When I say the word “disease” I am sure you think of the words “death” and “suffering” – overall having a surrounding image of negativity. But it is because of disease that we have all the scientific discoveries and life changing medical technology that we can use and develop. Gene editing, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology in medicine, have begun to show signs of progress towards having a world without disease. Surely this is everything humanity has wanted. Surely this would solve so many issues on such a large scale.
But what if curing every illness comes with a price we never expected?
Upon research, I discovered that every disease exists within an ecosystem. Bacteria, viruses, and even parasites play roles we overlook – supporting biological balance, influencing evolution, and even shaping our immunity. By erasing diseases entirely, this may disrupt our equilibrium balance that we have developed over centuries. Having a completely sterile world could leave our bodies more fragile than we expected. Some microbes, initially thought as harmful, protect us from worse infections or help regulate our immune systems.
However, a disease-free world would not just appear instantly and equally for everyone. The technologies that would end the disease would certainly be expensive. LIDC’s (low income developing countries) will struggle to afford these sophisticated machines, while AC’s (advanced countries) will develop and advance ahead very rapidly. Health before, once seen as a human right, would become the most valuable form of privilege. Imagine having to pay not to die?
The human body is extremely complicated. Some illnesses are written in our genes – whether that be because of a mutation from an early age, or due to something that has developed up overtime. So surely editing these out sounds logical? Unfortunately, it is not that easy. The same gene that causes one disease might also protect us against another, or contribute to traits like creativity, resilience, or intelligence. If we “erase” diseases entirely, we risk losing the genetic diversity that keeps our species unique and adaptable. Perfection could make us weaker, not stronger (similar concept to my earlier article on “Hidden Costs of Designer babies” if you would like to know more about this).
Le Chatelier’s Principle (named after the French chemist) states that “When an external stress (change in pressure, temperature or concentration) is applied to a system in chemical equilibrium, the equilibrium will change in such a way as to reduce the effect of the stress.” In other words, a change in a system will evoke a counter change, which will bring the equilibrium to a new point. In the National Library of Medicine it mentions, ‘when fruit production in the Serengeti ecosystem is reduced, the number of elephants, which feed on these fruits, is reduced proportionally.’ So, you’re probably wondering right now why she is going off on a tangent about elephants; the relevance is that human-made changes in climate, the atmosphere, water, soil, and all other planet living organisms, will likely evoke counter-changes that may be highly consequential for human life. We will never truly know the raw consequences of experiencing such an intense, stark change to society, and because of this, we should continue to disregard them because all these changes will cost time, money, and eventually, humanity.
So, (for now) to conclude, erasing disease from our planet is dangerous, and won’t cure all illnesses overnight. Tampering with our genes and our environment will cause other problems we haven’t even considered. So, let’s continue to improve our medical technologies and developments to fight the current diseases harming organisms. Let’s save what we already have, rather than lose everything for a risk we can’t afford.
Next week’s article will dig deeper into viruses, the human microbiome, and the effects humans are having on climate change and environmental damage – linking back to “The Hidden Costs of Erasing Disease.” It only gets more interesting from here 🙂
