Despite its novelty and innovative methods, synthetic biology belongs to the most popular and promising areas of genetic engineering. The pace of development of this field of knowledge allows us to talk about the creation of a completely artificial organism in the near future.
It will have the behavioral patterns and biological functions of a human being, including the ability to reproduce naturally. These bacteria will be widely used to make medicines and produce modern biofuels.
A huge DNA bank will help bring your grandiose ideas to life, which will become a habitat for thousands of fragments of DNA chains. The genetic material will give scientists the opportunity to assemble the cell code using the principle of a designer. The problem is that when someone creates code, there are always those who want to break it. A clear confirmation of this is computer technology.
The development of synthetic biology will entail the development of biohacking. Wanting to harm any member of humanity, a hacker will create bacteria that can take over the control functions of the human brain and transfer them to a biohacker. This is a typical problem in the computer world that we no longer pay attention to. special attention. In the case of biological hacking, technology will be a powerful weapon in the wrong hands.
It is too early to say that the pace of development of synthetic biology is comparable to the rapid introduction of computer science and cybernetics into our lives. However, already in May 2010, it was announced the creation of the first synthetic cell, the design of which was carried out on a computer using a digital code. Its creator was the American Craig Venter, who dubbed the living invention the first biological successor of a computer with the ability to reproduce itself.
The Japanese want to green the deserts
The result of the joint work of Panasonic Corporation and Kyoto University was a grandiose project to transform lifeless tons of sand into luxurious blooming oases. The developed technology for landscaping deserts consists of spraying a special reagent that helps the soil retain up to 70% of the moisture that enters it. It is important that this spraying in no way interferes with the free flow of air into the soil and its normal circulation.
A number of countries have already expressed their interest in the project, for which the fight against desert territory is on the list of priority tasks. These are states located in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. In the context of the level of development of these countries, a significant advantage of landscaping technology is its relatively high price. It costs only $100 to produce one ton of spraying agent. The technology is expected to gain popularity by 2016.
Mammoths are back!
Did you think that mammoths ceased to exist many centuries ago? Technological progress will force you to reconsider your attitude to the past-modern-future paradigm. Scientific experiments of today are aimed not only at the invention of ideal functional gadgets, the study of outer space or the search for mechanisms to protect the environment.
Some bright minds of humanity are “burning with the idea” of bringing extinct animals back to life, the method of which should be cloning.
The first attempts to clone mammoths were made in the 1990s. Then scientists tried to revive an animal that had disappeared from the face of the planet using its muscle tissue preserved in permafrost. The experiment was not successful. The viability of cells that had lain for so long in sub-zero temperatures was zero.
However, in 2008, researchers were able to clone a mouse using genetic material from an animal that had been frozen for 16 years. The experiment was conducted at the Center for Developmental Biology by Dr. Teruhiko Wakayama. Today, Akira Iritani, who works as a professor at Kyoto University, is trying to improve the technique. His efforts are aimed at cloning an organism that has been preserved for 5 thousand years.
- To begin with, the professor plans to go to Siberia to find a suitable fragment of muscle tissue. Its dimensions must be at least 3 square centimeters. If the independent search for the sample is not successful, Iritani plans to turn to Russian colleagues for help.
- The next step in the researcher's plan is to isolate the nucleus from the cells of an extinct animal. From these, relatively healthy nuclei will be selected and placed into the eggs of female African elephants. It is assumed that this animal will become an almost ideal surrogate mother.
- Conceiving a fetus will take approximately 2 years of work, and gestation will be equivalent to approximately 600 days.
Iritani claims that the experiment has a considerable chance of success, and results can be expected within 4-5 years.
"Armageddon" as a prototype of NASA research
The film "Armageddon", released in 1999, attracted masses of fans of science fiction films in cinemas. They admired, marveled and were in awe of the sign of “his majesty of the future” with exciting space travel and noble missions to save humanity. And who would have thought then that landing people on an object of celestial origin is not a whimsical invention of screenwriters, but the reality of tomorrow.
In 2015, NASA employees plan to send an expedition to the meteor. Its members will have to collect necessary information, as well as take samples from space objects in order to test their suitability for the extraction of various minerals. The curator of the mission is Dr. Abel. He focuses on the fact that despite the grandeur of the mission, its implementation will be much less dynamic and dramatic than in the film “Armageddon”.
The expedition promises many difficulties and dangers, but the number of people willing to take a place on the research team is increasing every day. At the moment, NASA is not selecting candidates, limiting itself to statements that high level The complexity of the qualifying tests will allow us to weed out the majority of those interested.
The main problem is landing astronauts on the surface of the asteroid. An independent landing of a ship on a celestial body is impossible due to the very weak gravitational force of the asteroid. Since its speed is between 54 and 900 thousand kilometers per hour, the spacecraft must reach the same speed so that the team can move from the ship to the asteroid. After carrying out the necessary tests, the astronauts will return to the ship in the same way.
