What cutting-edge science field should I go into?

cutler, do come along tiger

Go away spendi.

spendi went away a long time ago.

pastry trimmer then. That's cutting edge science.

If you save the offcuts you can make a raspberry jam pasty as well and with some runny custard they are delicious and if science is not about deliciousness what the **** is it for?

In all seriousness, take your backwater, ignorant, hatemongering anti-science bullshit somewhere else. It's not wanted or needed here.

Hi, aperson. (I'm baaaaack.)

I'm not up on all the new science fields now. My own interest might go in the direction of facilitating all the possibilities for disease intervention by means of stem cell 'transplant', and the mechanics of that in medical practice - but I don't have any idea of the timetable for when that may become old hat. I do think interest level, the drive of curiosity, is of key importance in research. (I used to be part of a research team in immunology, now a long time ago, just as a tech but as a once-in-a-while contributing author.)

I was wondering where you'd gone =D.

Ok thanks for your suggestion.

I will have a look, thanks!

Tell me what you think.

It is indeed needed. Flatterers you don't need if you're serious about science. Science is so ego puncturing it leaves any sense of personal significance in annihilation mode. Dignity there isn't.

It has nothing to do with business and big bucks.

You are asking us to give you tips on how to get the jump on us so you can preen and pose with more goods than we have.

Your whole attitude is anathema to science and no amount of strings of childish insults however startlingly unoriginal will change that.

Hmmm cutting edge. Have you ever thought about becoming a barber?

Don't discount it so quickly. The potential for this field is enormous and we truly are on the edge of large advances. If you are looking for a cutting-edge field, with an almost infinite possibility of product development, this is the way to go.



There's a lot of computer-brain interface work that needs to be done. Robotics is the gross physical end; there is endless amounts of biochemistry research and engineering design that needs to be done as well.



Shrug. In every field, there are the discoverers, but also the people who run the businesses; the distributors, the innovators, the re-packagers. There's room to get involved in these fields in so many different ways, you shouldn't let the narrowness concern you. A lot of fields and professions are really narrow, until they become commercially viable, at which point they tend to explode. It's a good thing to be there when they do.



Neurobiology - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurobiology

Quite literally the study of how the brain forms circuits to figure things out. This cutting-edge stuff that produces new understandings of human thought and cognition. Understanding how the brain works (on a complex level) is a critical step to the application and development of:

Neurotechnology - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotechnology

Using technology to edit and change the way the brain works. Computer-brain interfaces. Repairing damaged brains to bring functionality back. Using synthetic devices to increase processing power and memory. This is a hell of a big field and the demand for these products will be enormous once the potential is realized.

Genetic Therapy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_therapy
Viral engineering - see above

Using tailored viruses and other means of inserting new strands of DNA into the cells of living patients, in an attempt to correct genetic errors. Still in it's infancy, but the potential for scientific development is immense. Cure diabetes, cure sickle-cell anemia, hack in some alligator DNA so people can hold their breath for 20 minutes. The possibilities are endless.

Advanced plastics and Metal composites - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composite_material

Combining materials such as plastics, metal, concrete, and carbon fiber in new and innovate ways to create products with the best features of each individual substance and less downsides. Lots of potential for actual physical development of products there.

Vacuum mechanics - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_engineering

We face very specific challenges when it comes to building and manufacturing in space. Zero-gravity and vacuum conditions destroy a lot of our assumptions about how things should or even could be produced. It is without a doubt that space travel, exploration, exploitation, and construction are as cutting-edge as science gets for Humans and it is a field with limitless growth potential.

Any of these would be a great way for an enterprising young scholar to make his or her mark on history.

Cheers
Cycloptichorn

That's a very nice post Cyclo I must admit. Your persona positively glows with fellow feeling and expertise. You might have a problem with the ladies though if you believe science can find out how their brains work. It would be a critical step I must admit if it can be pulled off. And we all know already how our brains work.

The problem it seems to me is that if one of us comes up with the answer to ap's request which sets him on the road to fame and fortune everybody else will know about it and there will be an oversupply of whatever it is and capitalism being what it is that would be no good because everybody can't be rich and famous and anyway if everybody was rich and famous it wouldn't be worth trying to get that way.

We could get over-run with nanotechnologists and posthumanistic weerwolfs looking for brains to implant things into.

I wouldn't have used the word "products" as you did. It's a bit cynical I'm inclined to think.

spendius, I have ambition, in large quantities. I have a goal, and I am doing everything I can to acheive it. I work my ass off at school. I work my ass off at home, after school. I want to make absolutely sure that my career path is the right one, and so I'm getting advice from a large range of sources, including the people here - most of whom are willing to help a teenager acheive his dream. It has nothing to do with "preen, pose and goods". I don't know who you are and what you have done with your life, and I don't really care. Just don't try to rip me down.

Ok. In a way I'm sort of torn between the two views - a) that of the vast majority of people and b) the exponential, "cyber evangelistic" view which Ray Kurzweil and others presents. I am currently reading his book, "The Singularity is Near" which suggests that, by the middle of the century, the technological singularity (Wiki it) will have been reached, and the intelligent life on Earth wil set about converting all the matter and energy in the universe into one gigantic computational platform upon which digital life can exist. It's hard to say who is right, because Mr Kurzweil is very convincing, and he backs himself with evidence (such as the clear exponential growth trend), but what he concludes simply seems too far-fetched.

Ok thanks. I think I'll do something brain related, because that's what really interests me. Genetics also interests me hugely, but I think technological posthumanism has virtually infinitely more potential. And I think it's best for humanity to posthumanise before considering space exploration. So does gene therapy actually exist? I made a thread a few years back in which I asked whether DNA could be changed inside a living organism. I even suggested using viruses, but everyone told me it was impossible!

Yay for what interests you, now the brain, and secondarily genetics... please, explore both of them. (or subsequent main interests). The interconnectedness of systems will be important. Totally zoning in on this and then, later, that, and, after that, the next... can occlude stuff from allied fields that can shed light on your primary interest.

Actually sorry, gene therapy can only add copies of genes, not replace or modify them.

Cool I'll start today.

Interestingly my Chief Instructor sent this to me as a rationale for a technical education. I teach Electrical Apprentices (it's a four to five year apprenticeship in B.C., and unlike (my understanding) of the US's narrow focus less demanding electrical apprentice program, ours is broad-based and somewhat math-intensive.

I felt the timbre of "Shift Happens" seems rather stark and foreboding considering the near-term predictions do not seem inherently sinister.

For me........on a personal level...........one of the most engaging questions is: "What if?"

As to career choices, something combining art & science might be fun.

Well, that sounded formalistic from me, but I meant, mess around.