Dr. Roy Tsezana presents a list of hopes for the coming year: breakthroughs in medicine (artificial womb and Yamanaka factories), a leap forward in energy (nuclear fusion and small modular reactors), the production of drugs in microgravity, and advances in artificial intelligence, robots, and air taxis.
Want to know what I predict will happen in 2026? Too bad. I prefer to focus this post in a different direction: in hopes of good things that will happen next year and affect us all that year – and long after.
Let's start with medicine.
I hope that in 2026 the first clinical trials leading to the approval of an artificial womb will begin. The reason I believe this can happen is that a year ago, researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia demonstrated that they were able to create such an artificial womb. This is not a womb that houses embryos immediately after fertilization, but a machine into which very tender premature babies – the kind that would have no chance of surviving normally – can be transferred, and without being exposed to room air at all during the transfer process. They are extracted from their mother’s abdomen by cesarean section, directly into the artificial womb.
Such a womb Demonstrated, as mentioned, a year ago on young goats, which developed inside it just as they would grow in a biological womb. So we can hope that next year the experiments will also begin on humans, and the life of at least one embryo will be saved thanks to the artificial womb. And in the years that follow? Maybe we will even be able to grow human embryos in an artificial womb from the moment of fertilization – and thus we will spare women (at least those who want to) pregnancy and all its harmful effects on the body, and we will collapse the ice cream and pickle industries along the way.
I hope so.
My second hope in the field of medicine is that in 2026 a new drug called ER-100 will enter human clinical trials. Animal trials have shown that the treatment is capable of restoring vision, by 'regenerating' nerve cells in the eye. This is nice, of course, and even very important for people who have gone blind due to retinal damage, but the implications are much greater. The reason is that ER-100 belongs to a new class of drugs that are based on the "Yamanaka Factor" – a combination of three proteins that cause cells to return to a more 'younger' state.
Ever since Yamanaka Factories were discovered nearly twenty years ago, there has been hope that we could use them to regenerate body tissues. The proteins would reach cells, restore their youth, and help them clean themselves from the inside out of excess and harmful waste materials, and divide to make more healthy copies of themselves. The problem was that these processes could easily get out of control. If that happened, the cells would revert to a too-young state, becoming unbridled stem cells that would multiply and create cancer in the body.
It appears that the creators of the new drug – ER-100 – have managed to find the right balance between cell rejuvenation and loss of control. If this is true, and if these treatments seem to be successful in restoring nerves in the eyes, then we can expand them to many other tissues. In fact, this is already happening today, and ER-300 – another derivative of the same treatment from the Yamanaka factory – has already managed to improve liver function in animal experiments.
The company behind the ER-100 has already announced its intention Conduct a clinical trial in humans In the first quarter of 2026. If the trials are successful, it is very possible that in the coming years we will see similar treatments for other tissues in the body. Eternal youth may not yet be upon us, but it may not be as far away as we think.
I hope so.
And from medicine – to energy.
I hope that by 2026, we will have laid the foundation for nuclear fusion. Don’t panic. I’m not talking about giant nuclear fission power plants – the kind that was the only one in the world in recent decades – but nuclear fusion. This is a completely different reaction, during which two atomic nuclei are combined together, and a lot of energy is released. The fuel is simply… water. And the main by-products are helium, which is not radioactive and does not harm the environment.
Helion Company Committed to Microsoft To sell it energy derived from nuclear fusion as early as 2028. For this to happen, Helion needs to build the appropriate infrastructure today. That is, the first power plant based on nuclear fusion. The intended location has already been chosen in Washington, and the planned power plant even has a name: Orion. Now all that needs to be done is to build it and start operating it.
If the station is successfully built in 2026, it will be a good signal that we are continuing with the plan to produce clean and safe energy in two years. This will be energy that can power data centers, desalination plants, and even robots and colonies in space. But the humble beginning will be in 2026.
I hope so.
And even if not, I hope China Will fulfill her commitment And will launch the first small modular nuclear reactor, which has already been named "Linglong One", in the first half of 2026.
The small modular reactors are very different from the large, bulky nuclear reactors we know from history. They are much safer, to the point that they cannot ‘get out of control.’ They have mechanisms that rely on basic laws of physics that keep them cool and prevent catastrophe. A bit of an exaggeration, but you can turn them on and go home to sleep – and they will continue to work for several years, until they need to be refueled. And because they are much smaller than regular reactors, they contain less radioactive material, which allows them to be located closer to population centers, and perhaps even within the cities themselves.
These small modular reactors can be built in series – right in factories – very efficiently and cheaply. From there, they can be transported on ships or large trucks, and placed on the ‘ruins’ of polluting coal-fired power plants. Then all you have to do is connect them to the electricity grid, and they will start working and replace the non-renewable energy sources that pollute the Earth.
