Some of the biggest scientific issues facing the world today are explored in a new report marking the foundation of the Royal Society 350 years ago.
Leading experts address 12 key areas that are expected to impact future generations, covering subjects such as health, the environment, technology and the universe.
Topics discussed in the report – Science Sees Further – include climate change, stem cell technology, the World Wide Web, the nature of consciousness, biodiversity, geoengineering and extraterrestrial life.
Lord Rees, outgoing President of the Royal Society, said: “In 1660, when the Royal Society was founded, science was in its infancy.
“Our lives today differ from those of our ancestors largely because of the scientific advances made in the subsequent 350 years.
“Science is an unending quest for understanding: as old questions are settled, new ones come into sharper focus.
“There can be no better way to celebrate the Royal Society’s 350th anniversary than to look to the future of science, built on the foundations of today’s cutting-edge research.”
Speaking about biodiversity, Royal Society Fellow Sir David Attenborough said: “From understanding how species contribute to ecosystem services like pollination or carbon capture and storage to differentiating one microbe species from millions of others, science has done an immense amount to expand our knowledge in this area.
“There can be no doubt that future scientific advances will be integral to improving our understanding of our fellow species and ensuring they remain a vital part of the world we share.”
On mankind’s place in the universe, British-born astronaut Piers Sellers said: “I’m certain there is life out there somewhere in our universe – I think it’s just a question of time before we find it.
“We know that many of the stars around us have their own solar systems, perhaps with planets like ours.
“Within our lifetimes, we will probably have space-based telescopes that can actually see some of these planets and tell us more about what they’re like.”
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, a Fellow of the Royal Society, commenting on the impact of the World Wide Web, said: “The web is a complex system, but unlike others we study – the cell, the brain, the cosmos – it is a system which we have designed and which we can improve.
“Web science should lead us to new and more powerful tools which, in turn, will help us tackle, in dramatically more effective ways, the challenges of the other sciences, of industry and global democracy and peace.”
The report also reveals the results of a poll showing that 74 per cent of the public believe scientists are under pressure to appear more certain than they are.
More than 70 cent of those questioned thought renewable technologies would play a major part in our lives over the next 20 years.