Collapse of the traditional education system
During the Interra-2013 forum, which took place in Novosibirsk, a statement was made about the imminent collapse of school and university education. The idea was voiced by Pavel Luksha, head of corporate educational programs at the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo. The specialist suggests that the developed countries the world will abandon the traditional approach to education in 25 years.
Non-systemic education will begin with “digital universities”, where everyone will be able to choose the necessary quality materials. Text will no longer be the basic means of transmitting information, and documents about the level of education such as a diploma will become a thing of the past in 10 years.
Overpopulation of the planet threatens food shortages
American scientists have calculated that the world's population will be replenished with 2.5 billion new lives in 40 years, which will allow it to reach 9.6 billion people. At the same time, food supplies will be too small to meet the needs of the majority of the planet's inhabitants. The first victims of food shortages are expected to be China and India.
The food crisis could be overcome by cutting down forests and planting grain crops in the resulting areas. However, this measure will have the consequence of another environmental problem. If trees do not absorb carbon dioxide, this threatens to increase the greenhouse effect.
Thus, the only way to combat the food crisis is to grow more grain crops. Doubling existing crops will not be sufficient for the world's population in 40 years. To prevent possible famine, humanity must develop schemes to increase crop yields and also abandon biofuels. It will be very useful to improve fertilizers, reduce the share of meat in the human diet, and also reduce the volume food waste.
The African continent will become the most populated continent in the world
La Repubblica suggests that in the near future, African countries will unite into one huge power. Experts say that the continental state will become the place of residence for the majority of the planet's population. According to preliminary estimates, Africa will become the most populated continent by 2050.
The trend is obvious, because most countries in the world are experiencing a slowdown in population growth, while the African continent consistently demonstrates dynamic growth in indicators.
Experts from the Institute of Demographic Research (France) believe that by the middle of the century Africa will be the homeland for every third child.
Top discoveries of the next hundred years: BBC version
Authoritative information Agency UK BBC has published a list of the most anticipated discoveries. The plan for their implementation is designed for 100 years, and the final place of each of them is determined based on a survey of Internet users.
Year 2012. Underwater farms
The world's population recently surpassed 7 billion people. A large number of people does not only mean more variations in choice work force, but also great needs in terms of satisfying hunger. Scientists are actively working to create a kind of “food reserves” on the ocean floor, where they will grow fish, shellfish and algae. As of today, it has been partially implemented.
Year 2012. Climate control systems
The development of such devices began a long time ago. Today's level of technological development allows us to witness considerable success. It is unlikely that we, as city dwellers, will be able to control the weather we want, but these systems will be used by authorities to maximize the efficiency of agricultural work, as well as to prevent natural disasters. As of today, it has been partially implemented.
Year 2012-2015. Changing the US Map
The fears of the ruling elite are related to the state of California. The bohemians of this region understand that their standard of living is much higher than the country's average, and do not hide their desire to secede. However, California may disappear from the list of US states for another reason, namely its location in a seismic zone.
Year 2050-2075. The emergence of a new race of people
Information will be seamlessly delivered directly to the human brain and back. Artificial organisms will be created, placing one’s brain in which will enable a person to modify himself and extend his functionality. Consuming large amounts of food will be replaced by recharging.
Year 2100. Brain network
The network will add significant functionality when it is freed from wires and the need for localization. It will be in a person's head, providing the ability to send messages and talk to people from other cities using just the power of thought.
“Everything that could be invented has already been invented,” US Patent Office official Charles Duell said in 1899, and he was wrong. The greatest minds of the 19th century could not even imagine how much the life of civilization would change in the 20th century. But we live in the era of information, and using...
Medicines for cancer and AIDS
In the Middle Ages, a plague pandemic killed a third of Europe's population. The medicine of that time turned out to be completely powerless against the terrible disease, but today residents of civilized countries of the world often have no idea about this disease. Perhaps in the future, diseases such as AIDS or cancer will also disappear into oblivion forever.
Interestingly, scientists from the University of Jerusalem Roni Nowarski and Moshe Kotler proposed treating cancer with... HIV. The fact is that even after radiation therapy cancer cells can repair their damaged DNA. But the immunodeficiency virus contains the Vif protein, which does not allow them to do this trick.
HIV Molecule 3D Model
Of course, this technology is just one of many medical developments introduced recently, and there is no guarantee of its success. In addition, often the main obstacle to recovery is not the lack of drugs, but their high cost. Therefore, in the future, drugs should become not only more effective, but also cheaper.
Billions of dollars are being spent on finding a cure for AIDS, but progress in the fight against this disease is limited only to prolonging the lives of patients: to date, only two out of millions of patients have been therapeutically cured of HIV. In 2008, leading American virologist and laureate Nobel Prize David Baltimore generally questioned the possible victory over the “scourge of the 20th” century. One of the reasons for this is the high level of adaptability of the virus to new drugs.