I know the word "nuclear" is very scary, but the evidence from the ground is clear: such power plants would be much less polluting than any other method of generating energy based on fossil fuels. So, if China can prove that they work well, the expectation is that as early as next year we will start building small modular reactors like this everywhere: near every data center, on every desert island, and even in every city. They will provide cheap, clean energy everywhere.
I hope so.
And from energy – to space.
Hopefully, next year, we'll receive our first shipment of medicine from outer space.
Why? Because there are processes that can only be performed well in microgravity conditions – which is a fancy name for the zero-gravity found in outer space. When certain drugs – such as protein crystals – are manufactured on Earth, they suffer from the constant gravity that pulls them downward in solution. The result is that they are not formed as symmetrically and perfectly as we would like, and this can impair their function in the body. Space does not have similar problems, so it is possible to produce certain preparations there at a level that is simply not possible on our mud ball.
The great advantage of producing drugs is that a very small amount of the active ingredient is worth a lot of money. Take for example the Radwire Company (Redwire) is trying to grow tiny, perfect gold spheres on the International Space Station. Such spheres could streamline critical tests that detect cancer cells in the blood, and just one gram of them should be enough for 100 tests. Do the math, and you'll see how much a whole kilogram of such spheres is worth.
It is not surprising to discover that the infrastructure that will allow medicines to reach Earth from outer space is beginning to emerge. The company "Verde Space Industries"Recently signed a contract with the Australian government, which will allow it to land small capsules – the size of a beach ball – from space every month. Apparently, in the coming year, these capsules will not contain actual drugs, but one can hope.
So I hope so. And even if the first drugs don't arrive in 2026, if Varda can actually show that it's landing capsules efficiently and safely every month, then it won't be long before we start making things in space that are worth bringing back to Earth.
I hope Elon Musk is right. He recently stated – In a tweet, of course. – that there is a “small chance” that a manned mission to Mars will be seen by the end of 2026. Even that small chance is more than I would think likely to happen. It makes more sense, as Musk himself says, that we will launch the first unmanned mission to Mars in 2028. But one can hope.
And now, of course, to artificial intelligence and robotics.
I hope that next year, artificial intelligence will start doing "real science," According to OpenAIThe company recently submitted a document to the United States government, stating that they see 2026 as the “Year of Science.” This will be the year in which artificial intelligence will not only help scientists and researchers generate ideas, but also help them conduct experiments and operate machines and robots in laboratories. Pharmaceutical companies around the world, along with academic laboratories, Already being prepared For this progress.
I find it hard to find the words to explain how important artificial intelligence is to the advancement of science. All the good things we enjoy today—long-lasting health, abundant food and water, clothes and smartphones and cars and glasses—are all products of science and technology. If artificial intelligence can shorten the development time of new products by fifty percent, or increase the number of scientific insights that come out each month, or help us generate new concepts—then it will be the greatest force to change the world as we know it. And it’s hard to see how it won’t happen.
And I hope that by 2026 we will see the jump in the rate of production of new scientific insights.
And alongside artificial intelligence in science, I hope we'll also see it grow legs and arms.
At this point we return to Elon Musk. Musk promised to put a production line for humanoid robots in place by 2026. These would be Optimus-type robots, which are already working in Tesla factories. One day, they will also be able to work in all of our homes, cooking, fixing leaks, replacing floors, and making love to all of us. Musk Watchman That this new production line will be able to ship a hundred thousand units to the market every month. This is a completely wild prediction, but I daresay that if Musk fulfills even a small part of his commitments, he will be able to start selling humanoid robots to external customers by the end of 2026. And who knows? Maybe he will actually reach the long-awaited goal of producing millions of robots a year in the next decade.
But until then, probably in early 2026 we will see companies of all kinds start flexing their muscles with their robots at technology shows. We will see robots from Xiaomi, Figueroa, Neo, LG and many others. And they will all perform great at shows, and fail miserably in homes and open environments. And that's okay. That's how technology develops and advances. But at least we will see robots getting better throughout 2026.
I hope that in 2026 we will see Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation. Keeping their promises, and provide air taxi services in major cities in the United States and Dubai. And I hope that the California-based company "Alef Aeronautics" will bring to market the first consumer ground vehicle that, when it gets into a traffic jam, can rise into the air and overtake all the vehicles above. They have already Demonstrate the technology This is in 2025, but there is a long distance between a controlled demonstration and releasing a functioning product to the market.
And yet, I hope. And I also hope that the regulator has its eye on them, because we wouldn't want every 16-year-old to be able to take their parents' car for a spin in the sky. Or they would. As long as they drive safely, and don't get stuck in anyone's window.
And that's all? Absolutely not. I have many more hopes for 2026, including the return of augmented reality glasses (but improved), more energy breakthroughs, the arrival of the 6G network in our lives, significant improvements in quantum computing, the development of greener and more powerful batteries, and much more.
The only thing I have no hope for is politics and geopolitics, because everything there is perfect and there is nothing to improve.
And what do you hope will happen in 2026? Tell me in the comments, and in a year we can compare together who was right.
Successfully!
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