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“What Scientific Breakthrough Are We Closer To Than Most People Realize?” (40 Answers)
Science is awesome. It helps cure diseases, prolong our lifespans, and improve our quality of life. Just recently, surgeons in the U.S. transplanted a pig kidney into a man. Last year, scientists finally successfully sequenced the Y chromosome, which could potentially help solve numerous health issues, including infertility in men.
Perhaps inspired by how fast science is moving, one person decided to enquire about other discoveries that humanity might be able to celebrate soon. “What scientific breakthrough are we closer to than most people realize?” they asked. So, if you’re in need of some positivity in your life and want to see what the human mind is capable of, check out what these people shared below!
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#1
Vaccines for herpes and Lyme's Disease are in deep (successful) clinical trials and should be available to the public very soon.
RELATED:
#2
Insanely effective cancer treatments.
Cell therapy is absolutely crazy, and it's available for a fair few diseases
#3
I have a lot of family that works in different pharma companies. We were recently discussing that there is a very promising treatment for Alzheimers in the works that could stop the progression of the disease and maybe reverse some of the brain damage. It's still in testing phase and wouldn't be on the market for years but it's something that would be awesome to be able to use.
Elizabeth Lloyd 7 months ago
I pray this is true. Losing my father over a period of ten years broke my heart and I'm terrified I will go the same way
#4
Susan Shore's auricle device is capable of treating tinnitus (reducing volume by up to 75% after 12 weeks of treatment) and is approved for FDA
#5
A cure for HIV seems to be on the horizon, some scientists managed to "cut" it out of cells using CRISPR last year.
David 7 months ago
When I was young they didn't have the meds for treating HIV that are now common (and much cheaper). HIV was a death sentence. Sooner or later it was likely to develop into AIDS and you would eventually die. I still would not want such a diagnosis but there is a lot more hope than their was. The thought that it might become a curable disease is pretty encouraging.
#6
A cure for symptomatic rabies! Using monoclonal antibodies, scientists were able to alter the immune response in rats CNS significantly into infection. This is awesome because before this treatment, once you showed symptoms you were essentially dead. Rabies is also a lot more common in Asia and Africa, with roughly 56k cases a year.
#7
Early diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's, I think. I've been following a story for a few years now of a woman who could smell Parkinson's and is now working with researchers to turn her weird unique ability into an early screening test.
Danish Susanne 7 months ago
If one human can smell it, I am sure many dogs can be trained to do it too.
#8
Treating depression with neuromodulation therapy instead of medications. Stanford is heavily involved in clinical trials using their [SAINT treatment].
It essentially uses transcranial magnetic stimulation in a similar way to DBS but is less invasive and better tolerated. (I’m trying to get into one of their clinical trials). I’m looking forward to a day when I don’t need medication to stop me from wanting to die. I’m on antidepressant number 7 or 8 at this point and finding one that works, doesn’t make me manic, doesn’t kill my libido, and doesn’t make me gain weight is impossible. Currently taking Vilazodone which isn’t too bad, but probably not as efficacious as it should be.
#9
Earthquake warning system up to 2 hours.
Permanent GPS antennas are located all over the world and more densely at fault zones. About a year ago geologists found that if they stacked all historical GPS data proximal to large earthquakes, they saw there is a very small acceleration of the surface about two hours before the actual earthquake.
We are literally only missing the technology to make even more precise GPS measures, so we can do this in real time on singular regions. It is proven that this is an actual thing that happens and we can literally warn of earthquakes with a significant time span.
> And the land movement is so subtle that only by lumping all the data together did the precursor stand out, Bletery says. “If you just remove one or two quakes, you still see it,” he says. “But if you remove half, it’s hard to see.”
This is not a solution or has saved any lives, but it is an absolutely staggering discovery that will have an insane focus in the upcoming years.
https://www.science.org/content/article/warning-signs-detected-hours-ahead-big-earthquakes
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 7 months ago
If only this technology was around three weeks ago when New York was hit by the biggest Earthquake in 140 years struck! Dozens off cups of coffee spilled on the pavement. LOL.
#11
Growing back your own enamel instead of needing crowns/replacements.
MrsFettesVette 7 months ago
Not close at all. Especially when you consider the time it would take (years) over conventional treatment.
