Francis Collins: We need better drugs -- now

[@SIMKINETICS]

Damn! In '92, I co-invented a DNA sequencer & contributed to the design of another, both of which were commercially successful for researchers. To date, I regard these activities as the most important in my life because they've been part of a growing movement to improve all our lives in fundamental ways. My message to young people wondering about their future careers: go for science & engineering... it's very, very satisfying!

[@Volound]

that kid sam is a hero. what a boss.

[@BabyBop999]

Holy shit why is every video muddled with comments about religion? This video is about drugs. Please - anyone - start arguing about marijuana or something. At least that would make more sense...

[@limoguy333]

Not once in his presentation did he even bring up religion, and yet there are so many hateful and pretentiously negative comments here about the topic. Disappointing to see, that's all.

[@SuperDrRockzo]

Yeah, he was well spoken as well. Straight A+ is also impressive, especially for a school in Boston.

[@TheRantsofReason]

What are the other supposed health benefits for cannabis other than effectively treating cancer to a certain extent? I'd be interested to hear what other benefits you have in mind, also what constitutes as high quality cannabis and do you have any further peer reviewed reading that i could browse over? Or even better documentaries (as i tend to prefer visual/audio forms of information)

[@Gewath]

I blame the mass media for idolizing individuals to where any conversation is about the individual and not what the individual actually said. Also, I think KZbin itself should have functions implemented to stop irrelevant conversations about things like religion, the mass media and KZbin comment fields themselves just dominating comment fields. Maybe keyword recognition? We have the power. Where's the government in all this?...

[@MewCat100]

If you replace the word atheist with Christian, Muslim, average person, this post would be no less true. It's the internet, where people say nasty things regardless of their opinion on god.

[@JakeTurnerhyperion]

Yeah no personal Gods but he was a pantheist. which is not a Atheist. Pantheism does not mean Atheist, as "Atheist" denies the existence of God. Einstein never denied the existence of God, but rather denied the existence of a God that is overly concerned with the inhabitants of a little blue-green planet, and he definitely denied the existence of a God that demands certain food restrictions or worship practices.

[@BIZEB]

I think that, for the purpose of this talk, it was necessary. They are limited on time, and the crowd didn't miss out on relevant information, at least not to the awareness he wanted to raise. He made his point clear enough with just that example of drugs. And for those diseases that can't be treated with drugs, well they don't benefit from his proposition. He didn't just reference it, it was (almost) the whole purpose of the talk.

[@americanu197]

i think he made some pretty good points about companies being narrow minded and far to commercially oriented to see stuff that might be useful and about how primitive our testing options still are

[@MarsyasX1]

That makes so sense. The only incentive for private companies to risk billions of their dollars researching new drugs is knowing once they have a drug that works, others can't steal their formula for the duration of the patent. You remove the patent system, and no private corporation has an incentive to spend its own money doing research.

[@NDPdEport]

i wasn't referring to their family background for instance Tesla was born Serbian Orthodox. but he was a transcendentalist who was actively very spiritual

[@MewCat100]

Quite true. I assume he is talking about farnesyltransferase inhibitors, of which there are several. The thing is, it really doesn't cure progeria, but it does prolong life and improve quality. Cure is really not the right word to use.

[@MathewSteeleAtheology]

People in general on the internet have a tendency to troll and be nasty. That's a cultural phenomenon to be certain, and it does manifest in atheists as well. However, to call internet atheists whiners is to (in my view) argue that there's either nothing or very little for atheists to complain about, and that is far from true. If there's a legitimate grievance, it's more important to address the grievance than the manner in which it is communicated... lest you be accused of being in denial.

[@snikwah25]

You should do captions

[@Jayremy89]

Some people, a profit motive is all that matters; for more good people, which is a majority in this world I would hope, a cure for cancer doesn't need a big price tag for them to be willing. If you don't believe in charity, we have nothing more to speak about. Most humans want to do good for others, be remembered as such and make a difference. In the utilitarian sense (the reason for patents/copyrights), it only demotivates MORE people from getting into it and contributing or making progress.

[@TheZombieboyRoy]

Do we need better drugs and better means to develop and design them? YES. What we need more then that right now is a larger acceptance and understanding of just what a drug is, here in the US drugs are either poison or prescription and fail to see how one can be entirely like the other. Less harmful drug laws along with the ability to even test these drugs and use them. Some psychoactive drugs have been found to cure hard drug addicts in a 50% rate, yet get shut down due to using illegal drugs.

