Buzz
One of fiction’s greatest delights is its ability to take us out of the ordinary and into incredible new worlds, where the impossible becomes possible. But beyond the excitement, the most exceptional fiction can inspire us to imagine what the future might hold and encourage the most inventive minds to turn those dreams into reality. While we may not truly wish for an alien invasion, we’ve always secretly wanted a real-life laser gun... just in case.
However, after putting together this list, we might have had second thoughts. These are some of the outlandish technologies we never thought we’d see in reality that may actually be closer than we think, whether they are a good idea or not (spoiler alert: mostly not).
10. Erasing or Replacing Memories
For years, neurologists have understood that the brain isn't the biological hard drive we often imagine it to be, where our experiences are permanently etched as memories. Instead, memories are not created, but rather reconstructed repeatedly, through a process known as memory reconsolidation.
When we recall an event, the brain essentially recalibrates and stores it again, often (if not always) influenced by the emotions and mindset present during the recall. This is how memories become unreliable. It also explains why traumatic memories tend to fade over time, as the initial emotional response (the trauma) adjusts based on the emotional state during recall. This is particularly useful in therapeutic settings.
More recently, a connection has been discovered between a specific protein, called “PKMzeta,” and the retention of memories. Certain drugs known as “PKMzeta inhibitors” have shown promise in blocking unwanted traumatic memories in patients by—wait for it—preventing the production of PKMzeta, which in turn greatly reduces long-term memory retention.
At the same time, researchers have uncovered ways to hack the brain's reconsolidation process to alter the information being processed, essentially harnessing the power of suggestion. One psychologist employed this technique to convince subjects that they had committed a fictional crime, and they later provided a detailed account of it, even though it never actually occurred.
It has been proposed that combining these two methods—blocking PKMzeta production while inducing the recall of a memory, triggering the reconsolidation process—could essentially erase that memory for good.
9. Lightsabers
Believe it or not, this is actually number 9. Scientists have “accidentally” created a “photonic molecule”—something previously thought to be impossible because photons (light particles) are massless. By developing a special medium where photons strongly interact with one another (rather than simply passing through), they succeeded in getting the photons to bond... creating a new, subatomic form of matter made entirely from light.
The “unique medium” in question involves a cloud of metal atoms chilled to just above absolute zero, but the result, according to Harvard physics professor Mikhail Lukin, is “not a bad comparison to lightsabers. When these photons interact, they push and deflect each other. The physics of what happens in these molecules mirrors what we see in the movies.”
You may have guessed that a lightsaber wasn’t the first practical use that came to mind. This type of matter could be incredibly useful in the development of quantum computers. In the future, it might even help create crystals of light—and, of course, that long-awaited holiday gift that will inevitably lead to a series of accidental Christmas morning self-dismemberments.
8. Lab-Grown Humans Created Using Artificial Sperm and Eggs
For reasons we can barely comprehend (okay, maybe to help the infertile conceive), scientists have long been working on a method to create artificial human sperm and eggs. In 2014, researchers at Cambridge succeeded in producing early precursor “germ” cells—from which mature cells can develop—using human stem cells, a feat previously achieved only with rodents. While impressive, Chinese scientists recently advanced this process significantly.
In June 2016, Nanjing Medical University published a study showing that their experiment with rodent stem cells produced sperm that was much further along in its development. These sperm lacked tails and had to be injected into a mouse egg, which was fertilized and developed into healthy embryos, eventually becoming live, healthy mice. Without any fathers.
Considering that developments in human-based research tend to follow a year or two behind rodent studies, we can likely expect to see similar breakthroughs with human sperm in the near future. If similar progress is made with eggs, it’s possible that within our lifetimes, bioengineered organisms—including humans—could become a reality.
7. Bringing the Dead Back to Life
What sounds like the beginning of either an incredible medical breakthrough or the most terrifying apocalyptic sci-fi plot, University of Arizona researcher Peter Rhee has developed a method to revive you when your body reaches a chilling 10 degrees Celsius (50 °F), with no brain activity, no heartbeat, no blood—essentially, when everyone would agree that you're dead.
In a procedure that has also shown remarkable success in animal subjects, the body is put into a state called “therapeutic hypothermia,” which may seem counterintuitive. All the blood is replaced with saline solution, which is even more surprising. In this state, the metabolism halts, allowing doctors to operate without the danger of oxygen deprivation damaging the tissues.
Once the blood is replaced and the body is warmed up, according to Dr. Rhee, “It’s quite fascinating, at 30 degrees Celsius (86 °F), the heart will beat once, almost out of nowhere, then again—then, as it warms further, it starts beating on its own.” Dr. Rhee's colleague has expressed plans to try this technique on critically injured gunshot victims in the near future.
In a separate initiative called “The ReAnima Project” (which honestly sounds like the plot of a movie), the goal is to bring clinically brain-dead patients back to life using a mix of techniques. This includes injecting protein chains into the spinal cord and stem cells into the brain, followed by “transcranial laser therapy” and electrical nerve stimulation.
The biotech company Bioquark has received approval to proceed with clinical trials for this, even though it sounds eerily similar to how Phil Coulson was resurrected after being killed by Loki. Bioquark CEO Ira Pastor says, “This represents the first trial of its kind and another step toward the eventual reversal of death in our lifetime.”
6. Creating Black Holes
In a groundbreaking experiment that is likely to earn Stephen Hawking a Nobel Prize for predicting it over four decades ago, physicist Jeff Steinhauer used sound waves to create a simulated “lab-sized black hole” that may confirm much of the existing theories about them. This sound hole was formed by supercooling and rapidly heating helium to create a barrier that should be impervious to sound waves. However, what Steinhauer observed was something entirely different.
