this time, written language was the protected “intellectual property“ of clergy and nobility who used written language for government, commerce and the expansion of scientific knowledge, as well as other purposes such as feudal warfare.

The Gutenberg Galaxy- Movable Type and the Renaissance

The prevailing state of affairs changed dramatically with the invention of movable type and the printing press by Johan Gutenberg in 1439, making written documents widely available.  The printing press was a direct precursor to the Renaissance as explained by Marshall McLuhan in his book, “The Gutenberg Galaxy”.(1-2)  In every historical period, new technologies are at first afforded intellectual property rights and restricted to a privileged few. This technological innovation drives change.  For example, the invention of movable type produced political and cultural upheaval. One might speculate that the fall of feudal monarchies and the rise of the democratic state were made possible by mass production of the written media leading to the Renaissance followed by the Enlightenment.

The Industrial Revolution – Increasing Life Expectancy

The Renaissance and Enlightenment culminated in the Industrial Revolution with new technological advances such as the steam engine, electricity, magnetism, electronics, radio, television, and finally, the computer chip and internet.  The Industrial Revolution stood on the shoulders of the previous three centuries of scientific achievement.  Mass production of goods and services lead to improved living standards, and increased life expectancy.  From 1820 to present day, a life expectancy chart shows a linear increase in life span. (32)   Before the Industrial Revolution, average life expectancy was only 35 years, going all the way back to the Roman Empire.  After the Industrial Revolution, however, there was a sudden increase in life span, which was only 38 years in 1850, and increased to 70 in the year 2004.(27-28)(32)   Today, we have a large population  of citizens older than 50 years of age, a new phenomenon in the history of Western Civilization.  These are the aging baby boomers.  This linear increase in life expectancy and increasing older population is expected to continue, and serves as an important trend that is useful for predicting the future.  According to Aldous Huxley, this overpopulation trend produces pressures toward global totalitarian government and loss of individual freedoms.

A Post-Industrial Second Medieval Dark Age

In spite of many impressive scientific and industrial manufacturing advances, the historical era of the post-Industrial Revolution shares many of the same features of the Medieval Dark Ages, such as restricted technical knowledge and increased levels of warfare.  One of these shared features was the restriction of technical knowledge to the elite few, i.e. governments (military uses), multinational corporations, universities and professional groups such as physicians.  Another shared feature was increased levels of warfare.  The Dark Ages had their feudal warfare, and the post-Industrial Revolution had its series of wars as well.  Thus, the era from the Post-Industrial Revolution to the end of the Cold War (the fall of the Berlin Wall) can be considered a second Medieval Dark Age.  Perhaps the Internet Age will represent a Second Renaissance. 

Global Warfare Following the Industrial Revolution

The first in a series of Post-Industrial Revolution Wars was the American Civil War in 1861-1864.   Of course as we all know, the two opposing sides were the South, an agrarian society, economically dependent on the ancient concept of human slavery, and the Industrial North which depended on a more modern version of the master-slave relationship called hourly wage employment.  Following the American Civil War, the series of post-Industrial wars continued globally with World Wars I and II.

Disruptive Science of Kuhn Leads to Atomic Bomb

In 1905, Classical Newtonian Physics gave way to the Einstein's Physics of Relativity, a scientific revolution described by Thomas Kuhn as "Disruptive Science" (29).  This scientific revolution was required and needed to invent the Atomic Bomb.  The decision by US president Harry Truman to use the new Atomic weapon on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, August 1945, marked the end of world wars and the beginning of the Atomic Age in which everyone globally lived in a state of anxiety that nuclear annihilation could be triggered at any time.  In this new age, unrestricted global warfare threatened to destroy the entire planet, hence the creation of "Cold War" limited to the use of conventional weapons.

 Centralized Information of the Mass Media

Media information during the 19th and 20th centuries originated centrally, was disseminated outward to the masses, and was non-interactive using the new radio and television. This created an opportunity for political or corporate gain through manipulation of the media.  Government and corporate control of the media created a social and political climate aptly described by George Orwell’s novel, “1984” in which perpetual global warfare was the norm. (3)(4)  During the early 20th century, media content was copyrighted and protected by intellectual property law.  Media ownership was limited to large corporations, excluding individuals from participating in this arena.  This was reminiscent of the situation with medieval documents which were hand written, and restricted to a few noblemen and clergy who could read and write and could afford to maintain libraries.  Ownership and control of modern media was in the hands of governments and large corporations. In the post Industrial Age, the Second Dark Age, individuals were passive recipients of information rather than interactive creators of information.   This has been dramatically changed by the Internet Age in which any individual can publish a web site, blog or You Tube video.