Cancer cell
Human cloning
Despite Dolly the sheep and a number of other inspiring examples, human cloning is still a question of the future. There are a lot of obstacles to carrying out such a complex experiment - from technological to moral and ethical (we wrote about the problem of cloning in the June 2013 issue of the magazine, in the article “Attack on the Clones” - NS). Religion makes its contribution to this issue by opposing such experiments. However, we still have a chance to see real clones in the future. But don’t believe the movie cliches - exactly repeat the appearance and structure of thinking specific person will not succeed, because each of us gets our own unique path of formation, development and life experience.
Russian physician Viktor Yarovoy described in 2008 mental disorder, which allegedly became widespread in modern society- “bionalism”. According to the doctor, it lies in the fear of cloned people who may turn out to be more perfect than mere mortals.
Currently, the most promising method for cloning large mammals is the somatic cell nuclear transfer method. It involves removing nuclear genetic material from the egg and replacing it with other DNA. In the future, other, more advanced methods of human cloning may appear.
Memory implantation
According to some scientists, in the future there will be implants that will allow a person to restore damaged memory. They will prove indispensable when serious illnesses or brain injuries.
One of possible ways expansion of memory capabilities was discovered by Canadian researcher Andres Lozano: electrical stimulation of the hypothalamus allowed the patient to remember long-forgotten events that took place about 30 years ago. Interestingly, Andres Lozano was working on a completely different problem: by stimulating the hypothalamus, he wanted to influence an obese patient, suppressing his insatiable appetite. But in the end, I came across a method that in the future may provide invaluable help in treating Alzheimer's disease.
But such an approach can only become the first link in a long chain of scientific discoveries. Already, scientists from the United States are working on creating a mathematical model of memory programmed on a microchip. Researchers believe that in the future such a chip with pre-recorded memories could be implanted into the brain of a person suffering from memory disorders.
The idea of using memory implants is played out in the famous melodrama “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” The film is about a certain company that can erase unwanted memories of his past from a person’s memory. However, such ideas have appeared on the big screen before - just remember the cult epic Total Recall with Arnold Schwarzenegger, based on the novel by Philip K. Dick.
Perhaps in the distant future, technologies will appear that will make it possible to implant any “memory” into the human brain. Science fiction writers love to write about this, and as we know, they are often right. The introduction of other people's memories can be considered one of the key technologies for manipulating people. Fortunately, this does not threaten us in the foreseeable future.
Tricorders
Always having a device at hand that can analyze any substance, object or living organism in a second is a tempting prospect. Portable tricorders have become an integral part of future novels and science fiction films. Viewers could see such a device in the famous science fiction series Star Trek. In the film, the tricorder could reveal the structure of a particular substance, determine the degree of physical damage, or even recognize a new organism - for this it was enough to bring the device to the object being studied.
Inspired by the romance of Star Trek, scientist Peter Jansen set out to create the first tricorder in 2007. The device he developed must determine ambient temperature, humidity, range, electromagnetic spectrum and composition of matter. The tricorder has a touch display and communicates with a computer via Bluetooth.
There are other attempts to create something similar; one such project is being implemented at NASA. However, all these systems exist in the form of concepts or prototypes; in their capabilities, they are infinitely far from the devices familiar to us from science fiction films and novels. But in the future, the tricorder may become as common a part of our lives as a computer or mobile phone.
In addition to the listed models, there is at least one more prototype of a fantastic tricorder, and it can even be purchased. The Scout medical scanner is the latest development from Scanadu. With the help of this small device Pulse, heart activity, temperature and blood oxygen levels can be measured. You just need to bring the device to your temple.
Peter Jansen's tricorder
Moving holograms
Not long ago, a project with the simple name Holho was presented. The display designed for smartphones and tablets is more correctly called pseudo-holographic, since the three-dimensional image is created due to optical illusion. The device itself is a small translucent pyramid.
What about more serious developments in this area? Very soon the world may change with a project from Provision 3D Media. HoloVision technology will be able to reproduce a hologram the size of a human being and will be based on fundamentally new technical solutions. The company has not yet announced what these solutions are. Now Provision 3D Media is busy looking for investments for its project.
Flying cars
For now, flying cars are cutting through the skies of only fictional worlds, but someday we will be able to see such a development in real life. What might such a development look like? The main difference between a flying car and conventional helicopters and airplanes should be its compactness and independence from complex infrastructure. This is exactly what developers are trying to achieve today.
One of the latest such projects is an airmobile presented by Slovak designer Stefan Klein. He called it Aeromobil 2.5. The machine has wings and, while in the air, moves due to a pushing propeller. On the ground, the device can accelerate to 160 km/h, in the sky - up to 200. Stefan Klein worked out the design of his invention in detail, guided by the principle: “only beautiful devices fly well.”
