Key Messages
Learn How Indiebio Is Working To Create Positive Change In The World Amidst A Pandemic, Bee Continuum Crisis, And More
Arvind Gupta and Po Bronson, two venture capitalists located in Silicon Valley, are seeking to make the world a better place.
Through their biotech firm IndieBio, they are putting efforts into creating positive change through some of the most pressing issues facing our world today.
From the COVID-19 pandemic to saving Earth’s bees and the rise of China, these two friends have set out to find solutions that will help improve life for everyone.
They are looking towards artificial intelligence, genetic manipulation and other approaches in order to make an impact.
With their innovative ideas, Arvind and Po have shown us how two people can make a difference in our world today.
Through their actions, we all can be inspired to take part in creating positive change as well.
At Indiebio, It’S Business As Usual: Taking Risks To Save The World During The Covid-19 Pandemic
Since its conception, IndieBio, a Silicon Valley-based biotechnology startup accelerator, has been striving to make the world a better place.
From curing cancer to creating the perfect blue, their goal is to create solutions which have a positive impact on the world and now, amidst this pandemic crisis, they are looking for solutions to the struggles we are all facing.
IndieBio recognizes that taking risks comes along with their purpose and have started approving new ventures that may help them in their mission.
One venture caught Po’s attention – a study from the University of Michigan that didn’t use genetics or machine learning – but something as simple as a questionnaire proved it could keep us safe during this time.
Since before COVID-19 struck us, IndieBio has been trying to save the world.
Their big picture thinking lead by co-founder Arvind Gupta might be exactly what we need right now and even though he is leaving his baby for an even bigger venture capital firm, he is confident that together IndieBio will help make a positive change in our society.
Arvind Gupta Founded Indiebio To Make A Positive Impact In An Increasingly Unpredictable Global Ecosystem Controlled By China’S Rapid Expansion
Arvind Gupta founded IndieBio to disrupt Silicon Valley and breathe new life into San Francisco.
Since its founding in 2014, IndieBio has been a leader in investing and backing groundbreaking projects.
From pioneering lab-grown meat to finding ways to save the bees, it makes a point of pushing boundaries and expanding limitations.
It even introduced a 3D-printed fake rhino horn onto the market as a way to combat illegal trading!
This revolutionary vision was born when Arvid, then in his mid-20s, decided it was time for an extreme lifestyle change.
In a very literal sense he jumped off tall buildings more than 260 times (parachuting of course!), coming face-to-face with death.
The experience taught him the value of life, setting him up for success in tech and inspiring his later creation of IndieBio.
His trip to Shanghai left him awestruck by the rapid development occurring there, and he soon realized that China held far more influence than America ever could – its AI program is nationalized, its media output is carefully managed and runs twice as many polluting greenhouse gases as the US!
Through this sequence of events Arvind moved forward on his plan to make changes in San Francisco through indieBio – no amount of power or money can rival the fate of humanity.
We Need To Overcome Our Inertia And Address The Climate Crisis
The key to rescuing our planet from destruction is for us to overcome inertia – the tendancy for something in motion to stay in motion or for something at rest to stay at rest.
This idea was first proposed by Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion, and Arvind and Po use the term in a different context.
For example, burning coal is deleterious to the environment yet its usage has increased since 2000 despite alternative energy sources being available.
For many big companies this occurs because it is more convenient not to change their company’s approach.
People too have displayed this state of inertia when it comes to responding to the climate crisis, due largely in part due to a myriad of messages they are sent regarding solutions such as colonising Mars and 3D-printing organs that don’t necessarily sound all that critical and overwhelming compared to the challenges presented by global warming.
The Wonders Of The Human Genome: How Genetics Is Helping Us Combat Nature’S Dangers
Genome editing is becoming increasingly commonplace in the medical field.
It has yielded exciting potential and advancements, with great potential to battle the dangers of nature.
Po and Arvind call this phenomenon “Warp-Speed Impulse” — our tendency to envision a world where current trends are pushed to their worst extremes.
However, genetics in nature are constantly evolving on their own, as proved by the recent COVID crisis.
This is why genome editing can be meaningful — it helps us fight dangerous threats on our health that come from external sources like viruses or bacteria.