#12
Large scale water desalinization
It may seem trivial to most people, but access to fresh water and water purification are the largest problems on the planet. Desalinization has been extremely expensive for years and never has the investment needed to break the scalability barrier.
Well, our friends in the Middle East claim to have made some huge accomplishments over the last few years thanks to graphene and access to abundant power. Their new plants should be coming online next year.
Not having to worry about access to clean water would mean massive jumps in agriculture, industrialization and population
#13
Targeted cures for neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, MS etc). I’m currently doing my PhD in a new style of vaccine for AD and the advancements that have been made in the last few years are incredible. Immunotherapies really are the next major step aside from gene editing.
Edit to clarify wording: as several replies to this comment have stated, “cure” is a strong word. There has been a big shift in recent years towards a more preventative approach in treatment research, rather than reactive treatments. Unfortunately with neurodegenerative diseases, by the time you’re seeing the symptoms, it may be too late to effectively treat the condition (as is the case with AD and Parkinson’s, I won’t comment too much on MS as it is admittedly a bit out of my field, though the general principles are similar in terms of *my* research). So rather than “curing” the condition after it has already manifested and presented symptoms, we (and other researchers) are hoping to develop treatments that don’t necessarily halt disease progression, but work to prevent it from occurring in the first place. Sorry for any confusion, hope this clarifies things.
#14
The breakthrough happened ~ cleaning the oceans of garbage. Now it needs to be more than a ship or two.
#15
A technological leap forward in battery storage capacity, cheaper and lighter weight. This will have the biggest impact on everyday life.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 7 months ago
If we're serious about moving away from fossil fuels battery tech has to be a lot better than it currently is. Literal billions of dollars are being poured on the problem world wide. I'm sure we'll have EVs with 1000km range in the next 10 years.
#16
Believe it or not, communicating with animals by translating brain waves into human language. Apparently AI research is on the verge of doing so.
Pan Narrans 7 months ago
Food! Treats! Attention! Not now! Do as I say! Methinks most communication is pretty clear but okay, we'll see.
#17
Semaglutide (ozempic, wegovy) in pill form at a greatly reduced price. Wegovy also has been proven to reduce cardiovascular disease in particular and make recurring cardiac events less likely for patients who've already experienced a cardiac event. Some independent pharmacies are already creating semaglutide pills.
General Stukov 7 months ago
As someone who took ozempic regularly I've had to switch to a much less effective injection due to rich arseholes who have no diabetic issues just wanting to lose a little weight. It was artificially inflating the price and limiting supplies so big Pharma makes tons of money on it.
#18
Psychedelics as a treatment for mental illness. We are going to improve our ability to actually help people instead of offering them meds and crossing our fingers.
#19
Understanding how hormones and mental illness are linked, especially in women who previously were diagnosed with mental illness but who had endocrine disorders. And to add, menopause! In response to the Lancet's awful claim of "over medicalization" scores of researchers the world over have doubled down to learn more!
#20
They're hoping that a new d**g will be available for use by 2030 that essentially grows your teeth back. It stimulates stem cells in your tooth pulp and encourages growth.
(Also to my understanding this d**g was originally being tested as an alzheimer treatment in japan.)
Jeremy Klaxon 7 months ago
Oh yes BP, censor the word D R U G because medicines are so bad and it is so politically correct to censor them. Thanks to you, fewer people will commit S U I C I D E
#21
The first cancer "cure". There will never be a single cancer "cure". But we will probably see the first successful end all cure for a few different types of cancer within the next 20 years 100%. It's so close we are RIGHT there. The leading push in MRNA vaccines makes me happy. The idea is each vaccine will be tailored specifically to each patient. At the base level all they are doing is taking out your cells that already kill cancer (t-cells) and essentially teaching them to recognize a specific protein in your specific cancer then giving them back to you so your own body can kill the cancer.