Stefan Klein's Aeromobil 2.5 project
In total, about two dozen operating models of flying cars have been created to date. Among Russian projects The experimental model “Lark-4”, developed through the efforts of the National Aero Club of Russia, became famous. This flying car can accommodate four passengers.
Another interesting development was the TF-X car. The company's project Terrafugia is a flying car with folding wings. In its aerodynamic design, the TF-X is somewhat reminiscent of a tiltrotor and in flight can accelerate to 160 km/h. The estimated price of the car is 280 thousand dollars.
But cars like the TF-X probably won't revolutionize it. The very high price and many bureaucratic obstacles negate the mass appeal of such new products. Of course, by adding wings to a car, you can amuse the public, but this does not mean that everyone will immediately rush to buy it. To change the world, developers will have to make a real technological leap.
Flying car with folding wings TF-X
Teleportation
Like many inventions of the future, teleportation came into our lives from the pages of science fiction novels. Perhaps, of all the futuristic ideas, this is the one that evokes the most admiration. The ability to move anywhere in the world in a split second makes you feel awestruck. But is something like this possible in real life?
The word “teleportation” is also used in science, although here it does not quite mean “instant movement in space.” For example, quantum teleportation involves the transfer of a quantum state from one particle to another, “linked” to it. If we talk about teleportation in the usual (sci-fi) sense, this idea is only a deep theory. And although science fiction writers have outlined many issues related to teleportation, movement in space remains infinitely far from real life.
The main problem is that in order to instantly transfer an object in space, this same object must first be... destroyed, having previously “save” its initial state. In this case, after the trip, the structure of the object will have to be assembled together. And even this is just a bold fantasy, far from science. However, who knows, maybe teleportation will still get a start in life.
History knows many mysterious cases related to teleportation both in space and time. Allegedly, people were transported thousands of kilometers in a matter of seconds, while remaining safe and sound. According to eyewitness accounts, they did not even understand what had happened to them. However, the known laws of physics disprove the possibility of such travel.
"Force field"
Another guest from the distant future is the “power shield”. According to the artistic concept, this unknown field will be able to provide complete safety for everyone inside it, protection from any external influence, including nuclear weapons.
In real life, one of the main problems with this idea is the need for energy. It’s hard to even imagine how much power is needed to power such a screen. But even if a suitable energy source is found, scientists are not clear about the mechanism of operation of the “power shield”. It will be decades (and probably hundreds of years) before it is possible to imagine what phenomenon or physical principle could be used for this.
Opinion
“It is important to understand what kind of future we are talking about,” says the famous Russian futurist Danila Medvedev. – But if you remove the time frame, then the main changes will be related to improvement artificial intelligence. Some scientists call the development of artificial intelligence “humanity’s last major invention.” It is likely that in the 21st century, most of the processes that are currently performed by people will be automated. We can even expect automation of intellectual activity. Of course, all this will radically change our usual way of life. In addition to the development of artificial intelligence, the main changes of the future may be associated with the extension of human life. In the future, it will be possible to reconstruct and grow organs. Of course, all this will affect life expectancy.
Future discoveries
Reading science fiction novels about the future, one can only be surprised how much attention they pay to the technical details of life and how little to what determines its meaning and main content. If science fiction considered its main task not only to entertain the reader, but also to help him navigate the present with the help of ideas about the future, it could become much bolder and more powerful as literary genre. She would try to imagine what new channels of thinking about the world will be laid out or deepened in the future - and thereby begin to create these channels in the minds of today's people. She would look not so much into tomorrow's life, but into tomorrow's being; she would not so much construct utopias and dystopias as she would try to predict what will become the main thing tomorrow for a person, and as a result, for humanity.
But in this book we've had enough of fairy tales. Let’s not compete with science fiction by giving literary credibility to predictions. Let's look into tomorrow purely constructively.
Not everyone finds it easy to believe that philosophy can be constructive. This is her fault, her misfortune, and her upcoming task. Humanity needs to move from scientific and technological progress to spiritual and worldview progress.
Nowadays, psychology plays an increasingly important role for people, with its attempts to help a person solve specific mental problems. But psychology, in turn, is becoming increasingly aware that the success of its particular methods depends on the main ideological guidelines with which it deals - both at the level of developing these methods, and at the level of interaction with the person who turns to it for help.
Perhaps it is precisely the psychological needs of people and the development of psychology caused by them that will lead to a renewed, increased interest in philosophy - in practical philosophy, which, like psychology, solves specific problems, but more general. Maybe even some kind of intermediate area will arise (the name “psychosophy” would be suitable for it), connecting psychology and philosophy into a single structure of mental and spiritual support for a person. In fact, both psychological and philosophical problems human beings are, first of all, problems of orientation, which is why understanding the connections between them will inevitably lead to ever closer interaction between these areas of culture.
Absolutely naturally a general philosophy of orientation that protects human rights in philosophy will add to them human rights in the world of psychology. It is not only the problems of psychiatric intervention that require attention.
