The deCode Genetics Story

deCode Genetic was an Icelandic Company set-up to investigate the genetic factors that contribute to diseases. Iceland is a perfect place to study inherited diseases because of its extensive historical records and its limited population. The problem is the limited population size means that privacy becomes an issue and also you have a narrower range of disease diversity. In the end the company went bankrupt in 2009 after 11 years of research.

Guardian 2002 article - reporting the downside of the boom
Bankruptcy
New deCode - after bankruptcy

Intellect does not equal culture

There was an article in the Guardian about the lack of modern intellectuals, and that now it is all about trivia. Not surprisingly this was written by an old liberal arts academic.

What he meant was that there has been a steady neglect of the old cultural standards. His view of culture is no longer appreciated. I agree with him that our culture is based on a preoccupation with body disfiguring and with growing social rifts, but I do not see that the past was any better. Now is not worse - just different.

There is plenty of intellect but the new intellectuals do not share the same views and concerns as past generations.

In the end his viewpoint translates to - there are no longer many academics who share the same views as he does, particularly amongst the young.