Advances in Science and Medicine

The industrial revolution brought invention of instruments to extend human senses such as the light and electron microscope.  This allows us to see the very tiny world of microbes, leading to microbiology and antibiotics.  Although telescopes were invented centuries before, further refinement in satellites and radio telescopes gave us even more ability to see planets and stars on a very large scale.  Further refinements in instrumentation allow visibility of the entire electromagnetic spectrum, allowing the human eye to see otherwise invisible aspects of the natural world.  Turning these new instruments inward, for the first time, medical science can make images of the human body in the live state.   X-rays, CAT scans, Ultrasound, Radionuclide and PET scanning all represent imaging with instruments which extend the senses to allow anatomic visualization inside the human body. (42)

Just as the world’s great telescopes are restricted to a few privileged astronomers, medical instrumentation was restricted to a privileged few medical professionals who maintain the age old model of protecting and restricting technical knowledge. This created a social and political climate in the practice of medicine aptly described by Ivan Illich in his essay, Medical Nemesis in 1976. (5-12)

Although the history of medicine chronicles great achievements such as the conquest of infectious disease with invention of antibiotics and, advances in surgery with introduction of anesthesia and sterile technique, etc., critics of the medical system such as Ivan Illich and Robert Mendelssohn point out the disconnect between the promise of medicine and the reality. (42)  This disconnect was perhaps best described by pediatrician Robert Mendelsohn MD in his 1979 book, Confessions of a Medical Heretic.(13-16) By the way, Mendelsohn was my medical school adviser in 1976.  These two books by Mendelsohn and Illich perhaps best exemplify the Medieval Dark Age of Medicine, in which medical information is restricted to medical professionals and not to be shared with the layman.

The Revolutionary Impact of the Internet

In another form of Kuhn's "Disruptive Science", the Internet Age has turned everything upside down, and has brought the end of the Second Dark Age and created a Renaissance, representing a new openness of information.  This is especially true in medicine, with the advent of the empowered autonomous e-patient.   Rather than being centrally controlled, the new Internet media is now controlled by individuals empowered to publish their own web pages, blog or message board with video and audio streams, directly competing with conventional media in the form of television, radio and print media.

Empowering the Individual

The individual is now empowered as an owner of a personal audio/ video broadcast station on the Internet. Creating new content is as easy as writing on a computer screen, or uploading a video.  On the internet, the individual has complete access to previously protected knowledge.  New medical knowledge is being created on internet message boards and social networks. This new knowledge flows freely and is unprotected by intellectual property law.  In the future, this body of public medical knowledge created on the internet will grow to immense size, dwarfing the current knowledge database.  In comparison, the body of protected medical knowledge used by today’s doctors and medical system will seem quite small in comparison to this new public internet based knowledge base.  Here are a few examples:

Intellectual Property Laws?

Public display of pirated information on the internet represents a general assault on intellectual property law, which will be either revised or abandoned.  These laws are ineffective at preventing the widespread dissemination of protected information.  Although intellectual property laws are in effect and mostly respected and followed here in the US, the reality is that any kid with a video camera can copy a first run movie and post it on the internet.  Anyone can buy a video recorder, record an event, and then publish the video on a blog or You-Tube, along with written narrative. Drug patents are now being violated internationally. For example, Ciprofloxin™ is sold off patent in India.  Patrick Dixon says "Trying to protect or copyright your own management ideas is last-century nonsense: absurd and illogical." (36)

New medical knowledge is created and shared interactively without concern for intellectual property laws. The internet gives us the “online community” in which individuals share written, audio and video information. This was previously the domain of specialized libraries restricted to privileged groups. Certain forms of knowledge have always been free of protection by intellectual property laws. For example, it is not possible to patent the alphabet, the English language, or the chemical structure of a natural substance. 

