Saturday, 27 June 2020

These 3 Incurable Diseases Will Have A Cure In 2020s

Incurable diseases

Some diseases which are being cured today were once major threats to lives around the world. However, with some series of research, studies, and investments, the medical solutions to some were discovered. Despite such advancement in the medical field, it is important to note that there are still lots of incurable diseases in the world today.

This post will reveal some incurable diseases that are likely to have a cure by the end of 2020s.


Diabetes still remains a genuine threat to lives around the world. The major cause of diabetes is an increase in blood sugar-level and fluctuations in insulin-levels. There are two types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2. Even though type 2 is as deadly as type 1, it can be managed by exercise, diet-control and insulin injections. Type 1 is more severe and deadly. Below we’ll discuss Pancreatic Islets transplantation which, in recent times, has shown promising results during its human experimental phase to treat diabetes.

Incurable diseases

What is Pancreatic Islets?

Pancreatic Islets are a group of cells in our pancreas that help produce insulin. The idea of Islet transplantation is old, and it was not approved by the FDA due to procedural complications and lack of research. One such complication was the cell self-destruction due to lack of oxygen, and second, rejection of Islet cells by the body.

Dr. Thakor, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, recently published a white paper addressing the oxygen depletion issue in newly transplanted Islet cells. In short, he was successful in making a collagen-based bio gel that could be safely transplanted along with the Islet cells and provide enough oxygen to new cells until the Islet cells are able to start producing their own oxygen reservoir. Thakor research is remarkable in a sense that Islet transplantation can be adopted sooner than later. The issue of body rejection of Islet cells can be resolved by immunosuppressant drugs.

Although the above treatments are in their initial phases, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for possible treatments for deadly diseases such as Diabetes mellitus.

Good news is, FDA is expected to approve Islet transplantation later this year.

Gaucher disease

For more than 40 years, scientists are trying to cure various types of genetic diseases and one such disease is Gaucher disease or GD. A person with this disease suffers from blood disorders which ultimately can lead to death due to overcrowding of normal cells with fatty substances.

Scientists, so far, have been successful in treating GD type 1 through ERT (enzyme replacement therapy), but type 2 and 3 remain incurable.

Although ERT is a breakthrough in treating GD type 1, lifelong intravenous infusions every 2 weeks is a big hurdle for both the patient and the doctor. All is not that bad, researchers have developed an oral treatment that works by slowing down production of glucocerebroside, the main enzyme responsible for blood anomalies. The substrate reduction therapy (SRT) was approved by the FDA in 2003 for patients with mild-to-moderate Gaucher disease. Thanks to modern medicine a more potent oral SRT medication is available which can replace IV infusions. The oral medication has to be taken twice a day to slow the production of glucocerebroside.

Unfortunately, SRT and ERT, are not effective in controlling GD type 2 and 3. To control type 2 and 3 scientists are experimenting on a next generation SRT which could cross the blood-brain barrier and, if successful, will not only cure GD but would also open doors for effective treatments for more advanced diseases such as Parkinson’s and Dementia.

Gene therapy is another approach scientists are exploring to treat various types of genetic orders, including GD.

AAV (Adeno-associated viruses) is a new type of gene therapy in which deactivated/modified viruses will be used to administer gene therapy at the cellular level. These viruses will not have the ability to infect, instead would have the ability to precisely replace the defected DNA strand with the healthy one.

Another promising contender in treating GD and other genetic disorders is the CRISPR-CAS system. This new gene-editing technology can permanently correct genetic irregularities. After successful clinical trials and decades of research, this technology is ready to revolutionize the field of biomedicine.


Incurable disease

AIDS is probably the most dreaded amongst other sexually transmitted diseases around the world. In a continent such as Africa, it kills thousands of people every year. AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is the latter stage of HIV (Human Immune Virus). Once it gets to such a stage, victims become prone to various pathogens.

