A biomedicina transformará a sociedade? O impacto político, econômico, social e pessoal dos avanços médicos no século XXI

Precision medicine/personalized medicine: a critical analysis of movements in the transformation of biomedicine in the early 21st century

The enormous development of genomics research in recent decades has raised great expectations concerning its impact on biomedicine. There has been growing investment in research in personalized or precision medicine, which aims to customize medical practice with a focus on the individual, based on the use of genetic tests, identification of biomarkers, and development of targeted drugs. However, the personalized or precision medicine movement is controversial and has sparked an important debate between its defenders and critics. This essay aims to discuss the assumptions, promises, limits, and possibilities of personalized or precision medicine based on a review of the recent literature situating the debate on the theme. The review indicates that many of the promises of personalized or precision medicine remain unfulfilled. While there has been huge progress in knowledge on the molecular mechanisms of diseases and the development of drugs that have significantly impacted the treatment of some types of cancer, thus far there is no evidence that this same pattern will be reproduced in other complex diseases. Personalized or precision medicine is expected to generate incremental developments in specific areas of medicine, but there are obstacles to its generalization. The high cost of new biotechnologies can exacerbate health inequalities and become a problem for health services' sustainability, especially in low and middle-income countries. The emphasis on personalized or precision medicine may shift funds away from less costly interventions that have greater public health impact.

Health as science and the biological body as an artifact: the case of Brazil's national TV news program Jornal Nacional

This article presents the findings of a study of the coverage of health, science and technology during 2012 by the Jornal Nacional, a national television news program in Brazil produced by the Rede Globo de Televisão. A total of 246 news stories addressing health-related topics were analyzed, half of which addressed scientific research, technological innovation and hospital care, and were shown to represent a doctor-centered discourse. The findings also show that 82% of the news stories concerning science and technology advertise products that are about to be introduced onto the market, illustrating the commercial nature of this research. The article discusses two aspects portrayed by these news stories that characterize the biological body as an artifact: the construction of a virtual and fragmented body through the diffusion of images of the inside of the body; and the importance of biotechnological issues, which leaves life processes open to molecular manipulation and alteration. The study also questions the nature-culture hybridization present in biotechnological objects.