The Doctor-Patient Relationship of the Future

Tom Ferguson MD describes the advent of a new type of doctor-patient relationship quite different from the old paternalistic one, in which the doctor is educator and participant, and recognizes an opportunity to learn from the expert e-patient, who engages in internet searches for medical information and may actually have more specialized knowledge than the doctor.   The new doctor openly shares information with patients, and serves as educator.(21-22)

The Structure of DNA 

Discovery of the structure of DNA was credited to Watson and Crick in 1953.  However, the real work was done by Rosalind Franklin, an expert in x-ray crystallography who revealed the double helix structure of DNA.  Unfortunately Rosalind died of breast cancer and never received proper credit.  X-ray crystallography uses electromagnetic light not visible to the human eye to image molecular structures. (24)  The discovery of the structure of DNA heralded a new age of molecular biology, and the Human Genome Project was started in 1990, and finished in 2000.  This massive project sequenced the entire human genome.(25)  Shortly thereafter, using sequencing technology, private companies began offering online genetic testing for individuals (without a doctor's prescription) who wish to know their genetic information. The first human genome sequence cost 300 million dollars. This will soon be offered online for under a thousand dollars. 

What is DNA, and Why is it Important? (Deoxyribo-Nucleic Acid)

DNA controls the growth, metabolism and reproduction of the organism from embryo to adult.  In essence DNA is the master controller, like the source code in your computer. Cell protein synthesis is controlled by DNA code and is the basis for all life.  A new science called “Genome Sequencing” reveals the actual DNA code words controlling protein production in the cell.  Defective, malfunctioning proteins are the result of damage and errors in the genetic code called “mutations”.    These mutations in DNA cause genetic diseases, or predispose to disease from environmental triggers.  By understanding this process of genetic code and protein synthesis, medical science has tools to combat disease and improve health.

Hormonal Decline and Degenerative Disease

Bio-Identical human hormones are messengers which attach directly on the DNA strands, and “turn on” DNA protein synthesis.  In the aging population (older than age 50), this lack of the hormone messaging from hormone deficiency results in “sleeping” DNA unable to do its job of instructing the cell to synthesize proteins.  This, in turn, heralds the onset of degenerative disease from lack of reparative proteins.  Replenishment of bio-identical hormone levels restores DNA protein synthesis, thereby delaying or reversing the onset of degenerative disease.  This prevention, delay and reversal of degenerative disease with bio-identical hormone therapy has been described as “Anti-Aging Therapy".  In reality, it is Anti-Degenerative Disease Therapy.

 Chemically Altered Drug Paradigm is Rendered Obsolete by Advances in Bio-Technology

1) In the future, most patented drugs, which are chemically altered forms of naturally occurring molecules, will be rendered obsolete, or considered less desirable than natural counterparts.  Many drugs available today will be replaced by more effective natural substances that have fewer adverse effects.

2) In the future, it will be universally recognized that chemically altered human hormones should never have been created, nor marketed to the population. In the future, chemically altered, synthetic hormones will be banned. These were found to cause cancer and heart disease in the 2002 Women's Health Initiative Study. 

3)  In the future, drug patents take on a new form. There will be a movement away from patents for an altered chemical structure.  Instead we will see more patents for the manufacturing techniques for non-patentable protein structures, vitamins and other natural substances such as human insulin and growth hormone (HGH).

4) In the future, medical interventions will focus on molecular biology, DNA genomics, protein synthesis and natural biochemical processes, making chemically altered hormones and drugs obsolete.   Certain chemically altered drugs will always remain useful.  However, these will be overshadowed by “functional medicine” which its focus on restoring normal cell physiology with natural substances found in the human biochemical pathways.

5)  Randomized Controlled Trials:  The drug company funded RCT (randomized controlled trial) is done for FDA approval of a new patented drug.  After years of manipulation and falsification of data, the RCT will lose its luster as the Gold Standard and will be supplanted by other forms of medical knowledge such as cohort studies, epidemiology studies, basic science and animal studies, etc.  Collections of large numbers of anecdotal reports on the internet will play an increasing role in highlighting adverse effects of drugs, and elevating natural substances to a more important role.  Traditional medical knowledge in medical journals will be rivaled and displaced by collaborative knowledge created by e-patients on the internet. 

