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The Future of Science

Sep 15, 2010

As part of its 30th anniversary celebration, Discover Magazine invited 11 prominent researchers to share their views of what the next 30 years of science will bring. The Global Health Program's Tachi Yamada says he hopes access to life-saving technology will become more widespread, particularly for the poor. Biologist Ian Wilmut wants to be able to control degenerative diseases like Parkinson's and heart disease. Climatologist Ken Caldeira hopes we can start to produce a chemical fuel from sunlight, while neurologist Oliver Sacks says we should focus on figuring out the brain's functional aspects.

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The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.