As general principles orientations will acquire an axiomatic character, philosophy will no longer be considered the lot of the elite. Philosophical creativity will become more and more widespread, more and more diverse. Philosophical discoveries (not only conceptual, but also instrumental) will become as relevant a phenomenon of cultural life as new novels, films, performances, films, scientific inventions and discoveries.
The emergence of new philosophical teachings, moving from a personal worldview to the recognition and support of others, to becoming a system of orientation that helps other people, will attract general interest. Deeper than today's attention to scientific and technological achievements. But the mutual aggressiveness of the exercises will gradually begin to fade. The free choice between them will increasingly be exercised not in a mutually exclusive, but in a complementary manner, in conditions of full respect for this free choice.
A science that wants to contribute to philosophy or psychosophy will also have to take into account the living interests of man. Without being confined to the concept of logical rigor, which in philosophy can have only an extremely limited meaning, science will develop ideas about orientation activity that will allow one to analyze methods of philosophical orientation without compromising their viability.
Maybe over time there will be some kind of hierarchical orientation : study of human needs for orientation at different semantic and spiritual levels. The study of primary and complex orientation problems of a person as floors of a single building of personal worldview. This is important for any teaching that undertakes to help a person in orientation.
The hierarchical approach will allow us to avoid excessive universalization of the methods of orientation developed by the exercises. The entire hierarchy of possibilities is open to every person. But being able to recognize the level you need in it is a big deal.
New directions of philosophical activity will be formed. It is difficult now to choose names for them; we can only outline the main issues. Probably first of all it will be philosophy of interior orientation. AND Itean problematics, in turn, will lead over time to the formation philosophy of external orientation- with new methods for solving long-known problems. A special area could be philosophy of social orientation , which, we hope, will soften the morals now determined by party confrontation. Will play a significant role philosophy of religious orientation– does not oppose itself to any of the religions, but comprehends their general and particular meaning for humans. Perhaps there will even be some philosophy of existential orientation, which will direct attention to a unique non-ideological orientation that uses special means and methods of orientation that avoid any reflection.
But aren’t we too carried away with guessing about the future, which neither the author nor his current reader will be able to observe in order to determine the validity of the forecast?
No, not too much. If you don’t think today about what awaits philosophy in the future, this future will move further and further away. You can think this way or completely differently, but these thoughts are necessary. Through them we participate in the creation of the world, the future and even today. That is why I turn not to tomorrow’s reader (for confirmation of my predictions), or even to the day after tomorrow, but to today’s reader for participation in reflection. Even with the most polemical complicity. And to make the debate more fun, let’s move on to the last of the fairy tales told at the ChSU.
Respecting the reader’s ingenuity, I will not decipher the working abbreviation “ChSU”.
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Science has made huge leaps in development over the past few centuries, making real some things that were once considered completely impossible. Scientists have solved many problems, but new discoveries and new geniuses are constantly appearing. There is and will always be something that is still waiting to be discovered. We offer an overview of expected achievements that have not yet been realized.
Imagine an iPod that can store thousands of years of information. A DNA computer could become such a device. DNA is a chain of genes of all living organisms on Earth, which stores genetic information. Why DNA? Because this is an example of a microscopic device capable of storing a huge amount of information. 1 milligram of DNA contains information from all printed publications in the world. Such a device is still in development, although there is a prototype called MAYA-II that could demonstrate something similar to the idea of a DNA computer.
If we talk about space exploration, then it is logical to imagine that the first human settlement should be on the Moon, since this space object is closest to the Earth. This idea arose after the first man landed on the Earth's satellite in 1969. But for various reasons, this idea has not yet been implemented. Although NASA plans to begin exploration of the Moon by 2024, and ESA by 2025. Japan and India also plan to begin a project to colonize the Moon by 2030. The main reason that prevents the project from being implemented is money and the fact that NASA is engaged in many different projects, rather than concentrating on one.
Unusual advances in surgery face many controversies. To transplant a head, you must have a donor and be able to quickly and efficiently restore blood circulation between the head and the rest of the body. Head transplants have been performed on monkeys, mice and dogs; there is an ambiguous attitude in society regarding these experiments, in most cases negative. Although it can theoretically solve several health problems. Until surgeons learn how to restore spinal cord, there is a risk of paralysis. For example, one donor can help several people if a transplant is performed different organs, and with a head transplant, only one patient can be helped.
While already found alternative sources energy, people still continue to deplete the Earth. People get about 85% of all energy from fossil fuels. The by-products of burning them pollute the environment, and the fossils themselves are not infinite. Therefore, the idea of obtaining clean energy arose. It is very difficult to implement it, since humanity has been using oil for more than 150 years and making huge profits. Technologies for producing clean energy have existed for a long time, but oil monopolists do not give them a chance. Despite strong resistance, they are gradually starting to work in some European countries. Sources of clean energy include solar, wind, geothermal, water, nuclear energy, and biofuels.
