Breakthroughs in the 21st Century
In the 21st century we’ll live longer, perhaps 120 years.If the normal aging proce is basically a furious, invisible contest in our cells –a contest between damage to our DNA and our cells ability to repair that damage –then 21st-century strides in genetic medicine may let us control and even reverse the proce.But before we push scientists to do more, consider: Do we really want to live in a world where no one grows old and few children are born because the planet can hold only so many people? Where would new ideas come from? What would we do with all that extra time?
We’ll “manage” Earth.In the next century, we’ll stop talking about the weather, but will do something about it.We’ll gradually learn how to predict the effects of human activity on the Earth, its climate and its ecosystems.And with that knowledge will come an increasing willingne to use it to manage the workings of our planet.
We’ll have a brain “”road map.This is the real “final frontier” of the 21st century: The brain is the most complex human system we know.It contains about 100 billion neurons, each connected to as many as 1,000 others.Early in the 21st century, we will use advanced forms of magnetic resonance imaging to produce detailed maps of the neurons in operation.We’ll be able to say with certainty which ones are working when you read a word, when you say a word, when you think about a word, and so on.
