Getting personal

摘要

Millions of people are taking medication that does nothing to treat their symptoms. Recent studies suggest many of the most popular drugs on the market help only a fraction of the people who use them. But this could be about to change. Medicine is starting to get personal, and patients are increasingly demanding customised treatments with better results and fewer side effects. The trend has largely been driven by improvements in genome sequencing, which has become much cheaper and more effective. Storing huge amounts of data on health conditions has also become easier, and the world is far better connected on mobile platforms.