[@MewCat100]

You wouldn't be the only one. Basically, he is saying that drug development is too slow and then he blames the drug companies and the FDA. This has been an ongoing argument in science for decades now. The fact of the matter is: 1. Drug development is incredibly difficult because the human body is incredible complex. Orders of magnitude more complex than any machine ever built. More complex than space travel. 2. The human genome project has not yielded the panacea of information expected CONT

[@mintoo2cool]

a part of me was like ... wtf this old kid has a really small head and he talks like a kid but looks 80 and laughing when he was talking. the other half was happy for him and was glad that he was getting to lead a normal life

[@plasmax]

Didn't think I'd like this one as much as I do! Having a personal biochip doctors can use to test medicinal drugs on you before prescribing them.... Incredible idea!! The number of falsely prescribed drugs leading to worsening conditions is colossal.

[@joebazooks]

I did learn one thing. I've seen people with Progeria before, (no more than one or two years and years and years ago,) but never knew what the disease (and I hate to call it that) was called or exactly what it did.

[@gallownumber18]

I cant fathom why there are 42 dislikes to this video.

[@TheGeekySkeptic]

First, where does Mr. Collins say that receptor targeting is the only way for drugs to work? Second, where does Mr. Collins say that all problems can be solved with Drugs? Third, of Collins already made reference to the fact you describe, then what's your point?

[@realkhumanbean]

Funny cause I read the book. All his argument comes down to "this is so amazing! So incredible! There's no way this could have come about naturally! There has to have been a designer!" That was his argument, and it wasn't that persuasive.

[@davidsweeney111]

cant agree more, the quality of my meth has been going down over the past 5 years I would say.

[@PoetlaureateNFDL]

Some interesting points here....

[@MathewSteeleAtheology]

I'd define a belief as the acceptance of the truth of a proposition, with knowledge being a belief based on and supported by evidence and faith being a belief formed without evidence. Otherwise I completely agree with you.

[@MewCat100]

CONT . It turns out that the human genome and DNA are far more complex than ever imagined. The presence of things like junk DNA (which isn't really junk), alternative splicing, epigenetic modification, etc. has all conspired to make understanding life very difficult. 3. We are working on a level that often cannot be resolved well enough to see on a regular basis. All information is indirect, so it is harder to work with.

[@R9RealMadridR9CR7]

As long as the monetary system controls humanity, no drug will be created nor used to its full potential.

[@NicolSD]

I have Multiple Sclerosis and I wish scientists were working on a cure. But they are not. The American MS Society is not funding any research for a cure at this point in time. All the money goes to the big pharma to help them find treatments that can reduce the disease's progression and make tons of money at the same time. Meanwhile, people like me are waiting and dealing with a disease whose causes are still unknown.

[@Mainfernando1]

What other prove prove than someone that has done it for so long. I admire you :)

[@TheFartoholic]

He still makes a valid point regardless. If we'll go to heaven surely it doesn't matter that people die? Indeed, this life is full of misfortune and so you might even argue that letting people go to heaven as quick as possible is the right thing to do.

[@Jayremy89]

Take this example with food production, if people worked for near free, food would be cheap for everybody to live off of, if people can labor a farm for that cheap than any job or career field could and should be "cheap" as well. The government doesn't allow it to happen, by setting price floors, manipulating supply and subsidizing things like corn; which has hurt us in many ways, not just economics. Everything should and could be cheaper, somethings free and in surplus, like food, globally.

[@haraldmencke3252]

Great encouragement!!!

[@baldieman64]

Crazy is harsh. There is some evidence that he had some features of synesthesia, meaning that he had some odd wiring in his brain. If you dismiss people with odd wiring in their brain as "crazy", you'd be locking up or medicating half of the technology pioneers in Silicone Vally, not to mention a good proportion of the worlds greatest artists and musicians..

[@MewCat100]

CONT The true solution to the problem is advanced modeling in computers. As of right now, the use of computers in receptor modeling, etc. is atrocious. Efforts are being made and will show impact soon, but given the complexity of the information, it will take some time to develop accurate computer models. We can't even model the climate and it is, frankly, less complex than the human body.

[@CantWeedThis]

Were talking about drugs here. There are no wonder-cures in drugs, only treatment. Cannabis treats over 200 medical condition because of the variety of chemicals it contains. Researching and isolating the over 80 different cannabinoids found in cannabis may make it possible to target and counteract conditions with minimal side effects. Its hard to research this plant when it is federally classified as a schedule 1 drug with no medical value. It is too early to even make judgments.

