What’s hot in risk science at the moment? Here are just five areas that will be on
my personal radar this coming year.
One: Big Data
We’ve got really good at generating data – mind numbingly huge amounts of it.
So much of it in fact that we’re having to invent new ways of storing
and handling it.
Assuming we don’t drown in the coming data deluge, exciting new ways of
working with massive amounts of interconnected data are beginning to
revolutionize how we understand, predict and manage risks.
Two: C-Health
Ok, I made that one up – it stands for “Cloud Health”.
Think “E-Health” but way cooler!
Ubiquitous sensors, smart phones, cloud computing and other technologies are
coming together to transform how we collect and use information in ways that can
reduce risks and increase wellbeing.
Three: Responsible Innovation
Instead of inventing something
and then spending the following decades trying to fix the unintended consequences,
why not try to avoid future risks up-front?
As well as being good for people’s health and the environment,
it also makes perfect business sense -
which is why the science of risk is being used increasingly in the
development of everything from advanced biotechnology to 3D printing.
Four: Headology
Ok another made-up word - this time from the author Terry Pratchett.
Unfortunately, all the physics and chemistry and biology of risk is
worthless without the “Headology” of risk –
understanding why people do what they do, and using it to make the world
a safer place.
Another way of putting it: risk science without social science is dumb science.
Five: Complex Interactions
The more we solve the obvious problems in risk science – the “man eats arsenic
and dies” kind of problems –
the more we realize we have just scratched the surface of what affects
our health and how.
Some of the most intriguing areas emerging in risk science involve the
complex ways our bodies and our environment interact with each other,
and the ways these interactions affect our health.
So that’s the risk bites roundup of cool stuff to look out for in 2013.
Don’t forget to let me know of all the things I missed, and have a safe and
happy new year!