Cancer is one of the deadly diseases of our time. Since the time of Hippocrates, people have been looking for different methods of treatment. Once upon a time, people did not know how to treat the flu, but now they are looking for ways to cure oncology. Just as it was once difficult to treat the flu, since there are several types, it is also difficult to treat cancer, since it is also diverse. Up to 7 million people die from cancer on the planet every year. To treat it, various drugs, treatment methods, and even viruses have been created.
Settled on Mars is a long-standing goal, described in many works of science fiction. After the flight to the Moon, travel to Mars also became possible. For this alone, humanity must make a huge number of discoveries and achievements, from studying the Red Planet to preparing for the construction of a settlement on Mara. But first we need to do the same on the Moon, since these missions are similar. Although the flight to Mars is 100 times longer than to the Moon, and the climatic conditions on them are different. NASA plans to send a mission to Mars in the 2030s. Russia plans to do this already in 2020.
The space elevator would be thousands of times taller than the tallest building on Earth, although building it would not be a problem since the center of gravity would be in Earth's orbit. Before building the elevator, it is necessary to create space stations to receive passengers and cargo. The elevator will make it easier to deliver people and cargo into orbit, and it will be much cheaper than building a spacecraft each time before a planned flight. The private corporation LiftPort Group plans to implement the project by 2031.
For thousands of years there has been a theory that everything that happens in the universe is the result of a certain force. For hundreds of years, physicists have tried to find this force. Today there are 4 fundamental theories: electromagnetism, weak core, strong core and gravity. If the theory of electroweak interactions is combined with electromagnetism, then the theory of everything must generalize all four. To do this, matter must be studied while moving at enormous speeds. Scientists have been struggling with this problem since the time of Einstein. The Theory of Everything is based on generalized processes in physical phenomena. Despite the name, it will not answer all questions, and research will continue indefinitely.
Nanotechnology has potentially revolutionary significance in the development of various spheres of human life, including medicine. Its uses in medicine are varied. Nanorobots will be able to overcome deadly diseases, such as cancer, by destroying bad cells. They will be able to perform microsurgical operations to restore body tissue and destroy certain cells and bacteria. In addition, nanotechnology will improve the method of delivering drugs directly to the site of the disease, preventing side effects on other organs. Nanomedicine is at the stage theoretical research, but over time it will have the same importance as vaccination once did.
In the 19th century, people thought that man would get to the center of the Earth much earlier than the Moon. This shows that the theory is unpredictable. Traveling to the center of the Earth is much more difficult than traveling to the Moon. The pressure in the bowels of the Earth is enormous. Today there are no known materials that could withstand it. To date, the most deep hole that man made is 0.2% of the distance to the center of the Earth.
However, it is worth recognizing that in the very near future, not only pleasant events and discoveries await humanity. Scientists believe what awaits us at least in the 21st century.
What does our world lack to make it look like a breathtaking science fiction story? What discoveries are we waiting with bated breath? In fact, the list is not too long. I tried to choose technologies and discoveries that were guaranteed to radically and forever change our world for the better.
I accompany each such discovery or technology with a forecast - completely unscientific and based on a subjective feeling of the development of science and technology.
I hope to hear your opinion too! But more on that at the end, but for now... What do we lack to build the world of the future?
I’ll start with what’s closest to me, space. It's not a matter of rabid love for science fiction. It’s just that if you think sensibly, it is in this direction that the only guaranteed non-dead-end path for the development of human civilization lies. Remember the story. All outstanding eras and societies had expansion at their core! Expansion creates the best opportunities for civilization. But the Earth is not rubber, there is nothing more to discover. New territories and new resources are what humanity needs to continue its exponential growth.
Unattainable
The first thing that comes to mind is antigravity. The alpha and omega of fiction, the dream and hope of any writer. The meaning is clear, antigravity is a phenomenon or technology that will allow a Man to overcome the gravity of the earth or any other celestial body more effectively than any modern technology, such as jet propulsion or wings, can do.
Imagine flying cars over cities, as in dozens of films, from "Guest from the Future" to "The Fifth Element", floating cities, as in " Castle in the Sky Laputra,” orbital stations that can be reached by elevator... If the technology is also efficient in terms of energy consumption, it will change our world in the most radical way.
Unfortunately, all the laws of nature known today speak of the impossibility of this phenomenon (I’m talking specifically about the practical side of the issue). Today, antigravity remains an absolutely unattainable dream.
Unattainable
Another cornerstone of fantasy. And again, I’m talking about any technology that can instantly transport a person or an object comparable in size and mass from one place to another. It doesn't matter what it looks like, just a door to another place, like the cardboard bus in "Guest from the Future", or it's about manipulating the matter of your body, like in "Star Treck" or "Stargate".