[@kingdavidjapan]

Wow, such an eloquent 15-year-old! Amazing

[@HyperReport]

Sorry, but this guy misses some important factors. In 1900, many people did not have internal household plumbing or it was made of lead. In addition, food quality improved considerably during the early 20th century. Also, with more free time and education, people were able to exercise more. In short, drugs may have addressed specific illnesses; however, it was improved living, frequent medical checkups, and common sense that allowed the average lifespan to increase.

[@sadochrist8534]

I made a redstone circuit in minecraft to do some thing it was bulky and took time to do what it was supposed to do, then I found a more efficient way to make that circuit, It's the same with drugs really. We need people who can look at an inefficient system then come up with a more efficient way of doing things.

[@Jayremy89]

Reform the patent system (and copyrights) and the research will be more open and cheaper to conduct along with spurring on quicker development of solutions to maladies of today.

[@Skateandcreate9]

you don't need a resource to figure out what high quality cannabis is. if you have never seen a video of a legal dispensary tour, i suggest you look one up and see for yourself what should be considered quality cannabis. as far as health benefits? for a healthy adult citizen moderate use can relieve stress, insomnia, pain, depression, appetite loss, and many other common problems. for the ill, it can do even more. yt wont let me link articles if you would like me to inbox i would be happy to.

[@liberationwasalie2982]

Before even watching, Yes I agree

[@MathewSteeleAtheology]

God is a hypothetical, and although that hypothesis is vague enough to be unable to completely disprove, it is still a possibility, just not one that we can reasonably know to be more than a possibility. As such, the only usefulness for accepting a deity to be more than a hypothesis is in terms of personal satisfaction and a subjective appraisal of what can't be demonstrated to be true. As such, the concept's usefulness is little more than a novelty.

[@MewCat100]

Perhaps, but we should remember that without those companies, we wouldn't have most of the drugs that we rely on to prolong and improve life. Those greedy, commercial enterprises have developed almost every drug, medical device, and instrument known (almost). Yes, our testing options are primitive, but Collins didn't give much of a path forward from there. Anyone can state the obvious.

[@TheAshwinShukla]

the best scientist my dear misguided youtuber are people who respect religion and want to combine the paths of both science and religion as science and religion are looking for the same thing... "Enlightenment"

[@aqilshamil9633]

LMAO , the internet nihilist materialist atheist are disgusting bunch that would literally be insulted by Mr Dawkins and Mr Harris

[@aurayon]

Haters gonna hate

[@MewCat100]

I said he knows "very little about the detail of drug development," so your quote is actually not a quote. I have no personal vendetta against Collins. As to who has the better answer, you'll never know if it is me because you don't know who I am.

[@booksRbad]

From the title alone, I agree.

[@joeybodnar]

I think instead of discussing religion in the comments section, we should discuss ways to do something Francis Collins hasn't done: Get the drugs faster. My vote is to de-regulate companies. The government has its foot on drug companies throats--the companies want to provide drugs, but there are too many obstacles to doing so. The government should get out of the way of progress.

[@AvangionQ]

Replacing animals with chips holding cloned cells seems like a much better way to do medical testing.

[@sth128]

Truly fascinating subject. Too bad I suck at chemistry. I'll just leave the efforts of discovery to other scientists.

[@MathewSteeleAtheology]

That would suggest that there is a well-defined "God" that everyone is referring to when they use the word "God," as opposed to a sort of catch-all to explain the unexplainable. To be an atheist is just to not have beliefs regarding the existence of whichever deity is the topic of discussion. In western cultures, that deity is usually the Abrahamic version, however the term "God" remains a catch-all to refer to unknown variables which the believer isn't comfortable accepting in a flux state.

[@MathewSteeleAtheology]

@@tomkunnel411 atheism is actually a response to a claim about a god or gods, because there is no single coherent definition of what the word "god" means. No matter how you slice it, meanings assigned to the word conflict to the point of inanity.. Then there's the fact that philosophy is performed by a brain, which is natural, and communicated with a mouth and ears, which are natural. And finally, no rationally justified argument exists for theism which doesn't include presuppositions and/or logical fallacies. Agnosticism is explained differently as well, but comes down to two basic points: either we don't know or can't know, or we are undecided... none of which is relevant considering the rest of what I just wrote.

[@PoliticalWeekly]

I hope Marijuana, Hemp and other plants become legal in all states. I also think we should end the drug war and legalize all drugs.

[@Gewath]

Of course there are. Sometimes more beneficially than others. Some people being pumped with unbeneficial drugs doesn't however mean others should be denied beneficial drugs. Drugs also don't have to work well every time. If 95% are more or less better off for them and 5% are more or less worse off for them, does that mean we shouldn't give anyone drugs ever? Medicine/doctors make mistakes; that doesn't mean we should all sit on our asses and think 'better just leave it all up to nature/God'.

