Five hot topics in Risk Science for 2013

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!