The Next Fifty Years: Science in the First Half of the Twenty-First Century

Over the last fifty years, a bewildering number of scientific achievements (from Dolly the sheep, the first animal successfully cloned from an adult cell, to the discovery of planets outside our own solar system) have impacted on and shifted out perception of our view of ourselves, our world and our place in it. What, one might wonder, does the future have in store for us? As we edge our way into the twenty-first century developments in many fields, and the controversy that sometimes surrounds them affect the lives of everyone on this planet. The "Next Fifty Years" features a glittering panel of some of the world's leading scientists, brought together to discuss the future of science - and its implications. These twenty-five never-before-published essays, whose authors include Sir Martin Rees, Lee Smolin, Richard Dawkins, Paul Davies and Ian Stewart, address the big questions like: How will developments in science affect us? How will these advances change our understanding of who and what we are? What can we expect to happen in specific fields and how might these achievements influence and cut across other disciplines? Which current expectations can we expect to be realised, and which ones won't be? And, what will scientists be thinking about fifty years from now?Written for both a scientific and popular audience, this stimulating, fascinating and sometimes startling book covers topics as diverse as disease, depression, artificial intelligence, theoretical physics and extraterrestrial life. A series of 'intellectual adventures', The "Next Fifty Years" addresses the future in theory and in practice, as well as examining the social and political ramifications of the strange new world to come.