I’m known to be very bad at fortune-telling, so I’d rather share few things I hope to see happening in 2017. There are plenty of things to dream of for the (hopefully not so far) future, but the things I’ll put here are very very close to becoming a real science break-through, so I really keep all fingers crossed to hear the good news sooner than later!

The working Alzheimer’s treatment

We have seen in 2016 several times hopes for a cure for Alzheimer’s (and other degenerative diseases) rising and plummeting. We got so close with the latest clinical trials before they failed, that it’s hard to believe that we won’t get it right very soon! There is still a lot to learn about how Alzheimer’s starts and develops, how to diagnose it early enough, and how to cure it. This only means that good news are still to come from the research labs and the pharma production lines. Stay tuned for what comes next for example via the Alzheimer’s association webpage.

The energy-efficient batteries

The nerd-crush I have on Elon Musk and his coworkers makes me really want to see (and may be own) the new generation of batteries they’ve promised us – both for electric cars, and for storing renewable energy from wind and solar installations. A – it’s always satisfying to see super-genius people succeed. And B – we so badly need that type of batteries to spread the notion of renewable energy to the skeptics, by proving that they work and that they work well! SoralCity made solar panels very effective, now Tesla‘s Powerwall iteration is just a step away from developing the ultimate storage for green energy – the actual drawback of the current technology. By the looks of it, the real deal for “efficiency vs cost” might hit the market in 2017.

The “climate action” instead of the “climate plan”

Things on the climate front are only going to get more complicated unfortunately, due to some questionable choices humanity makes against its better judgement. And yet, with the new leaders of environmental success and with the development of technologies that allow us to counteract the release (check here), and allow the removal of greenhouse gasses (via smog-diamonds or stones out of CO2), it is obvious that there is will to change. But I really wish that after endless meetings we’ll actually start seeing more action, than speaking of the need for action in this brand new 2017.

What are your science-hopes for 2017?