January 5

[Kira]

(Sa'ar is totally this guy.)

Not surprisingly, most of mine are closely related to my field of research.

I believe that gene therapy will be a reality in my lifetime for diseases such as diabetes and cystic fibrosis.

I believe that we will have genetically-based cancer therapies in the next ten to twenty years that will be far more specific and effective than current chemotherapy (and I intend to be among those helping that process along). Our knowledge of the massive range of genetic anomalies that lead to cancer is constantly expanding, and combined with advances in genetics and gene therapy, I believe therapies targeted to particular genotypes of cancer are within our reach.

To the AI debate... what he said. I believe that true artificial intelligence is possible, though it may be biological rather than technical. Our brains are a complex network of (relatively) simple parts, like neurons. We are only limited by our understanding of the brain and neuronal communication and concepts such as memory and personality, but eventually I believe science will catch up and, in some form, we will be able to create an artificial neural network. Whether it will be "sentient"... only time will tell.

I also agree with several of the answers in the article: namely, that cells can be changed from one type to another, that life in the universe is ubiquitous and we will discover that microbial life exists elsewhere in the galaxy, that software is limiting computers, that my dog has feelings, that cattle prods support the existence of electrons, and that we are all climaticly screwed.