Life in 2065
An international group of 40
scientists have made some very surprising predictions about the future. They
say that in the next 50 years the way we live will change beyond our wildest
dreams. Here are some of their predictions. You may find some of them
surprising. Bea Rosenthal reports.
Within 50 years, living to a 100
while still enjoying active, healthy lives will be the norm. Professor Richard
Miller of the University of Michigan says: ‘It is now routine to extend the
lives of laboratory animals by %40. We will be able to do the same for humans.’
So with regular injections, centenarians will be as vigorous as today’s
60-year-olds. Women will be able to give birth well into old age; their
biological clocks could be extended by 10 years.
Professor Ellen Heber-Katz says:
’People will take for granted that injured or diseased organs can be repaired
in much the same way as we fix a car. Lost limbs will regrow, hearts will
regenerate. Damaged parts will be replaced. Within 50 years whole-body replacement
will be routine.’ But doctors will need huge supplies of organs for transplant.
Where will they come from? Scientists say these could be grown inside animals
from human cells.
We don’t yet know how the brain
gives us our awareness of being alive. ‘But,’ says Professor Susan Greenfield
of Oxford University,‘in 50 years’ time we may have a clearer idea of how the
brain generates consciousness.’ Studies of the brain and the nature of
consciousness will bring much greater understanding of disorders such as
schizophrenia and depression. This knowledge will help reduce suicide rates,
one of the major causes of death worldwide. Other scientists go further than
Professor Greenfield. They believe that by 2065 computers will develop their
own consciousness and emotions. Human beings may eventually be replaced by
computers in some areas of life.
Thanks to a device which can ‘read’
emotions, feelings, and thoughts, we will be able to ‘talk’ to animals. The
story of *Dr Dolittle will be fact, not fiction. ‘This could first work with
primates, then mammals, then other vertebrates, including fish,’ says Professor
Daniel Pauly from Canada. ‘It could cause a global revulsion against eating
meat, so we might all become vegetarian.’
* fictional character for children
A number of scientists predict that
the biggest breakthrough
in the next 50 years will be the
discovery of extra-terrestrial
beings. Dr Chris McKay of NASA says:
‘We may find evidence
of alien life frozen in the ancient
permafrost on Mars.’ Scientists hope that the current interest in space
missions to this planet means that there is every chance of making the most
sensational discovery ever, that is, confirmation that life really does exist
on Mars. Dr McKay also believes that evidence of alien life forms may even be
found here on Earth.
Advances in quantum physics will
prove that there are parallel universes. In fact there may be an infinite
number of them. These universes will contain space, time, and some of them may
even contain you in a slightly different form. For years parallel universes
only existed in the works of science fiction, but now Professor Max Tegmark
says: ‘Soon their existence will be no more controversial than the existence of
other galaxies 100 years ago.’
What might our houses be like in the
second half of the 21st
century? This is Professor Greenfield’s prediction: As you enter the living
room, sensors will detect your presence and the walls will start to glow. Talk
to the walls and, activated by your voice, they will change to a colour of your
choice, ‘pink’ to ‘green’ to ‘blue’, whatever suits your mood. Sink into your
glowing cyber-armchair, relax in the knowledge that the house computer will
perform all your everyday household tasks. The voice system in the chair will
address you by name and advise a change in position that will be better for
your spine.In the kitchen, your fridge will know when you are low on milk or
any other item and it will automatically send orders to the supermarket.
However, it is in the kitchen where ‘new’ meets ‘old’. Food remains in its
old-fashioned form. Pills, so confidently predicted in the 20th-century to
replace food, exist, but nobody wants them. There is too much
pleasure in cooking, chewing and
tasting all kinds of food.
Predicting the future has occupied
mankind for generations. However, not always successfully. The huge influence
of many of today’s technical marvels, such as the Internet or mobile phones,
was never predicted.
Read the text carefully to find out the statements below are True or False according to the text. Correct the false ones. 1. It will be possible to replace all the parts of the body.
