How computers might be able to help us FEEL BETTER

[Alexander Dunnett]

Hello Science Forums!

 

So here's my idea: a high resolution 4 dimensional scan of the body to be uploaded into an extremely powerful computer for the purpose of things like diet optimization and drug trials.

 

Rather then testing new drugs or diets on living beings we could test them on the computer which feels nothing. You could use this for so many other things I'm suprised I haven't heard of this idea before.

 

So what do you think? I know this might not be plausible in the next few years but maybe in a few decades.

[andrewcellini]

Hello Science Forums!

 

So here's my idea: a high resolution 4 dimensional scan of the body to be uploaded into an extremely powerful computer for the purpose of things like diet optimization and drug trials.

 

Rather then testing new drugs or diets on living beings we could test them on the computer which feels nothing. You could use this for so many other things I'm suprised I haven't heard of this idea before.

 

So what do you think? I know this might not be plausible in the next few years but maybe in a few decades.

what do you mean by 4 dimension scan?

[Strange]

You would need more than just a "scan" of the body; you would need to be able to simulate all of the biochemical interactions (genes, proteins, etc) that take place in every cell and all the interactions between them.

 

This is a massive job both in understanding everything that goes on in a cell and then the computing power that is needed to model it. But there are projects under way to tackle this.

[Alexander Dunnett]

what do you mean by 4 dimension scan?

 

The classic 3 dimensions (length, width, depth) and the 4th dimension time.

 

You would need more than just a "scan" of the body; you would need to be able to simulate all of the biochemical interactions (genes, proteins, etc) that take place in every cell and all the interactions between them.

 

This is a massive job both in understanding everything that goes on in a cell and then the computing power that is needed to model it. But there are projects under way to tackle this.

 

Exactly what I'm talking about. You wouldn't need to understand any of the interactions, simply model them. It's a ridiculous challenge but I think once this happens it could be one of the biggest technological breakthroughs of mankind.

[Strange]

You wouldn't need to understand any of the interactions, simply model them. It's a ridiculous challenge but I think once this happens it could be one of the biggest technological breakthroughs of mankind.

 

Interesting point. I'm not sure how much you can model without understanding it. But, as I say, it is being worked on. I believe there is even an open source project to develop a model of an entire organism.

 

Yep, here it is: http://www.openworm.org/science.html

So get involved!

Edited February 3, 2015 by Strange