DAY10

Riga, Latvia

Vilnius, Lithuania

04:45

TRAVEL TIME

208 mi

DISTANCE

26 L

FUEL AMOUNT

Wednesday 7 October 2020

Latvia & Lithuania

Day ten on the Road to 2021 started in the beautiful old city of Riga, Latvia. Dating back to 1201 and noted for its Art Nouveau architecture and 19th Century wooden buildings, the historical city centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and former European Capital of Culture. Unfortunately, Phill and Mark got in more trouble with the law after stopping to photograph a monument. Which, it seems, you aren't supposed to do.

 

The team had an interview with MGI Latvia, and a tour of a new R&D and manufacturing facility opened in 2019 for its gene sequencing and multi-omics platforms. After leaving Riga, they stopped to conduct a Zoom interview with Northway Biotech, based in Lithuania, which was precisely where the road trip was heading, ending the day in its capital, Vilnius.

Mini Mini Cooper

Track Our Trip Real-Time

Real time tracking of the journey and other crew data powered by Yourway's TIVE technology.

FIND US

What technologies do you think will change healthcare and medicine in the next 25 years?

Latvia

Latvia

POPULATION

1M

0% of Euro population

LIFE EXPECTANCY

74.9YRS

>4

Increase since 2000

HEALTH SYSTEM

Universal

Health expenditure per capita

1213

about €1637 below the EU average

PRIMARY RISK
FACTORS

Smoking 25%

Obesity 21%

Smoking

LEADING CAUSE
OF DEATH

Heart Disease

31.6%

Decrease since 2000

FAMOUS FIGURES

Lina Stern

Lina Stern (1878-1968)

Best known for her pioneering work on the blood-brain barrier, Lina Stern’s medical discoveries saved thousands of lives on the battlefields of during WWII.

Lithuania

Lithuania

POPULATION

2M

0% of Euro population

LIFE EXPECTANCY

75.8YRS

>5

Increase since 2000

HEALTH SYSTEM

Near Universal

Health expenditure per capita

1500

about €1350 below the EU average

PRIMARY RISK
FACTORS

Smoking 20%

Obesity 17%

Smoking

LEADING CAUSE
OF DEATH

Heart Disease

18.7%

Decrease since 2000

FAMOUS FIGURES

Aaron Klug

Aaron Klug (1926-2018)

Mathematical physicist and crystallographer distinguished for his contributions to molecular biology, especially the structure of viruses, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1982.