A QUIET night in December 2050. Small town anywhere on Earth. In the hospital, little Peter has just made his appearance in the world

While Peter is dreaming his first dreams, samples of his blood and tissue are analysed and the resulting data transmitted to the simulation and modelling department of the regional medical centre.

It is expensive and time-consuming to build a virtual human from scratch, so a library of averaged mathematical models of newborns is maintained.

When the boy is 10, flu leaves him with a complication - severe bronchitis. Which antibiotic to prescribe? The family doctor downloads Peter's virtual twin, updates it with the latest tests, and runs simulations for the range of available antibiotics

This identifies both the perfect drug and one that would have had a life-threatening, long-term effect on Peter's blood-clotting ability, possibly leading to a future stroke.