The Rise of OrthoMolecular Medicine

In the future, Orthomolecular Medicine will enter the mainstream.  This is a form of natural medicine, and a term coined by Linus Pauling in 1968, and championed by Abram Hoffer MD.  By replenishing the body with higher concentrations of vitamin or mineral enzyme co-factors, enzyme efficiency increases, and thus correction of SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) genetic variants and associated enzyme abnormalities can be accomplished with safe nutritional supplements.(19)   In the future, medical treatment will be based on optimizing the functioning of  human physiology and biochemistry, rather than the limiting treatment to the use of drugs to block a specific enzyme or receptor.   This is called Functional Medicine and natural substances will be preferred over drugs.

The Autonomous e-Patient and Reconfiguration of Medical Knowledge

The rise of the autonomous e-Patient is a new phenomenon, empowered by medical knowledge obtained on the internet, the e-patient knows more than the doctor, and may actually be helpful to the doctor, providing him with new knowledge. Social Networking of e-patients enhances knowledge and creates new medical knowledge which competes with and surpasses individual physicians.  The exception, of course, being the physician technician such as the cardiac surgeon, or the invasive radiologist who maintains professional standing based on technical expertise.  A special form of expert e-patient serves to guide others on the internet in social networks and message boards.(21)(22)

Online Genetic Testing

The use of confidential online genetic testing is available online without a doctor’s prescription.  Genetic testing will become mainstream, cheaper, and easier, and will provide more useful information as medical science uncovers more links between genetic variants and disease states.  It will play a dominant role in the medicine of the future.  When used by the individual, genetic testing predicts disease risk, and is helpful to avoid genetic diseases in potential offspring. 

Personalized Medicine

Personalized Medicine is the combination of these two new powerful forces, Orthomolecular Medicine and Genetic Testing.(30) In the future, Personalized Medicine will expand and ultimately play a dominant role in medicine.(41)   Example: Warfarin Genetic Testing allows improved calibration of Coumadin dosage to avoid bleeding complications. Drug metabolism testing allows for personal modification of drug dosage.

Health Care and Health Insurance - Transformation into a Public Utility

The health insurance industry makes its profit by denying health care to sick people, a criminal enterprise by any definition.  Simply watch the Michael Moore Movie, "Sicko", for a preview of our dysfunctional health insurance industry.  The movie convincingly suggests the entire system is broken and in need of major change.  The only question is what will health insurance look like in 10-20 years?  Will the industry survive?  In the future, the health insurance industry will be regulated as a public utility, similar to the way the states regulate electric power utility companies.  We all need electricity delivered to our homes, and we cannot function without it.  Medical care is similar.  If we need medical care, whether it is a blood transfusion, IV fluids, an operation for bowel obstruction  or a simple antibiotic, we need it same as we need electricity for our homes and factories.  We need it NOW and can’t function without it.  The health insurance industry will be recognized as a criminal enterprise which profits by denying health care to sick people. The corporate profit motive is a major problem.   Currently, the health insurance industry can increase profit merely by adjusting the parameters on its "Denial Engine Software" to increase denial of medical claims.    The solution is to remove the corporate profit motive and transform Health Care into a public utility, regulated by state insurance agencies. For more on health insurance see my previous article on this topic.(26)

The Future of the FDA

The FDA will either be eliminated as a government agency or changed into a new entity which will look entirely different from its current form.  After all, if the FDA had done its job properly, synthetic hormones would have been banned from their inception as dangerous illogical replacements for human hormones.  This practice of "selling" synthetic hormones to the American public is morally and ethically wrong.   

The Future of the Economy, Energy and Government

Fifty years ago, Aldous Huxley predicted democracy and individual freedom would soon be replaced by an authoritarian, totalitarian government. (40-41) Huxley regarded overpopulation as the driving force behind this.  

The Industrial Revolution and Cheap Energy

The abundance of cheap energy in the form of fossil fuels, together with the science and technology to harness this energy, in the form of machines such as the steam engine and the gasoline engine, essentially created the Industrial Revolution.  Improvements in the standard of living since the Industrial Revolution of 1820 are largely responsible for increasing population growth, and increased longevity of the population.  Global population doubling time is now only 50 years.  Our victory over the forces of nature, paradoxically, has created the “Population Bomb”.  According to Aldous Huxley, this will lead to global totalitarianism, with the new technology in media, television, radio and Madison Avenue advertising, allowing the few to control the minds of the many.(40-41)(44-45)  Perhaps he is right.  However, Huxley lived before the Internet Revolution, and perhaps the openness and decentralization of the Internet Revolution will tip the balance in favor of individual freedom.  The jury is still out on this one.

