ScienceTalk

Genomics for the Smart Nation

Towards a future where our reality may exceed our imagination

The top concern during the 2016 Zika outbreak here was whether the mosquito-borne disease was imported from Brazil or elsewhere in the Americas. ST FILE PHOTO
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Science and imagination have an intimate relationship. Stories and movies both draw on and also drive forward real research. In transportation, for example, we imagined flight and space travel - and both became reality. In space, we dream of faster-than-light travel and physical teleportation (instant travel!).

If we can't physically teleport ourselves, the next best thing is instant communication - and we are lucky to live in a time where voice, video and even holograms are routine technologies. Interestingly, everyone today has the ability to broadcast live video - yet we still get stuck in traffic, with many taking longer to commute to work than they did just a few years ago. What differentiates the progress of digital communication from that of physical transportation?

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 14, 2018, with the headline Genomics for the Smart Nation. Subscribe