A 42-hour scientific marathon continues in Shanghai. More than 100 top scientists in the world relay for three minutes each to talk about the future science in their eyes.
On November 1st, the 3rd World Top Scientists Forum (WLF) in Shanghai entered its third day. The "Mobius Forum" is such a special link, which can be called an explosion of information.
Every scientist will be asked about the opportunities and challenges of future science by video link. Of course, the angles and styles of personal answers are different, some focus on their own research fields, and some talk about global issues; Some are more optimistic about opportunities, while others point out difficulties more directly; Some talk eloquently, some hit the nail on the head.
But it is undeniable that they are the key words of future science. After all, the positive and negative sides of Mobius belt are the same side. The Paper reporters listened for about 2 hours during the meeting and sorted out the key points drawn by 20 Nobel Prize winners.
David Gross, winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Understand the nature of time and space
We have many good physical theories and many great goals. I can list ten directions with great opportunities, and I believe at least one of them will succeed in the near future. But it is difficult to predict when the breakthrough will come.
I often feel that scientific exploration is like climbing a mountain in a foggy night. I can’t see anything clearly when I look up, but I can only see the road under my feet. And it’s likely that when you climb up, you’ll find that it’s just a hillside.
Understand how cells and brains work.
We don’t even have a rigorous model.
Bernard L. Feringa, winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry,
cyber cell
It sounds like science fiction, but I think since the human body can use prosthetic limbs, why can’t it be implanted with chips?
Frank Wilczek, winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics.
dark matter
In the short term, the biggest foundation of particle physics is dark matter. It may be a new particle, I think it is an axion.
Biophysical intersection
Broader, or more futuristic, I think there are great opportunities at the intersection of biology and physics, such as the self-propagating machine mentioned by von Neumann.
Thomas C. Südhof, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Scientific communication
The scientific communication led by commercial journals is inefficient and distorted, and how to communicate science is as important as how to do it. We have to go through a serious paradigm shift, and of course there are opportunities.
Eric Maskin, the 2007 Nobel Prize in Economics.
Economics experiment
It is easy for chemists to do experiments, but it is the biggest difficulty for us economists. We have an economics lab to see what decisions the subjects will make, but they don’t necessarily do so in life.
Irrational theory
It is obvious that everyone is not completely rational, so I don’t need to go into details. But it is not clear how irrational everyone is. I hope there is an irrational theory to predict when people will be rational and when they will become irrational.
neurosciences
The relationship between economics and neuroscience is interesting. Economists are interested in how the human brain makes economic decisions.
Randy W.Schekman, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
infectious disease
The pharmaceutical industry has no continuous funding to support research without guaranteed profits, and now we are all suffering the consequences.
Neurodegenerative disease
Heart disease and cancer are still the top two health killers of human beings, but we have made great progress in treatment scheme and prolonging survival time. About neurological diseases, it is almost zero. This problem will become more and more serious, draining social resources.
Danielle Shechtman, winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
battery
We need to store the solar energy during the day and use it at night.
Flexible ceramics
It can be used on aircraft engines, and the global aviation cost will be lower.
Microelectronics new materials
Jerome I. Friedman, winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Physics.
A bigger collider
The biggest challenge in our field is to get funds to build a bigger accelerator, and it is difficult to get government support. Now the question about dark matter is very critical, but a better detection method has not yet appeared. I believe that by constantly upgrading the accelerator, we can make a breakthrough.
Grand Unified Theory
How to unify general relativity and quantum mechanics. If we can understand their relationship, we can have a complete understanding of nature.
Serge Haroche, winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Normal temperature superconductor
The combination of gravity and quantum mechanics
Stefan Hell, winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Battery recovery
If there is a way to recycle lithium batteries better and faster, it can save money and protect the environment.
artificial intelligence
Adam Riess, winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics.
big data
In my research field (cosmic physics), the biggest problem is that there are too many data. There are many challenges in putting data together for analysis, but there are also opportunities in the data. In other areas, I think we have the ability to use big data to solve global health problems.
May Britt Moser, winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
The combination of neuroscience and other disciplines
The brain is my concern, and I hope people will realize that neuroscience is very important. What I am most interested in at present is the communication with physics, mathematics and other sciences, which will bring diverse ideas.
Edvard Moser, winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Brain cognition
In the past, we have conducted in-depth research on the cerebral cortex, which can record and even interfere with the activities of thousands of cells at the same time. We may have a better understanding of human cognitive ability.
Shuji Nakamura, winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics.
fund
Because I work in a university, our biggest difficulty is the lack of funds. Of course, energy issues, food issues and global warming are all important.
George Smoot, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics.
dark matter
Finding dark matter is an urgent problem to be solved
Cosmic resources
I hope that the substances found in the universe can make great progress in materials science on earth.
Bert Sakman, winner of the 1991 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Ancient human DNA
I am interested in finding the DNA of ancient humans such as Neanderthals. Some recent papers show that there are many remains of ancient human genes in modern human genes. This is very interesting.
Arieh Warshel, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
predict
Our biggest challenge is to make accurate predictions with sufficient data. Of course, the real breakthrough is hard to predict, and we know that the breakthrough always happens after the breakthrough.
energy question
Plasma may be an opportunity.
Harald zur Hausen, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
population problem
climate change
The consequences have already appeared, but many people are still denying it.
Sheldon Lee Glashow, winner of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Covid-19 Vaccine
energy
Joachim Frank, winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Cryogenic imaging
A $6 million high-end microscope is too expensive for most laboratories.