And it doesn’t matter how large-scale the implementation of this technology will be. Those. will this be a solution to the transport issue on a human scale and a door to another city in your home, or only highly specialized solutions for space research and industry. In both cases, it will change our lives, and simply - it will be amazing, it’s teleportation!!!
Unfortunately, teleportation technology is unattainable for us. Moreover, it is even further away from embodiment than antigravity. We know at least little about the latter, and this leaves room for dreams. But with teleportation, everything is more or less clear - in a practical sense, this is impossible. And all the experiments with teleportation of photons/quanta that are currently being carried out only confirm this disappointing conclusion.
Unattainable
I'm talking about transmitting energy over long distances without wires and significant power losses. This technology is found much less frequently in science fiction than teleportation or antigravity, but it would be no less of a shock to our civilization.
Just imagine huge chains of nuclear power plants on the surface of the moon, not inferior in area European states. From them, energy is transferred in its pure form here to the earth into distribution stations that power cars and houses throughout the earth. And all this happens environmentally friendly and without any wires. Inhabited bases will be built throughout solar system, because there are no problems with energy supply even in the most remote areas.
And how are things going? The bad thing is even more science fiction than teleportation. If we ever had hopes for the realization of this dream, then they were all associated with the name of Nikola Tesla and were buried with him.
Unattainable
Here I will make a reservation right away. Of course, it's not just about building a spaceship that will fly faster speed Sveta. Even just a theoretically proven possibility of such a journey, which will not be associated with something that promises imminent death or an imperceptible loss of several million years, such as falling into a black hole or constantly accelerating a ship to the required speed, then even this is enough to say, that this is one of the most anticipated discoveries. Why? Because this will mean that Man will someday be able to conquer other solar systems.
So what? Otherwise, if this does not happen, then humanity can forever say goodbye to dreams of populating other stars, of contacts with alien intelligence, of building a huge galactic empire uniting millions of planets... All this will forever remain science fiction if we do not find a way somehow seep through the reinforced concrete wall of the limitations of the theory of relativity.
What are our prospects? Unfortunately, they are weak. On the one hand, physics has now reached such depths of the universe that it is hard to say unequivocally – “impossible”. Those. maybe it is possible. But from a purely practical point of view, it’s a complete mess. Those. You and I, dear reader, have no hopes of visiting Alpha Centauri at all... But physicists are working, and we have our fingers crossed.
Now let's move on to brothers in mind - one of the most exciting topics.
Maybe!
And even if not with aliens, but simply with a non-human mind comparable in level of development. And even if not contact, but simply to find out that it exists, this inhuman mind...
I think there is no need to describe what an amazing and earth-shaking discovery this will be! Even if we just find out that several thousand light years away there is another civilization that also films TV series and uses radio, this will be, as they say, “the end of the world as we knew it.” And if these friends suddenly establish direct contact with us, there is no comment.
And there is hope! Certainly, impossible to predict, one can only guess, but recent discoveries by astronomers and biologists suggest that this is possible! Thousands of exoplanets have already been discovered on which life is theoretically possible. There are indications that life may be much more diverse than we previously thought (this is about arsenic-based life). The next ten years will give us a lot of food for thought on this topic. So we hope and wait.
Unattainable
If humanity has a brighter dream than discovering brothers in mind on other planets, it is the dream of creating artificial intelligence. How many copies have been broken, how many hopes have died, but we continue to believe and dream. And we are not just talking about the dreams of science fiction writers. Real people, real technologies, huge money. An entire industry, plus all sorts of side branches in industries related to information processing.
I won’t theorize and dig deeply into this issue now - the topic is bottomless. For now I'll say this. In the coming years and decades, there will be... uh... devices that will look reasonable in the situations and environments in which they will be used. I mean, robot consultants and assistants, some large information systems. They will be “well, just like alive”...
But the creation of artificial intelligence in the form that humans understand the mind is still a pipe dream. As far as I know, now there is not even a clear understanding of what “mind” or “consciousness” is... Let alone the creation of artificial intelligence. So don’t worry, well, or cry – it depends on who you are – There are no intelligent machines expected in the foreseeable future.
Medicine and biology are very rich areas in terms of the unrealistic hopes of the Dreamer.
Soon!
How wonderful it would be if any lost limb or organ could be easily replaced or regrown. God bless them with their limbs, teeth and hair - the opportunity to replace or grow them again is the blue dream of humanity.
And I say with great joy that this dream is closer than ever to coming true. The advances in medicine, biology and, don’t be surprised, electronics are so great that the issue of regeneration or replacement of limbs and organs is a matter of a decade or two, according to subjective feelings.
No, of course, a lot can be done now - dental prosthetics, organ transplants, prosthetics controlled by the power of thought. But for now, these are still “crutches” that are worse than the originals (either in themselves, or due to the technology of their extraction and/or use) and which leave a person defective. I’m talking about a level of technology that will make it possible to make equivalent, and maybe even superior, replacements for fragile originals.
