No Medicinal Value

Here is the history of our medicine.

"I have a sore throat."

2000 BC : "Eat this root"

1200 AD : "That root is heathen, say this prayer."

1500 AD : "That prayer is superstition, drink this elixir."

1800 AD : "That elixir is snake oil, Take this pill."

1900 AD : "That pill is ineffective, Take this antibiotic."

2000 AD : "That antibiotic is artificial, Here why dont you eat this root."

The history of the worlds medicine is obviously much richer and goes far deeper than that. However, the general point being in not so much finding something better able to help cure peoples afflictions but in a rejection of old ways (because of course those old practices are worthless). Now-a-days not many people are keen on taking a hollistic approach to medicine but the movement is slowly gaining more ground (especially since traditional medicine and healthcare are not available to everyone...yet). I am certain modern science will make breakthroughs in stem cell research and gene therapy which will most likely revolutionize the medical field yet again, but one may wonder what the new backlash will be against this time.

New Colonialism

In the physical sense, colonists of the Americas, of the New World, left their trace. In Canada, there were attempts at integrating polyethnic societies, yet genocide, racism, and the such still existed. U.S. colonists often took a different route - either complete genocide, reservationism, or other related policies. In South America, the colonists mixed more often that their counterparts to the north. 

Today, the majority of the countries are sovereign nations, and yet, in many ways - they are still being colonized to an extent. After using dictators - like Batista in Cuba and Somoza in Nicaragua - and supplating U.S. friendly governments in countries, the U.S. came up with a new and less obvious stragety - soft power economic colonialism. Although the military is still directly used in many areas, most U.S. power is exercised through international institutions and unequal trade agreements. Panama was once a favored colony, and now we have our sight on Colombia and other countries. 

The point is - things have not really become different - colonialism is still colonialism, though in a different and more subtle form.