What does the future hold?
On topics ranging from politics to drugs to soil, we asked Ohio State experts what to expect in their fields of study in the years to come. Here’s what they said.
(Illustrations by Thomas Porostocky)
“The future of the food system is one of civic engagement. Classifications like ‘producer’ and ‘consumer’ will no longer limit our spheres of concern. It will be a new age of ‘food citizenship,’ where we collaborate together to leverage this shared system to foster community change and bridge urban-rural divides.”
“Substance and civility in politics seem to have taken a sharp turn for the worse. Remember, though, that debates on the floor of Congress used to end in brawls, beatings and duels. With hard work and goodwill we can — and will — renew our political discourse once again.”
“The marvelous power of music remains elusive. However, modern neuroscience has begun to understand how music acts upon the human mind and body, such as the positive influence of music training on speech and language. Future neuroscience will bring us closer to the day when music can be formally prescribed to cure disease and improve life quality.”
“Interventional cardiologists will treat patients suffering from heart attacks, blocked arteries and heart valve abnormalities and discharge them within a day or two. In the future, we will implant stents that dissolve, perform procedures remotely with the assistance of a computer and repair multiple heart valves in one setting. Stay tuned!”
“We are at the dawn of a new revolution: artificial intelligence (AI). In the next 10 to 20 years, robots that can interact with humans in a natural way will become commonplace. Self-driving cars will change the way we commute. AI will radically transform the way we perform our jobs and care for our families. But do not expect to lose your job; AI will be a major job creator.”
“The future of drug discovery is very exciting! Personalized medicines, gene therapies and reaching so-called undruggable targets are all on the horizon. Instead of searching for ‘magic bullets,’ the frontiers of chemistry and medicine are now dedicated to finding tailored solutions to tackle rare diseases, individual gene mutations and resistance to super-drugs.”
