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Every year, 8,100 doctorates degrees are awarded in the United States to students that have chosen to pursue careers in a scientific discipline. Honestly, we wish that number was much higher.

Few academic fields have brought more value to the world than science.

Science allows us to understand the world around us. It allows us to avoid mistakes and pursue progress. It helps to keep us alive.

That last benefit is the one that we’re going to spend the majority of this piece talking about. Science and how it has helped us live longer.

Below, we outline a few of the most common killers that have plagued humanity over the course of our existence and will shed some insight on how scientific solutions for our health have helped us to overcome those issues.

  1. Allergies

When a doctor tells you that you’re allergic to something, your reaction is probably one of indifference or mild annoyance. Hundreds of years ago, an allergy could mean a death sentence.

Think about it … something as simple as being peanut averse without proper treatment could render a child’s lungs inflamed to the point of not being able to intake oxygen in a matter of seconds.

Today, thanks to scientific solutions for our health, not only are peanut allergies being treated but their harmful effects can be reversed.

  1. Senses

Without scientific intervention, if you were born without the ability to hear or see, your life would be of low quality and you’d be at a much higher risk of premature death.

Fortunately, that hypothetical is not the reality that we live in.

If you can’t hear, science has developed a number of apparatuses that can restore or at very least enhance your ability to take in sound and vibrations. If you can’t see science’s ability to understand our other senses has contributed to infrastructure (braille for example) that makes it so you can experience the world in other ways. This has proven integral to keeping people with sensory disabilities alive and well.

  1. Brain Injuries

Brain injuries affect thousands of people every year. Many of those people are teenagers who sustain trauma while playing sports.

Science has helped to curb the number of people who die from brain trauma by helping to develop protective gear that better insulates the brain from blunt forces, whiplash, and other disturbances.

Furthermore, when an injury like a concussion is sustained, science has enabled us to identify its occurrence and create treatment plans that allow adequate time for healing.

  1. Healthy Eating is Becoming Mainstream

Scientific solutions for our health have been influencing our eating choices for decades now. What do you think has helped schools and governments to understand the difference between healthy and non-healthy eating?

Our in-depth understanding of calories, fats, sugars, and more, thanks to scientific breakthroughs, have helped people maintain better diets which directly impacts lifespan and the potential of contracting deadly diseases.

  1. Safe and Forgiving Sex

Look towards the ’60s and ’70s. Back then, sex was largely conducted unencumbered by science which led to outbreaks of HIV and a number of other STDs.

Thanks to scientific intervention, today, people understand how to engage in sex safely which has dramatically decreased the HIV positive population. Furthermore, science has developed new treatments for people that contract HIV which has made it so being HIV positive isn’t anywhere near as deadly.

  1. Depression

Millions of adults in the United States suffer from depression. That illness leads many to live low-quality lives or to even opt to take their lives after years of feeling hopeless.

The depression epidemic has led to scientific organizations investing heavily in life sciences advanced technologies which have created breakthrough results.

Now, people don’t have to live with depression. Through a combination of medication and mindfulness practices, symptoms can be managed to the point where even chronically ill people can live functional lives.

  1. Heart Disease

The number one killer in the world is heart disease. This illness is typically brought about by poor lifestyle habits (bad eating, lack of exercise, etc.).

While clogged arteries (a chief component of heart disease) used to mean certain death, incredible scientific breakthroughs have allowed surgeons to clear arteries and even construct pathways around clogs to keep blood flowing.

That coupled with the diet and exercise education sciences have introduced into mainstream consciousness is having a massive impact on health outcomes.

  1. Cancer

One of the most feared illnesses in the world is cancer. What makes this disease so scary is that it rears its head in many ways and is unique to the person suffering from it.

This sort of moving target that cancer has created has made it an illness that’s very difficult to treat. Fortunately, science and the billions of dollars that are invested in cancer research annually have put a dent in cancer’s ability to kill.

Treatments including surgeries, chemo and other life-saving pathways get better every year and consequently, our national life expectancy keeps going up.

Wrapping Up Scientific Solutions for Our Health and Life Expectancy

New scientific solutions for our health crop up on an annual basis. When they do, people find ways to live longer.

As more people take an interest in science and more choose to pursue advanced degrees in a variety of scientific subjects, we feel that the future is bright when it comes to fighting adversity and creating a more dignified existence for humanity.

Health is always changing. To stay abreast on what’s different and what’s the same, keep reading more of our expertly crafted content.