About this collection

Have you ever been assigned a group project in which your team had to work together to solve some sort of problem? Although not everyone always agrees, you may have learned that collaborating with people who have unique perspectives and interests is a really effective way to generate new, exciting solutions—solutions that nobody could have come up with alone! This is the idea behind an event called SPARKS! Future Technology for Health, which was held at CERN —one of the world’s largest and most respected centers for scientific research. A group of around 50 experts, in diverse fields ranging from medicine to computer science to nuclear physics, joined forces to collaborate, learn and unlearn together—all in the name of improving human health.

Technologies with the power to change human lives come with tremendous responsibility. After short talks on cutting-edge health advances, SPARKS! participants broke into smaller groups to discuss and debate big, unanswered questions about these new technologies. Who owns the health data generated by smart watches and other devices? What role should artificial intelligence play in health care? How can we make sure that non-scientists trust new health technologies? These and other tough questions do not have simple answers. For new health technologies to be accepted and used responsibly, society—including you, the next generation —will need to grapple with such questions for years to come.

This Collection highlights some groundbreaking health-related technologies discussed at the SPARKS! Forum, with a focus on the unanswered questions that must be addressed before these life-changing advances can responsibly impact human lives. If you enjoy learning about exciting, health-related advances and like to think about difficult, big-picture questions involving science and society, this collection is for you. Like all Frontiers for Young Minds articles, this collection is reviewed by young students. We hope this collection SPARKS! your interest in the future of human health!