Even though the above virus may seem quite frightening, scientists have already succeeded in controlling the disease with CCR5-Δ32 deletion treatment.

To multiply, HIV needs a co-receptor, CCR5, if that is controlled, the disease can be controlled, and the researchers did that and were able to eradicate HIV-related diseases like myeloid leukemia (AML) in some patients.

Although HIV can take a different route if CCR5 is not available, mainly blocking CCR5 can do the job as alternative routes for HIV spread depends on a lot of other factors.

Timothy Ray Brown is officially the first person to be cleared of HIV. Brown was studying in Berlin when he first contracted the disease. He was treated with stem cell transplantation from CCR5-Δ32 homozygous donor. He is now fully cured of HIV.

Another patient, Adam Castillejo, also received a similar treatment plus some low intensity radiation. Treatment was successful, and Castillejo is also fully cured of HIV as of 2020.

The ongoing CCR5-blocking treatment seems promising, and scientists hope that HIV will be fully cured in the 2020s.


Summarizing all above, there’s no doubt in my mind that we’re going to see some remarkable breakthroughs in different types of diseases and disorders in the 2020s.


Tuesday, 9 June 2020

3 Industries That are Doomed - At least For The Near Future: Part 2

doomed industries

We already highlighted some industries that are taking a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic in our previous post. As things are changing rapidly and the COVID-19 situation is getting worse day-by-day, our list needs to be updated.

In this post, we’ll touch those industries that we left in Part-1.

1. Restaurant Industry

Although restaurants will see a spike in online and takeaway orders, experts think that the restaurant industry will experience a sharp decline in gross profits and eventually face mass closures. The reason industry experts give is that as 75% of any restaurant’s revenue is dependent upon its dine-in customer and as dine-in is not possible the way it used to be, restaurants earning will fall drastically and the rent and salaries will supersede the profits, forcing closures.

Adding to the miseries of the restaurant industry, restaurant owners have started charging ‘COVID-19 surcharge’ to customers’ bills. In these times of massive unemployment all over the globe and business shutdowns, are you willing to pay a COVID-19 surcharge?

After an outcry on social media for a COVID-19 surcharge, some restaurants withdrew the surplus tax.

Even if you decide to risk the virus and go have delicious à la carte, below are the things you have to do before you’re allowed to be seated by the restaurant management.

  1. Wear a mask
  2. Bring alcohol wipes plus a sanitizer bottle
  3. Keep a safe distance
  4. Wash hands frequently

According to new SOPs, you must enter a restaurant with a face covering and remove it while you eat or drink. If you want to talk in-between, put on the mask and talk. Now, that’s annoying. Hold on, you went there for a pleasurable experience. Wait a minute, that’s not pleasurable. According to a recent research, droplets produced in a conversation can stay afloat in the air for 14 minutes.

In short, if it’s so much of a hassle to dine-in, most of us would prefer staying home or ordering online or prefer a takeaway.

2. Airline (Travel Industry)

As of now, everyone has been affected by COVID-19 one way or the other and the travel industry is no exception. As a matter of fact, if I say the travel industry is the worst hit by the pandemic it would not be an exaggeration. Below is some research supporting my point.

Among others, Australia has officially banned international air travel because of the ongoing pandemic. Two of the largest countries in the world, the U.S and China, have completely banned air travel to-and-from their respective countries.

In late March, IATA (International Air Transport Association) estimated a $252 billion revenue loss due to low demand in air travel, overall, which is below 44 percent from last year, 2019. In May, IATA predicted the airline industry’s total debt could increase to a whopping $550 billion by the end of 2020.

Airports Council International (ACI) predicted a total loss of $97 billion due to low traffic and fewer passengers traveling. At present, there’s only demand for goods carriers and storage aircraft in the airline industry.

A world leading airliner, Delta Air, was celebrating $1.6 billion in net profits at the start of 2020, but soon came out to be the worst affected by the pandemic as it was short of cash and is planning to drop 10 air routes due to low demand.