The End of Abundant Cheap Energy - Peak Oil

Much like any other natural resource on the planet, there is a limit to the amount of cheap oil available for exploitation.  Exhaustion of cheap oil and declining reserves is called “Peak Oil”, and the down slope of the oil reserve curve is where the pain of economic contraction begins.  Many experts think the planet has already past this “Peak Oil” part of the curve, and we have entered the phase of economic contraction.

The Collapse Scenario

With our rear view mirror vantage point and knowledge of history, we are able to witness the ebb and flow of previous civilizations, and the “rise and fall” of ancient empires.   We are not immune from the ups and downs of recurring economic cycles.  The “Collapse Scenario” described in Dmitry Orlov’s book, Reinventing Collapse, lists the stages of collapse. (50-52)   The first stage is financial collapse, in which the volume of debt becomes too great for the economy to continue functioning with widespread default by both governments and private entities.  Governments are then forced to pursue a hyperinflationary monetary policy to avoid default on massive debt, forcing debasement of their currency.  This ends which an essentially worthless paper currency.  This is followed by the stages of commercial, political, social and cultural collapse. (50-52)

Cold Fusion and More Cheap Energy

On the horizon, science and technology is racing to our rescue with a new energy technology, called “cold fusion” which holds the promise to restore “cheap energy” to the planet and rescue us from our collapse scenario. (53)  Will “cold fusion” arrive in time to save the planet from global collapse?  Stay tuned to find out.

Genetic Manipulation is Inherently Unsafe and Dangerous

In the future, (GMO) Genetically Modified Food will be recognized as unsafe, unsustainable, and immoral.  In the future, GM seeds and crops will be abandoned.  Attempts to genetically engineer plant or animal life will be outlawed.  Genetic manipulation is inherently unsafe and dangerous, sort of like giving a loaded gun to a child.  It may take one or two more centuries before our understanding of molecular biology and genetic engineering gives us the tools to actually do anything safely with it.

The Fluid Genome – The Human Genome Project

One of the unpredicted results of the Human Genome Project is the "Fluid Genome" of Dr. Mae-Wan Ho.(49) This Fluid Genome paradigm means that the genome is inherently unstable, and it is sheer folly to attempt to modify the genome of plants or animals with our current crude methods of genetic engineering.  Likewise, the failure of gene therapy is due to the fact that our current methods are too crude to account for the fluid nature of the genome.

The Great Experiment of the 21st Century: Genetically Modified Food

A new human disease was identified in 1989 called EMS, Eosinophilia Myalgia Syndrome which killed 37 people and affected thousands.(45-46)  This disease was eventually traced back to a Japanese company (Showa Denko) that had used genetically engineered bacteria to manufacture tryptophan, a naturally occurring amino acid food supplement.  This is the first example of genetic modification transforming a normally safe and natural food into a Franken-Food causing a disease.  There will be many others.

Nightmare Scenario for Medicine?

Here in the US, we now have widespread use of genetically modified food which is unlabeled and untested.  Some of these genetically modified foods include Round-Up Ready corn, soy and canola and Bt corn which produces the Bt toxin.  It is likely that these new genetically modified foods are causing allergic reactions, diseases, and infertility in the population.  Therefore, you might think it would be prudent to label these GMO foods so that any new disease could be traced back to the cause.  However, because of corporate control of the FDA regulatory process, the FDA has ruled GMO food to be "substantially equivalent" and no labeling or even safety testing required.  We can be fairly sure that in the near future, medicine will be faced with a nightmare scenario of unexpected diseases caused by GMO food consumption.  We can expect to see increases in food allergies, gastrointestinal disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, infertility and sterility, and other completely unexpected and unpredicted effects of GMO food consumption.   Other nightmare scenarios caused by genetic manipulation include new epidemics caused by super bugs with antibiotic resistance, lethal super viruses, and bizarre forms of leukemia and other cancers caused by genetic manipulation in the laboratory accidentally or intentionally released into the environment.