And this is achievable - a matter of the coming decades. First successful examples can be expected in the next 5-8 years. Moreover, I think that cyborgs (in the most sci-fi sense) will appear earlier than people with grown (regenerated) limbs.
Unattainable
Will people be able to live forever, or rather, independently choose the moment of their departure from life? EVERYONE wants this. This question is very complex, and we will not go into depth now into an analysis of the arguments for and against or the consequences of this invention. Let's just consider the current situation.
The prospects for a significant increase in average human life expectancy are now more than good. There are many possibilities that biologists and doctors around the world are actively and successfully working on.
If we talk about achieving fundamental immortality in the form as we described it, then for now this is more a matter of theoretical reasoning and guesswork than any real developments.
I would venture to make this prediction: if you are now under 30 years old, then you have every chance of living to 100, and maybe up to 120 years old, if you make the appropriate efforts. At least I'm going to. Complete immortality? Not in this century.
Soon!
Manipulating the genome and creating life in the laboratory
In this case, I am talking about technologies that will make it possible to create organisms, including human ones, with predetermined physical properties in the widest range. If you try to imagine the consequences of bringing these technologies to an industrial scale, it becomes scary. But I am convinced that if such an opportunity appears, and people gather the courage to use it, then our civilization will take not just a step, but a giant leap forward.
And everything is heading towards the fact that this will happen. The successes of geneticists are amazing. We have already created artificial life, we are already growing organisms “in test tubes”, we have dismantled genes for spare parts...
Another 15-20 years will pass and people will appear among us who will have properties artificially implanted in them. It's unavoidable. And I’m not talking about a cure for congenital diseases at the stage of conception - this is already available, but about things like seven fingers on the hands of a child whose parents dream of raising a brilliant pianist.
There are also a number of fantastic technologies associated, so to speak, with everyday life. I don't know how else to define them.
Soon!
How we all want to live in a magical, wonderful world! Unfortunately, the reality around us is quite ugly. What to do? Escape to virtual reality!
Films such as “The Matrix” and “13th Floor”, and a huge number of books talk about a wonderful virtual world where you can become anyone and which will be like a real fairy tale. All that technology will reach for centuries to come, in virtual reality will be implemented immediately.
And this dream is coming true before our eyes! I’ll say right away that we will not move into the virtual world, as in “The Matrix”; on the contrary, the virtual world will come into the real one and merge with it. Augmented reality and virtual world technologies will radically change our lives and communications in the next 20 years.
The wait won't be long, it's happening right now. Over the next 5-10 years, we expect the first real breakthroughs in this direction.
Unattainable
According to Wikipedia: force field - some kind of invisible barrier, the main function of which is to protect a certain area or target from external or internal penetrations. It's rare to find a science fiction book that doesn't mention force fields. Without them there is nothing to do in space - that’s for sure.
Without unnecessary words, it is impossible either now or in the foreseeable future.
Unattainable
Let me clarify – a cheap and efficient source of energy. Everyone understands what we're talking about. We have read about this more than once. Some fantastic mineral that can “feed” the entire earth or cold nuclear fusion. Anything that will allow us to bathe in energy without fear that tomorrow we will run out of oil, coal or anything else.
A dubious point, you might say, but I think that if we erase the problem of energy production from the list of humanity’s problems once and for all, then our life will not only become different, it will become much better.
There is no hope yet, but I really want it.
Unattainable
Does everyone remember the dreams of Dr. Salvatore from “Amphibian Man” and Captain Nemo from “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” about exploring the world’s oceans? IN Soviet times this topic was very popular. Science fiction writers dreamed of cities built on the ocean floor, of lung-breathing people, of plantations of edible algae that would feed humanity...
Now the enthusiasm has waned. And this happened for a simple reason - because there are no mysteries or secrets, just complete technical difficulties. Sea water is a very aggressive environment that does not provide any concessions or advantages. In space there is at least weightlessness, which can be considered as a plus. At depth there are no advantages, only pressure, only corrosion, only instability.
So today, as far as I know, no one is seriously considering options for populating underwater spaces. The development of the world's oceans occurs on the principle of the development of a refrigerator by an adult son left unattended by mother nature. Those. everything is eaten, and it quickly becomes empty. And so far no hope.
As for projects to create floating island cities, this is not a technology that will radically change our world, and we are only interested in such. Well, there will be floating cities, so what? In addition to problems with traffic jams and stress, there will also be seasickness - that’s all the progress.
Your opinion?
I’ll say right away that there is no need to approach this article with scientific standards - these are just dreams and my attitude towards them.
What discoveries are you looking forward to? Do you agree with my assessments? Write in the comments, I will try to answer everything.
In the near future, I will try to supplement each discovery with some links to relevant news, research or opinions of famous scientists. I would be grateful if you share links to such sources.