In the US, experts predict 23 passengers on each domestic flight and losses amounting to $400 million per day as expenses like rent and aircraft maintenance, salaries would far exceed profits.

As people are reluctant to board a plane due to the fear of disease contraction and no vaccine in sight, the future of air travel looks bleak. Even if a vaccine is available experts say, it may be months, if not years, for airlines to operate as pre-COVID era.

Aviation consultant CAPA estimates a large number of bankruptcies by smaller airlines in the near future. As these estimates are already becoming a reality, Avancia is the latest one to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Earlier Flybe (UK), Trans States (US), Compass Airlines (US), and Virgin Australia filed for bankruptcy due to the unforeseen impact of the ongoing pandemic.

Out of frustration, airlines have increased ticket fares manifolds making it almost impossible for a commoner to do air travel.

It is not all gloom and doom, S&P predicts that in the long term, once this disease subsides, air travel will resume to pre-pandemic levels. But the question is when will this disease subside? The answer is, no one knows yet.

3. Auto Industry

In times of pandemic/disaster, people go for life necessities rather than a luxury. I

would not necessarily buy a car during a pandemic and so would many of you. As a matter of fact, why would I go buy a car? Movement is restricted, people fear contracting the disease, most multinationals have allowed their employees to work from home even after lock-down is lifted, so if most of us need not to go to offices, we just don’t need a car. Now, let’s do a fact-check on why all is not well for the auto industry.

The global automobile industry was already going through a patchy path pre-COVID. Climate change, global trade wars, and competition due to technical innovation were already affecting the sales of new cars, and thus COVID-19 added fuel to the fire. Passenger car sales saw an 18.6% YoY decline in January. Car sales declined an astonishing 79.1% in February, which was the biggest fall recorded since 2008.

Experts are of the view that the auto industry may shrink to 15–25% matching the levels of the 2008 financial crisis, but there’s a difference between then and now. It was a financial crisis, big banks dissolved, there were a few bankruptcies, and that’s it, things started to get in order. Now, we’re facing a pandemic that has long-term repercussions. No one is thinking of investing, movement is restricted and people are in survival mode rather than going for luxuries.

The bad news for the auto industry doesn’t end there, large-scale manufacturing units remained closed for most of the first half of 2020, and it’s a simple calculation, no production, no sale. Although there’s virtually no demand, opening production units is just going to help spread the disease rather than spread the business.

On the finance side, things are not good either. It is estimated that auto industry losses would be around $5.7 billion, and Europe would be the worst-hit with overall losses amounting to $2.5 billion mainly due to disruption in the supply chain. International events like, Qatar Grand Prix, New York International Auto Show, 2020 Geneva Motor Show, that used to boost sales and investment are canceled or postponed.

The European Central Bank announced Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program amounting to €750 billion, which may help the auto industry survive for the rest of 2020. The ECB has relaxed its norms and expressed willingness to increase its size of asset purchase for as long as needed.

Here’s another terrible news, industry giants, BMW, Tesla and Honda remained closed for most of the first half of 2020. Even if they resumed production, there’s no guarantee of a rebound in sales as people are stocking up grocery and medicine rather than thinking of buying a car.

New health and safety protocols proved to be a final nail in the coffin as employees that already feared contracting the disease from crowded areas would now have to wear a face shield, gloves, protective gear, et cetera, prompting them to stay home rather than to go to the factory area in a spacesuit.

Yet another factor for the auto industry decline is the closure of dealerships. As most of the cars are sold via dealerships, if dealerships are closed down and car dealers are not dealing with customers, there’s no sale.


I think the devastating impact of COVID-19 is yet to be seen. Only time will tell that the industries that are mentioned above and in our previous post are able to survive the onslaught brought by this pandemic.

Tags: COVID19, future, doomed, industries


15 Future Predictions That Might Come True in The Year 2020 

These 3 Incurable Diseases Will Have A Cure In 2020s
