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Not long ago, few outside the medical community had heard of semaglutide and tirzepatide—two drugs in the GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist class, approved for diabetes management. The medications work by decreasing caloric intake through mimicking the natural hormone GLP-1 normally released in the gut after eating. The GLP-1 agonists bind to receptors in the brain, pancreas and intestines, which helps to regulate insulin release, lower blood sugar levels, slow down digestion, and reduce appetite.

In 1999, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognized the fluoridation of drinking water as one of the “ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th Century.” The practice has reportedly reduced tooth decay in children by 40-70% and tooth loss in adults by 40-60%.

When Angela Haupt, a health and wellness editor at Time Magazine, had nearly two dozen vials of her blood drawn for a health startup, she received eight pages of clinical notes analyzing 105 personalized biomarkers. Did she receive valuable insights predictive of her future health, or an overload of indecipherable data? The answer is debatable. It may depend on who you ask, who is reading the information, and for what purpose. What is certain is that the use of biomarkers in the healthcare industry is expected to grow exponentially.