[@MrAlejux]

Incredible how such a wonderful talk video, can generate so many moronic comments.

[@browsertab]

The governments should be pouring all their funding into health and science. If only hospitals were a branch of the military...

[@mariosaad8848]

Looks like I'm tge only one watching in 2020 during Coronavirus.

[@tristanchroma9014]

Without even watching the talk yet, I completely and totally agree ... Oh, therapeutic and health drugs. Yeah I guess that could be nice too >_>

[@dylanmeditates]

it's possible that the toxicity of the air, the food given to the child by an unaware society, or the water, etc. could also be the source of disease. this video scares me because new drugs that are developed add toxicity and remove balance. even if it takes 500 years, we will eventually see that to end all disease we need to start being honest about the source (ourselves) and stop trying in vain to drown the symptoms in more and more drugs. being on drugs is a disease.

[@sadochrist8534]

It's annoying how many drugs are just going on what worked before then building on that. For instance there may be a better way to treat cancer but because chemo worked before many drug companies make more chemo drugs. What about a more efficient less toxic drug to treat cancer?

[@joeybodnar]

TED limits most of its talks in time I think. If one truly wanted to give a comprehensive talk on this subject it wouldn't be 20 minutes or less, that's for sure. If you really think that Collins just knows nothing about drug development then I think you are probably mistaken. I agree, he could have used the extra 5 minutes to add in some detail, but it would still be way too short/simplistic to get any really helpful information across on such a broad subject.

[@riddler251]

I AM MOVING AS FAST AS I CAN! You do realize it takes a long time to get your PhD in biochemistry right...?

[@pilum3705]

Are you done yet? If not: Get moving!!

[@acroxl]

Well, the problem with expanding the life expectancy is that we get too many people on the earth and we have no where to go. I would rather spend those bilions of dolars for expensive research on saving children in third world countries than on dragging out the life on old people. The problem is that the medicine manufactors need to make money and they have to get their buck back before the pattent runs out of the drug. So they need to make at least a bilion dollar in a couple of years.

[@kellinepickett4979]

Don't take my word for it, do the research yourself. I didn't make that up, I got it from the data that's been established in laboratories around the world. This was first discovered in Israel but I see by the many negative votes on my initial comment that the world still doesn't know the truth about cannabis. That's okay though. There are entire states in the U.S. legalizing it because they've been educated.

[@TheCosmicTang]

god is complacency, its what you find when you stop looking for answers and make your own reality instead. It is just another coping mechanism, some need it, some don't.

[@aurayon]

Not necessarily, but what does that have to do with this video? Too many people are hung up on that subject and no one is paying attention to the content of this video.

[@skeletonxf]

What is a poor decision? Allowing one person to die to save another isn't exactly a good decision, but it isn't 100% bad either. Anyway, reasons and beliefs are hugely individual. One persons reason could another's excuse. You can't make either "false reasoning" or a "poor decision" testable. You might say a bad decision leads to bad reasoning and I couldn't disprove that but neither could you produce some statistic that proves your point.

[@MewCat100]

What's your point John? My point was that Collins gave the impression that drug development is simpler than it actually is and he failed to provide any real information in this talk. Basically, my argument is that the talk was useless and that Collins doesn't seem to have much insight into why drug development is so slow.

[@mrcdad]

the days of medical research trying to cure a disease are long gone. there's no money it. disease management and a lifetime of drug dependence - now that's where the shareholder value lies.

[@Buckets41369]

the title has the word "drugs", read comments with caution.

[@MathewSteeleAtheology]

"Atheism is the belief in existence of no God." Atheism just means you don't accept theism, or the belief that a god or gods exist. What other beliefs people form after abandoning theism are irrelevant to whether or not they are atheistic.

[@elijahmwiti7849]

Clearly he has been doing what he is doing for a long time….

[@ptm374]

Yes but now we are at a point where to increase life expectancy we need to look in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancers of all types, genetic disorders. You can't improve on a toilet really and we are getting rid of many of the major toxins in our environment, maybe food quality has some ways to go but otherwise we need to focus on actual health care.

[@ehcmier]

We didn't even get any clue about what the drug did or has done for anybody, either.

[@Skateandcreate9]

if every single adult human had the opportunity to consume high quality cannabis through means other than smoking, everyone would be not only healthier, but happier. if you want to debate otherwise, i'd love to hear your bogus argument.