Your T-cells kill cancer alllllll the time. I believe the estimate was every 5 minutes your body kills a cancer cell? It's when these cancer cells hijack the immune system and hide themselves from the T cells when it becomes the cancer that we know. The cancer that grows and consumes. So we're basically trying to just "point" to where the cancer is at. Giving the T cells a briefing first on how to recognize and attack the enemy, because they were tricked into thinking the cancer was normal cells. We send them back in with their new training and they get to work. I think anyway lol.
similarly 7 months ago
One reason there isn't one "cure" is that cancer isn't one disease. It's a whole bunch of diseases all grouped under one umbrella. For example: I had a basal cell carcinoma. Technically it's cancer. However, it rarely metastasizes. It rarely spreads or gets bigger. Mine increased basically from the size of a pencil point to the size of the eraser at the end of the pencil ... over 3 years. It's really the mildest possible thing that could be called "cancer". Personally, I think it's a bit like classifying a skateboard as a "vehicle".
#22
Not a single comment or answer about women’s menstrual cycles. We suffer so much with PCOS and endometriosis and other undiagnosed issues. So disillusioning
LadyRougarou 7 months ago
I have PCOS and although I have had a total hysterectomy I still suffer from my hormones being out of whack ugh
#23
Male birth control! It could be out in our hands already but there’s “too many side effects” which are waaaay less than any hormonal bc that women have!
That being said of course in an ideal world no medication has side effects but still. So long as it works and doesn’t kill you too quickly give men more options of bc!!
Thomas Gilfoyle 7 months ago
"Male birth control! It could be out in our hands"- isn't that a current method?
#24
Geothermal energy. People have figured out how to reuse all the drilling technology developed for fracking to dig geothermal wells [almost anywhere.]
Geothermal has the benefits of nuclear — reliable baseband power — without the downsides. The footprint is smaller, and unlike nuclear power, you can turn it on and off pretty quickly which is important for filling the gaps in green energy when the sun doesn't shine or the wind stops blowing. The US government [just cleared out almost all the red tape] for digging geothermal wells on public land too, basically it is now as easy to dig a geothermal well as it is to dig an oil well. They are even looking at using geothermal wells [like batteries] by pumping water into them and pressurizing them. So when there is an excess of solar or wind electricity, it can be stored in the geothermal wells.
#25
To not be able to trust any digital images, videos, or audio you see anywhere. Politics are going to go straight into a dumpster fire among countless other scandals, relationships, and virtually everything.
Get ready.
#26
Curing addiction with a diet d**g (GLP-1’s) There have been life long alcoholics, d**g addicts, people with eating disorders, gamblers, etc who’ve lost all desire for these things while on Ozempic, Wegovy, and semaglutide. They’re conducting studies already.
#27
The NIF at Livermore obtained breakeven controlled fusion in late 2022. That is an enormous f*****g deal.
#28
Last week we had a major breakthrough.. the creation of goldene . A single atom thick layer of gold (like the carbon / graphite variant created a few years back). But this one can reverlutionise the electronics industry
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01118-0
#29
I think people are underestimating the impact that these weight loss d***s are going to have. Once they are generic in ~10 years, they'll be changing our entire medical system. People will no longer suffer all the effects of obesity, so rates for things like obesity-related heart disease, various cancers, diabetes, etc should all plummet pretty dramatically. Will have an enormous economic and demand impact on the medical system.
The d***s are also a potentially effective treatment for addiction as well. Studies are underway as we speak.
BoredPangolin 7 months ago
Medication for food-intake-related obesity is just sad. Rather than fix the issue, which is what is in some food, they want people to take a pill to mitigate the effects of over processed, semi-poisonous food. It's sad. To be clear: I'm not talking about congenital obesity, when people have a metabolism issue that will either make them gain weight no matter what they eat, or will make them extremely hungry all the time. We need to go back to food rather than lab edibles.
#30
Artificial wombs. Already have “bio bag” wombs used on premature sheep and pigs. Soon to go to human trial for premature babies in the USA. Probs eventually will be able to support a Fetus earlier and earlier in gestation over time. Cool stuff 😎
#31
Just a few days ago quantum data was stored and transmitted for the first time, so that’s pretty exciting!
Chickens are fluffy 7 months ago
I don't know what Quantum data is. Like I'm sure this is huge, but I don't understand what it is
#32
Brain-computer interface.
I worked on one 10 years ago. It barely worked, but you could see the potential.
However, a few weeks ago someone played a 6 hour Civilization 6 session using only their brain.