The Future of Cancer

In the future, science will establish a greater understanding of the molecular biology and mechanism of cancer.   In the future, aggressive cancer unresponsive to treatment will be cured with newer and more innovative cancer treatments which are based on the molecular biology of cancer.  In the future, we will have an effective cure for aggressive cancer. For more on this, see my article on the Trophoblastic Theory of Cancer.

Conclusion

Since medicine follows the values of society in which it is practiced, the future of medicine depends on what kind of values our society will have in the future.  If we value corporate profit, authoritarian government and devalue human life, then the future most likely holds in store for us the “nightmare scenario” aptly described in the novels, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and George Orwell’s 1984.  The 1971 George Lucas science fiction movie, THX 1138, is also to be included here under the nightmare scenario.    On the other hand, if we retain our traditional values of human rights, preserving liberty, freedom, representational government, and value human life, then the future will be bright, with a “rosy scenario” and a true renaissance in the medicine of the future.  In the final analysis, the future is up to all of us.

For references and links, see my web site: www.bioidenticalhormones101.com

References for Chapter 56. Predicting the Future of Medicine

(1) http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Gutenberg.htm 
Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press, About.com

(2) http://www.mcluhan.utoronto.ca/mcluhanprojekt/gutenberg2.htm 
Gutenberg Galaxy by Marshall McLuhan divides history in four epochs: the oral tribe culture, the manuscript culture, the Gutenberg galaxy and the electronic age.

(3) http://www.mondopolitico.com/library/1984/1984.htm
Online version of George Orwell’s novel, 1984

(4) http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/
Searchable Online version of George Orwell’s 1984

(5) http://www.carj.ca/issues/2005-Feb/13/pg13.pdf
Lessons from Ivan Illich Editorial in Canadian Journal of Radiology CARJ

(6) http://www.mindfully.org/Health/Medical-Nemesis-Illich1976.htm
Medical Nemesis:The Expropriation of Health. [Includes acknowledgements, introduction and Part1 - Clinical Iatrogenesis] by IVAN ILLICH, Random House 1976.

(7) http://members.aol.com/pbchowka/medicalnemesis2006.html
Medical Nemesis 2006 By Peter Barry Chowka.   

(8) http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/3621.php
The quotation “the medical establishment is a major threat to health” was one devised by Illich in Medical Nemesis (1976 p11) where he attempted to explain the detrimental effects medical professionals and their procedures can have on the health of individuals.

(9) http://www.lewrockwell.com/wall/wall28.html
A Turbulent Priest in the Global Village Ivan Illich, 1926–2002 by Richard Wall.

(10) http://brandon.multics.org/library/Ivan%20Illich/against_life.html
BRAVE NEW BIOCRACY: HEALTH CARE FROM WOMB TO TOMB ,  By: Illich, Ivan, NPQ: New Perspectives Quarterly, Winter94, Vol. 11, Issue 1

(11) http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/311/7021/1652
BMJ 1995;311:1652-1653 (23 December) British Medical Journal. Death undefeated by Ivan Illich

(12) http://www.davidtinapple.com/illich/1990_health_responsibility.PDF
Ivan Illich,  HEALTH AS ONE'S OWN RESPONSIBILITY - NO, THANK YOU!

(13) http://www.whale.to/v/mendelsohn.html Dr Robert Mendelsohn biography.

(14) http://www.metzelf.info/Book%20Reviews/confessions.html
Confessions of a Medical Heretic by Robert S. Mendelsohn, MD 1979 Reviewed by Mira de Vries

(15) http://www.cam.org/~rsilver/sickmed.htm
Sickening Medicine A Book Review  by Bob Silverman,

(16) http://www.furiousseasons.com/zyprexadocs.html Zyprexa Documents-  Furious Seasons Blog.

