Greatness doesn’t discriminate.
The Blob – It lacks a central nervous system and brain, yet is still able to learn, make decisions, and retrieve memories. It lacks a mouth and stomach, yet still digests food. It lacks legs, fins, wings, and appendages of any kind for that matter, yet still moves. Cut it in half and it can regenerate in just two minutes. It can also double in size daily and grow to a size several square kilometers wide while being remarkably hard to kill. It’s quite possibly the weirdest living organism, upending everything we thought we knew about the nature of intelligence. Welcome to the wonderful world of slime molds, organisms so bizarre that scientists struggle to even classify them. Are they a fungus? Not quite. An animal? Not exactly. Bereft a fitting description, unable to be pigeonholed, they are an evolutionary miracle, proof that there’s more than one way for life to evolve. And now there’s a new king of all slime molds – the latest entrant to the Paris Zoo – known affectionately as The Blob.
Edible Cotton – Cotton contains a ton of protein. Unfortunately it also contains a ton of toxins that are harmful to humans. Meaning we can’t eat the stuff and instead have to settle for using it to make fabric. But all that may be about to change thanks to a new farming technique that genetically modifies cotton to silence the gene that produces the harmful toxin. Soon we may be snacking on cotton seeds or using it to create a type of flour that we can use to make baked goods.
Mini-Brains – These lab grown creations, designed to test drugs and study the early development of brain disorders, have for the first time spontaneously exhibited electrical activity, which just so happens to look remarkably similar to human brain activity. Meaning that these organoids might really be alive?!?! The future just got a whole lot weirder. Similarly…
Artificial Metabolism – Cornell University researchers have created synthetic lifeforms that continuously and autonomously organize, assemble and restructures itself in a process similarly to how biological cells and tissues grow. It’s technically not alive yet. But it’s also not far off.
Reading Emotions – It’s already pretty creepy that Alexa is listening to our conversations while the cookies in our computers track our every move across the web. But that’s just the beginning. Soon Alexa will even be able to analyze the tone of our voice to offer recommendations tailored to our mood such as suggesting items that would cheer us up if it detects that we’re depressed.
Baldness Curing Hat – In the near future wearing a baseball cap will do more than just hide one’s hair. It’ll actually serve to regenerate it thanks to its ability to mildly shock your scalp for hours on end, a practice that seems to trigger hair regrowth.
Advanced Holograms – Being able to see and talk to a hologram is one thing. Being able to fully interact with it is quite another and that’s the direction we’re heading in thanks to a new breakthrough that lets people actually hear and feel holograms. But there’s something even weirder than feelable holograms…
Personal AI Avatars – PAIS (personal artificial intelligences) may be all the rage in the near future as these lifelike avatars take our place in awkward social situations. For instance, celebrities could use PAIs to interact with fans, while teachers and doctors could use them to meet with their students and patients. Newscasters could be replaced by artificial replicas while other PAIs peddle goods to us while we shop in the mall. Eventually, we may get to the point where almost every client facing situation is handled by these avatars.
Sushi Singularity – This next idea takes being a foodie to a whole new level thanks to a new restaurant in Japan that promises to provide patrons with sushi specifically tailored to their individuals microbiomes. That is, if they’re willing to mail the restaurant a stool sample ahead of time.
DNANudge – Similarly we may soon have a wearable device, DNANudge, that would help us find foods in the grocery store to meet our bodies’ specific needs according to our DNA.
Hachimoji – Mind-blowing new research suggests that we may be on the verge of creating entirely new life forms as scientists have now found a way to essentially double DNA’s capability, creating a hybrid eight letter system, that’s half natural and half synthetic.
Dark Fluid – If you thought Dark Matter and Dark Energy was weird just wait until you hear about Dark Fluid – a new theory that suggests that both may be part of a single unified fluid of negative masses. A theory that could explain the Universe’s expansion by allowing for the Hubble constant to change over time.
Molecular Computation – It may soon be possible to incorporate DNA-powered computers into pills, allowing us to keep watch on our bodies and release targeted medications in response to signs of distress from individual cells. We could even get to the point where tiny computers reside inside our bodies right alongside our natural cells calling into question what it even means to be human.
Glass Based AI – Scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison have found a way to create artificially intelligent glass that can recognize images with the need for any circuits, sensors, or even a power source! A breakthrough that reminds us that life doesn’t necessarily have to be carbon based.
Bladder Control Device – Are you constantly waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom? Then I’ve got some good news for you. A new device that promises the ability to use optogenetics (light pulses) to control your bladder urges.
Vinyly – The expression thinking outside the box just took on a whole new meaning thanks to a new burial idea: turning your ashes into a vinyl record!
Humanimals – If you’ve seen Cats you know how unnerving human animal hybrids can be. Unfortunately, if you’re looking for a reprieve from your nightmares you came to the wrong place. That’s because we may soon be getting the real thing thanks to a new kind of organ harvesting hybrid coming to us courtesy of the Japanese government.
Ramen to the Rescue – If you love ramen then I’ve got some good news for you. A new ramen product that promises to act like Soylent, providing people with all of their daily nutritional requirements if eaten for all three meals.
Vicarious Surgical – This Bill Gates funded startup, aims to use tiny robots that doctors operate remotely through Virtual Reality to perform surgeries. A technological breakthrough that would be like shrinking a surgeon and putting it inside of you!
Genomic Prediction – It may soon be possible to create designer babies thanks to a new screening test capable of rooting out several illnesses and less desirable traits. Ethicists will have a field day with this research but in the long run it could make humanity healthier and more capable of controlling its own destiny.
2019 was full of weird but great ideas.
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