[@jimmysgameclips]

Clicked on this to see if I was the only one who thought that haha, the title is very appropriate

[@DavidVonR]

Why can't all drugs just be discovered using distributed computing and supercomputer simulations?

[@baldieman64]

Einstein ? "It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it." Albert Einstein (1954),

[@TomahawkTerror]

From the thumbnail, I though this man had no pants.

[@CrappyBaraLugnt]

A good speech but II find it interesting that when listing possible negative sides of drugtesting on animals he completely ignored the ethical problem. Even if you may believe that human lives are more worth than the animals', isn't still a positive aspect that we can spare animals from cruel treatment?

[@niklasbastholmhansen]

Wonderful how a scientist so clearly can illustrate the main problem with drug discovery, namely the fact that government is in the way and then suggest the free market as a solution. Please folks, just get that damn parasite out of the way and the rest will come all by itself.

[@martinhillebregt]

Medicin from big farma gives more problems then it solves. It's about the money that's why they do not investigate the natural medicins. They can't make money of that. And the more (side)effect the more drugs you need, the more money they make. I'll put my money on natural medicins, nutricians, vitamin, etc....

[@aurayon]

Both groups of scientists were working on the same project. Has nothing to do with "stealing". Science is science, keep your drama and hang ups away from it.

"We need better drugs -- now": my thoughts exactly.

[@euug]

newly engineered organs based on human stem cells would be even better - IMHO we should try spending more money on that and less on business-as-usual animal testing

[@Ryakki]

Atheist is a broad category. It's like non-tennis player; people don't play tennis for a variety of reasons. I feel that the most noble, and seemingly the most common reason for atheism is rational, evidence based skepticism. Those positions you mentioned, well, evidence highly supports those positions, and rational, evidence based skeptics follow the evidence. Their view isn't "atheism is correct", it's "the evidence highly suggests that theism is almost certainly incorrect".

[@Adenohypophysis0]

Where did you get this information from? Stop assuming. let's get one thing straight: Science and Atheism are NOT synonomous nor equal. Science and religion are 2 completely different things. You can use religion to study science, and you can use science to study religion. They are two paths of knowledge. Atheists always making false assumptions. just had to clear that one up

[@MewCat100]

Why are you replying to me about this? I didn't bring up the religion topic, I was just making a point to that individual person. De-regulation is hardly the answer and the FDA is not, in general, a barrier to drug approval. The work of drug development takes an average of 15 years, regardless of whether the FDA is involved or not.

[@MathewSteeleAtheology]

" unless atheists are claiming absolute ignorance of religion they have to give reasons why they aren’t convinced" Most atheists are perfectly happy to do so. The burden of proof for the supernatural will always rest on the person making the claim. If no claim is made that no gods exist, there is no burden of proof. Pretty simple. I don't know what apologist you're listening to, but you might want to listen to a different one.

[@MathewSteeleAtheology]

It is a very serious mistake, in my opinion, to compare "faith" as you define it which is held regarding something that can be demonstrated to exist outside of the imagination, and "faith" as you define it which is held regarding something that cannot be demonstrated in any way to exist outside the imagination, especially when the latter is held beyond any form of rationality, as is most often the case with theism. Christianity, for example, outright demands such faith for salvation.

[@rebeccanascimento8234]

Sam is so awesome

[@Kongolox]

what a brave kid!

[@Gewath]

Penicillin heals one individual. Prayer is a mass cognitive process that can provide spiritual stimulation to a large group of people. I agree with using penicillin; I just don't see why you would want to stop people from using prayer. Aside from being a massive intrusion on other people's intellectual freedom (aka freedom to stupidity, aka freedom to disagree (with you)), the actual time you spend you could spend administering penicillin. Ain't no use in being healthy if you're not happy.

[@bary1234]

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Thats why people fight against organised superstition.

[@MewCat100]

This talk was way too simplistic. First, receptor targeting is not the only way for drugs to work. Second, not all problems can be solved with drugs. Third, I was at NIH when the basics for the cure for progeria were found. It was 100% accidental. It was pure serendipity and the speed with which is moved forward was unique for a number of accidental reasons. The success of that drug had much more to do with luck than with purpose-driven research. At least Collins made some reference to that fact

[@monster93ammar]

great just excellent

[@TadaGanIarracht]

But yeah you have a good point. If an atheist actually makes a claim about something then the burden of proof is on the atheist individual, however, the burden of proof can never be on atheism itself. That, to any logical person, would be madness.

[@SWTrailsAndWheels]

Atheism does not throw out the possibility of a God existing. It just holds that there is no evidence for a God yet.