As Dimitre explains — he is a geneticist at IndieBio — when combining a blood sample with some extra genetic elements he can create cells that make IL10, which helps the body accept a newly transplanted kidney.
This treatment wouldn’t affect the body’s genome permanently; it’s just a one-time solution for people who need organ transplantations.
Modern Science Reveals The Mysteries Of Life And Death, From Cancer To Aging
For years, scientists have studied genetics and how it relates to the human body.
The advances in the field have been remarkable, thanks in no small part to Arvind’s mom’s cancer story.
After he requested that her tumor be sent to IndieBio for testing, nine mutations were identified – enough information to know his mother would need to continue treatment.
But genetic science isn’t just about cancer; it has the potential to transform our understanding of the human body in many ways.
Take breathing: we can still only use guesswork when trying to figure out how Wim Hof manages to sustain himself while running a marathon with shorts on in freezing temperatures, though his lifestyle likely involves some genetic component.
Similarly, understanding memory formation requires knowledge of genetics.
We’ve long thought of memories as existing solely as a sequence of electrical signals in the brain but they actually involve RNA molecules found throughout the cell which move and encode memory between generations – demonstrated by snail experiments at UCLA and fish elsewhere.
The Universe Is Constantly Evolving, Finding New Ways To Disperse Energy
When you look closely, it becomes apparent that almost everything on the planet is made up of just a handful of elements.
Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen make up 97 percent of human bodies, while all the remaining 23 elements make up the rest.
Our environment has a similar makeup; no matter how complex things seem at first glance, it can be broken down into these essential elements.
The same goes for things such as electricity or metals – they’re really just a matter of using different combinations and arrangements of these fundamental substances.
In fact, it’s possible to reprogram bacteria to convert almost anything into pretty much anything else by rearranging these building blocks in new ways.
This insight can lead us to consider radical solutions to difficult problems such as climate change.
As Tom Chi from Google X explains: when you zoom into the very small scale of things, it’s easy to see that carbon needs to be moved out of the atmosphere and put back into the Earth’s soil.
This huge task can be made much more achievable with processes such as Arvind’s plan for turbocharging CO2 capture and rock formation with olivine minerals – truly inspiring thoughts when we remember that everything around us is built from basic elements!
Science And Society In Constant Pursuit Of Improvement Through Innovation
When it comes to building a better society, scientific innovation can play a huge role.
We have already seen several examples of this in action.
Take, for example, the emergence of Tinctorum – a company whose mission is to create positive change through their naturally made blue dye.
Another prime example of scientific innovation helping us build a better society can be seen in the field of biotechnology and its ability to create animal-free meat products—a concept that was laughed at not so long ago.
Companies such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger have shown just how successful these products can be.
And then there’s Clara Foods – one of the early backers creating lab-grown meat and animal product substitutes that has now gone on to become worth more than $125 million!
These success stories show how science and societal transformation always go hand in hand.
Embracing Our Choices: The Human-Earth Connection And The New Deal Of Health
It’s becoming increasingly clear that our choices today will have a direct impact on both our own health, and the health of the planet.
We need to be conscious of our actions and how they may affect different aspects of life.
For instance, if we continue polluting ourselves with sugar, we run the risk of damaging our own bodies in the same way that carbon emissions can damage the planet.
There must be a New Deal for both situations – one that encourages us to make better choices for both our bodies and the environment.
We are just beginning to understand the intricacies of what makes us healthy – from symbiotic relationships between plants and fungi that sequester carbon in soil, to the innumerable microorganisms living inside us.
Plus, it is important to realise that core temperature plays an equally vital role in both planetary and individual health – rising temperatures are something we ought not take lightly in either circumstance.
Ultimately, these new discoveries should prompt us each to be more conscientious about our decisions now; science is giving us a clearer understanding into ourselves and our capabilities, so let’s use this information wisely.
Wrap Up
The final message of Decoding the World is an optimistic one.
Through their venture capital firm IndieBio, Arvind Gupta and Po Bronson are helping to fund groundbreaking biotechnology startups with the goal of tackling some of the biggest issues facing the world today – from COVID and cancer to climate change.
These remarkable projects offer a spark of hope that they may lead to real progress and a brighter future for our planet.
To make sure this happens, it is important to support efforts such as IndieBio so that innovative biotech solutions can be developed, tested and implemented quickly for the benefit of all.
