As I was reading “Health Agenda for the 21st Century”, I felt amazed at how there have been so many technological advances and improvements that were made in the 21st century for the betterment of people’s health. For example, before technology, one of the only ways to investigate brain function was to open up the skull and physically probe into the brain. However the proper technology is now available to accurately localize essentially every part of the brain without opening the skull. “By following the changes in blood flow and chemical activity that accompany neural activity, it is possible to map the areas involved when, for instance, the subject looks at something, hears a word or experiences pain or pleasure” (page 204). Within the next 10-15 years, methods like these are likely to bring about new knowledge of the functional anatomy of the human brain, making it possible to better understand how a normally functioning brain is disturbed in conditions such as dyslexia, epilepsy, motor dysfunctions, and other mental illnesses. Other examples of successful uses of science and technology include “molecular and cell biology, immunology and genetics, and those relevant for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, such as magnetic resonance in ageing and the surgical applications of laser techniques” (page 208).