(17) http://www.e-patients.net/e-Patients_White_Paper.pdf
Tom Ferguson md and E-Patients

(18) http://www.orthomolecular.org/  Orthomolecular Medicine Web Site

(21) http://orthomolecular.org/library/articles/orthotheory.shtml
Orthomolecular Theory by Linus Pauling, Ph.D. Journal Of Orthomolecular Medicine Vol. 7, No. 1, 1995
 
(22) http://www.acor.org/e-patients_wiki/index.php/Main_Page
Wiki version of Tom Ferguson's White paper on e-patients

(23) http://www.e-patients.net/e-Patients_White_Paper.pdf  
PDF version of white paper e-patients by Tom Fergeson

(24) http://www.ba-education.demon.co.uk/for/science/dnamain.html
Discovery of Double Helix of DNA by Watson and Crick

(25) http://www.genome.gov/  The Human Genome Project

(26) http://jeffreydach.com/2008/02/24/
fighting-the-abusive-practices-of-health-insurance-companies-by-jeffrey-dach-md.aspx Fighting the Abusive Health Insurance Companies by Jeffrey Dach MD

(27) http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005140.html Life Expectancy by Age, 1850–2004

(28) http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/Kuhnsnap.html 
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions - Thomas S. Kuhn; University of Chicago Press in 1962.

(29) http://www.ageofpersonalizedmedicine.org/
The Age of Personalized Medicine

(30) http://www.globalchange.com/medicine.htm
Patrick Dixon 2002 Video, Future of HealthCare

(31) http://www.soc.upenn.edu/courses/2004/fall/soc007_hpkohler/readings/oepp02b.pdf 
Broken Limits to Life Expectancy Jim Oeppen and James W.Vaupe  Science VOL 296 10 MAY 2002.

(32) //www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXCT5DWPKOQ Patrick Dixon Future of Health Care - part 1 of 3. You tube videoparts 1-3

(33) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7476595
Med Hypotheses. 1995 Jun;44(6):490-2. Pantothenic acid deficiency as the pathogenesis of acne vulgaris.
Leung LH. Department of General Surgery, Hong Kong Central Hospital, Hong Kong.

(34) //www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9M40dCHvLY
The Genomic Revolution and the Future of Medicine and Health. Dr. Richard Klausner discusses the topic of the Genomic Revolution and the Future of Medicine and Health. Recorded in Wolstein Audiorium on November 1, 2007.

(35) //www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1KEFgD6Dtg 
Karsten Staack made this video for some events in the Detailed Roadmap of the 21st Century

(36) http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~pesti/roadmap/
The 21st Century: What will it look like? This is a very entertaining look at the Future, with excellent music and interesting images, inspirational.

(37) //www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0LvtQAQ6sc
Interview with Naomi Wolf, her book "The End of America" on the New York Times bestseller list.

(38) http://www.genome.gov/Pages/News/webcasts/Personalized_Medicine_files/0Media.asx
Video on Personalized Medicine: How the Human Genome Era Will Usher in a Health Care Revolution Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. Personalized Medicine Coalition February 10, 2005

(39) http://books.google.com/books?id=__oDQ6yDO7kC&dq  History of Medicine: A Scandalously Short Introduction By Jacalyn Duffin. University of Toronto Press 1999.

(40) http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia/video/2008/wallace/huxley_aldous_t.html
Video 1958 Mike Wallace interview with Aldous Huxley author of Brave New World.

(41) http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia/video/2008/wallace/huxley_aldous.html
Transcript 1958 Mike Wallace interview with Aldous Huxley author of brave new world.

(42)   http://www.marshallmcluhan.com/  Marshall McLuhan Main Site

(43) http://faculty.law.pitt.edu/hibbitts/mcl.htm The life and work of Marshall McLuhan.

(44) //www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqZNGYit3kY Media professor/expert Paul Levinson on Marshall McLuhan. You Tube.

(45) http://scienceroll.com/2008/04/25/personalized-medicine-real-clinical-examples/
Personalized Medicine

(46) http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/michael/blog/
Transhumanism, AI, nanotechnology, and existential risk.

(47) http://unboundedmedicine.com/ Future of Surgery

(48) http://futurehealthtrends.blogspot.com/ Future Health Trends  Blog

(49) http://www.i-sis.org.uk/fluidGenome.php Living with the Fluid Genome By Mae-Wan Ho Publisher: Third World Network 2003

(50) http://www.newsociety.com/Books/R/Reinventing-Collapse Reinventing Collapse, The Soviet Experience and American Prospects – Revised & Updated by Dmitry Orlov, New Society Publishers, 06-01-2011

(51) http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2010/11/peak-oil-is-history.html Peak Oil is History, Nov1, 2010

(52) http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2011/05/us-and-five-stages-of-collapse.html May 31, 2011 The US and the Five Stages of Collapse