Gustav Gallifrey 7 months ago
Problem: finding enough people who have brains. Ones that they use, at least.
#33
Nanotechnology is quietly advancing, promising breakthroughs in areas like targeted d**g delivery, renewable energy, and even pollution control
#34
Genetic editing. I think we'll soon see news of "experimental gene therapy" treatments for cancer, diabetes and, perhaps, Alzhemiers. CRSPR-9 and all. The next logical step would be designer babies.
Luke Branwen 7 months ago
Curing diseases is undeniably great, but I'd stop before the eugenics kick in, thanks.
#35
With the ~~LIGO~~ JWST space telescope, we are learning far more about our universe that the Hubble's visible-light telescope could not capture. It is not like what we thought in enormous ways. These changes will matter.
I expect a lot more cancer vaccines coming out. If cancer numbers are reduced, the need for therapies are reduced, too.
Toothless Feline 7 months ago
LIGO and the JWST are two completely different projects. LIGO is a group of ground-based observatories collecting data from gravitational waves. The JWST is an infrared telescope orbiting at the L2 point, about a million miles away from Earth. Both are providing amazing new information, but on different aspects of the nature of the universe.
#36
quantum computing, it can solve complex problems in seconds that would take conventional computers millennia
#37
A Nuclear Fusion reaction that sets a new record for duration or temperature.
#38
Solid State Batteries - should be a TKO against combustion engines withthe charge time and manufacturing capabilities unlocked
#39
This is rather an engineering issue, but a lot of scientists are working on this as well; RGB microLED displays. We can currently build fairly efficient blue and green microLEDs from indium gallium nitride, but the red ones are missing. Red LEDs have been available for much longer than their blue counterparts, but we currently cannot make them small enough for a high-ppi display. Many researchers and companies are trying to get the red ones working with several different approaches, and I believe we will see the first commercial applications, starting from smart watches, smartphones and AR/VR goggles within the next five years.
setsuriseikou 7 months ago
What's so good about RGB microLED displays? Are they more energy efficient than what we have now?
What do you think ?
Lance LaRocque 7 months ago (edited)
Lambda Vision is currently manufacturing retinas, potentially a cure for many types of blindness. Although I have no idea how well they work.
shankShaw deReemer 7 months ago
A cure for migraines would be a Godsend to sooooo many, including me.
Sherica Grant 7 months ago
I was haven herpes 1 and 2 spreading all over my body even on my private part too. I have had them for about 2 and a bit years. I was so scared what my mates are going to says if there should fined out i have herpes on my private part and due to the virus my girlfriend broke up with me. I have been to the Doctors 9 times to get it treated during to the years back and yet They all come back. I have been using Tee Tree Oil and Wartner (You freeze them at home) and they seem to be keeping the smaller herpes small but they can't seem to treat the larger ones. They don't get any bigger, but then they can't shrink as much. They get smaller a little part at a time. At least they are getting smaller! As soon as I see a new herpes appearing then I treat it. At that moment I was using Tee Tree twice a week and then using Wartner every 2 weeks. I was wondering if there was any other information about how to get rid of it. I am only a teenager and I hate it most when it get pi-chins me to scratch
Lance LaRocque 7 months ago (edited)
Lambda Vision is currently manufacturing retinas, potentially a cure for many types of blindness. Although I have no idea how well they work.
shankShaw deReemer 7 months ago
A cure for migraines would be a Godsend to sooooo many, including me.
Sherica Grant 7 months ago
I was haven herpes 1 and 2 spreading all over my body even on my private part too. I have had them for about 2 and a bit years. I was so scared what my mates are going to says if there should fined out i have herpes on my private part and due to the virus my girlfriend broke up with me. I have been to the Doctors 9 times to get it treated during to the years back and yet They all come back. I have been using Tee Tree Oil and Wartner (You freeze them at home) and they seem to be keeping the smaller herpes small but they can't seem to treat the larger ones. They don't get any bigger, but then they can't shrink as much. They get smaller a little part at a time. At least they are getting smaller! As soon as I see a new herpes appearing then I treat it. At that moment I was using Tee Tree twice a week and then using Wartner every 2 weeks. I was wondering if there was any other information about how to get rid of it. I am only a teenager and I hate it most when it get pi-chins me to scratch
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