Smart robots, a new wave of nuclear energy, artificial meat burgers…
MIT's latest top 10 breakthrough technologies
Artificial meat "fried chicken" Source: MEMPHIS MEATS
According to Xinhua News Agency, the world-renowned technology review journal "MIT Technology Review" released the "Top Ten Breakthrough Technologies in the World" in 2019 on February 27, including dexterous robots, the new wave of nuclear energy, customized cancer vaccines, and artificial meat burgers.
The official website of the Chinese version of the journal issued a communiqué on the same day, saying that this year marks the 120th anniversary of the magazine's founding, and the list of "Top Ten Breakthrough Technologies in the World" is also slightly different from the past. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, was invited as a guest judge for this year's selection and participated in the selection process throughout the process. The 10 technologies selected include dexterous robots, the new wave of nuclear energy, premature birth prediction, intestinal microcapsules, customized cancer vaccines, artificial meat burgers, carbon dioxide capture, wearable electrocardiographs, sewerless toilets, and fluent conversational artificial intelligence assistants.
"I hope that the technologies I participated in the selection will not only be the focus of attention in 2019, but also leave a strong mark on the entire history of technology." Gates said in the preface to the list.
Many technologies in this year's list are related to life sciences. According to reports, the customized cancer vaccine jointly developed by the German Biotech Company and the American Genentech Company is in the critical stage of clinical trials. It can stimulate the body's natural defense ability by identifying specific mutations in various tumors, thereby destroying cancer cells in a targeted manner. If the effect is as expected, it will be able to effectively prevent the occurrence of many types of cancer.
The new wave of nuclear energy focuses on energy development. The magazine argues that nuclear energy is becoming increasingly integral to efforts to reduce carbon emissions and limit climate change. New fission reactors are expected to be available on a large scale by the mid-2020s, while fusion reactors are still at least a decade away.
Since 2001, "MIT Technology Review" has released "Top Ten Breakthrough Technologies in the World" every year, focusing on the commercial application potential of technology and its significant impact on human society and life. It is also considered to be the vane of investment and technology application. Technologies such as practical quantum computers, recyclable rockets, confrontational neural networks, graphene transistors, and precise editing of plant genes have appeared on the list in recent years.
Gates believes that in the next few years, treatment of chronic diseases will become a major theme of the list, including not only new drugs, but also innovations such as mechanical gloves that can help arthritis patients maintain flexibility, and mobile phone applications that can help patients with severe depression get the treatment they need.
"If we look further ahead, such as looking at the list of technologies in 20 years, I hope that almost all of the technologies on the list are aimed at improving human well-being." Gates said.
(Zhang Ying)