In line with Hawking’s radiation theory, which suggested that black holes would emit photons, Steinhauer observed phonons—tiny energy packets that produce sound—escaping the event horizon of his artificial black hole. While the results still need independent confirmation, the discovery is potentially revolutionary and could even merit a Nobel Prize.
Meanwhile, scientists at CERN are focused on creating actual black holes, albeit incredibly small ones. The relatively new theory of gravity’s rainbow—the idea that gravity impacts various matter wavelengths just as a prism affects light—has led scientists to calculate the energy levels at which micro black holes could be detected. If successful, this experiment could simultaneously validate gravity’s rainbow and provide proof of parallel universes.
5. Cloning Dinosaurs
It is now widely accepted that dinosaurs are ancestors of modern birds. The chickens and other birds we see today are prime examples of this evolutionary journey. In an intriguing experiment, researchers from Yale and Harvard have engineered a chicken embryo with a distinctly dinosaur-like snout and palate—reminiscent of smaller, feathered dinosaur relatives from the past, like the velociraptor.
Although the team emphasized that they were not attempting to create 'dino-chickens' and were instead focused on studying the evolution of the beak, it’s clear that they have managed to reverse evolution in a modern species. And this isn’t a one-time occurrence: researchers at the University of Chile recently replicated this process in the legs of chickens, creating embryos with long fibulae connecting to the ankle, a feature not found in present-day birds. This work, of course, was aimed at understanding bird evolution, not creating dinosaurs from chickens. Or was it?
The answer depends on who you ask. James Horner, the renowned paleontologist who inspired Sam Neill’s character in Jurassic Park, believes that now that the 'proof of concept' has been achieved, 'we can get teeth into a bird.' Recently, a team from Yale and Harvard succeeded in retro-engineering a bird’s beak back into a more dinosaur-like mouth. 'So, essentially, we just need to restore the tail and turn the wings back into arms and hands,' Horner adds.
4. Liquid Armor
In Poland, researchers at the Moratex Institute of Security Technologies have seemingly perfected a technology that’s been in development since at least 2010: body armor made not from traditional tightly woven fibers but from a unique 'shear-thickening' fluid that defies conventional physics.
And in a fitting twist, this type of fluid is named 'non-Newtonian' after Isaac Newton, one of the pioneers of modern physics. Unlike ordinary fluids, which alter their chemical structure when exposed to pressure or temperature changes, non-Newtonian fluids change their properties under stress—like a hard impact—causing the fluid to instantly solidify, making it capable of effectively 'vaporizing a bullet.'
Traditional bulletproof vests, commonly crafted from Kevlar, still carry the potential to harm the wearer. Kevlar, while protective, can stretch up to 4 centimeters (2 inches) inward based on the weapon's caliber. Marcin Struszczyk, Deputy Director of Moratex, explains, 'By utilizing the properties of liquid and optimizing the insert's formation, we effectively eliminate this risk, reducing the deflection from 4 centimeters (2 inches) to just 1 centimeter (0.40 inches).'
3. Laser Guns
If you believed that the US Army isn't working on real laser guns, you'd be mistaken. Back in March 2016, the Army revealed that they were on the verge of introducing such technology, predicting that weapons resembling those in *Star Wars* could soon be a regular part of their arsenal by 2023.
The Army's announcement regarding their progress on 'offensive and defensive direct-energy weapons'—a term we've definitely encountered in at least one film—signals a 'third offset' strategy. This strategy is meant to offer a decisive advantage, with the first two offsets being nuclear arms and precision-guided weapons, respectively.
Several tech giants, including Lockheed Martin, are actively involved in advancing this technology. So, while we might feel disheartened by the ongoing, costly wars that the public generally opposes, at least the battles will look much more futuristic. But then again, maybe we don’t really want an actual laser gun... Or, with enough lobbying and funding, perhaps we can persuade them to design laser guns that are only capable of being set to 'stun.'
2. Invisibility
Scientists at Rochester University have been making strides in this area for years, initially using lenses to bend light around an object. Recently, they've upgraded to a digital version of this method, which allows them to make nearly any object disappear—though only as an image displayed on a screen in front of it. The process requires considerable scanning, preparation, and a stationary object, making it far less impressive than an actual invisibility cloak. But imagine if the cloak was made out of displays?
Numerous tech companies have prototyped flexible, bendable displays, but LG seems to be taking the idea to the extreme. They recently unveiled a super-thin 45-centimeter (18-inch) display that can be rolled up and even used to swat a fly. It’s not hard to picture even larger, thinner, and potentially wearable displays in the near future. Combine this with the expected advancements in the Rochester team’s light-bending technology, and we might soon be able to preorder an actual invisible garment for the next holiday season.
1. Personal Hologram Devices
While the concept of a pocket-sized device projecting holograms might seem straight out of *Star Trek*, several companies have already brought this idea into current smartphone technology, incorporating supplemental materials or devices. These include pyramid-shaped objects placed on the screen, film overlays, and even a box (created by the British company Virtual Presence) in which you insert your phone. The mobile industry is clearly focused on refining this technology, and researchers at Harvard may have just given them something to be truly excited about.
Researchers have developed a new type of hologram using polarized light and 'metasurfaces,' which results in significantly less light loss compared to traditional hologram techniques, producing much clearer images. The silicon metasurfaces serve as 'super pixels,' reacting to different polarization states of the light used to generate the hologram.
Federico Capasso, coauthor of the paper revealing the discovery, explains, 'Polarization adds another dimension to holograms that can be used to protect against counterfeiting and in applications like displays.' While it might seem challenging to integrate this into mobile devices, IBM doesn't think so. They forecast that within five years, 3-D livestreams of friends 'floating in empty space' above your phone could be a reality.
