Tomorrow's World - Episode Guide

For three decades, medicine intervenes increasingly in human reproduction. Today, infertility, often seen as a curse by the couples concerned, is no longer inevitable. But is it possible to go further in medically assisted procreation? Will it be possible to control invitro all stages of the conception, from the creation of embryos to birth?

With a strong concentration in cities, increasing international flows, intensive livestock farming or global warming, the environment is more and more conductive to the emergence of a new threat: spreading diseases. Just like the SARS epidemic in 2003 or the H1N1 flu in 2009, each time, the apparition of a new disease brings fear to the global health authorities. Is there a risk that mutant viruses and bacteria contaminate the cities, countries or even the entire planet? How to be prepared for a possible pandemic scale? Infectious diseases are now responsible for 14 million deaths each year worldwide. A race against the clock in which researchers are committed to anticipate epidemics and to identify them as quickly as possible. Between irrational fear of contagion and scientific reality, this documentary unravels the true from the false, to better understand the magnitude of what threatens us in the decades coming.

Are we alone in the universe? An international scientific investigation, this documentary film allows us to meet the scientists who track the existence of alien life form. Is there, somewhere, another intelligent civilization with which we could communicate one day?

With the increase of the population, resource depletion and endless nuclear disasters, the future of humanity on Earth is now being questioned. Where to go? The vast and infinite space appears as evidence to us. But which economic, physiological and technological pressures should men overcome to achieve this goal? And once up there, where to get energy?

We are living increasingly old and we keep getting 6 hours of life expectancy on average every day. Will the lifespan be increasing limitless? Can science stretch the limits of the human body to immortality? Born in the 1990s, the longevity science is still relatively young and booming. Close discoveries may revolutionize our lives.

Mars is about to be colonized. Our robots are already there, to recognize and prepare the ground. So when will it be humans' turn? Since 1960, 47 missions to the Red Planet have been programmed. Last achieved: the Curiosity project. The scientific community is unanimous: Mars is the new frontier of life. Is there still water in liquid form in the basement? Can it house life?

Since the end of the Cold War, the infantry has become a constantly evolving tool within Western armies, along with the reduction of pharaonic weaponry projects and increased use of Special Forces with different equipment. Each country explores different solutions whether biological, mechanical, or computer, to change the nature of man and make them less vulnerable and more powerful.

Nanotechnologies, one of the most promising areas of research today: mastery of the infinitely small. In the industry, researchers are discovering materials more than 100 times stronger than steel, they create outstanding electrical conductors, self-cleaning or depolluting substances. Applied to humans, they could revolutionize medicine and the control of the human body.

Today more than ever, technology allows anyone to track us everywhere. Cameras, smart cards mobile, social network, it has become almost impossible to go unnoticed! But this is just the beginning. Scientists, engineers and manufacturers are developing new tools to look at us more closely, and even more discretely.

Could we ever anticipate or prevent the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, epilepsy? Will we ever be able to understand what a patient in a coma feels? Is there a 'neural code' which, like the genetic code, is unique to each individual?

From the rat to the dragonfly, including snakes, flies, bees or salamanders, numerous animals now have their mechanical doppelgangers. They are the Animats, a.k.a. artificial animals. But are these robots as skilled and performing as their shaggy and feathered homologs? Are they able to adapt to new situations and to learn from their mistakes? And how can we use them in the civil as well as in the military fields?

280M. tons of plastic are produced in the world each year, but only 20% of them are recycled today. What can we do with the billion cubic meters of plastic which are left, piling up in the rubbish tips all around the world, to end up in the ocean? Eliminating these polluting wastes has become a major issue of our modern society, and instead of destroying them, some specialists actually try to recover them, such as plastic which value is surging.

Exploring and harvesting asteroids' resources by using robotic spacecraft is no longer a fantasy: indeed, a brand new space age is starting. In a couple of years, landing on an asteroid to extract its abundant raw materials and bring it back to Earth to supply industries on land will be a reality. But what would it take?

Suspension railways, flying cars, electric planes, evacuated tube transport... Engineers and designers are working on safer, faster and more energy-saving projects of revolutionary transportation means, which could deeply change the way of travelling in the near future.

The discovery of Higgs particle or the detection of the first "big bang echo" are examples of the extraordinary discoveries that are made every year. Yet numerous mysteries still remain about the Universe. How was it created and how big is it? What is it made of? When is it going to disappear? What is dark matter made of? Thanks to the immense advances of space research, in a few decades all these questions might be answered...

Up to 4.8℃ increase in temperature by 2100, is the last projection made by the 800 international researchers of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). Sea level rise, population shifts, increased intensity and frequency of storms and rain events, greater desertification in certain areas, food insecurity, ecosystem disturbances... A travel through time to understand what will be the face of our planet in less than a century.

Having our shopping list sent by our fridge, or sending blood report to a doctor in real time thanks to the implant or microchip... Soon, it will no longer be science-fiction. For some years, connected devices have been interfering in our lives. The dream of a smart environment able to help us in our daily life is slightly coming true... But to what extent are we going to be connected? What will be the price to pay for this increased comfort?

In February 2013, the American Drug Administration approved the placing on the market of the first bionic eye, already transplanted on a sixtyish of blind persons in the world. In December of that same year, an autonomous artificial heart was implanted in the chest of a patient suffering from late-stage heart failure. Then, in February 2014, a man amputated of a hand got his sense of touch back thanks to an experimental prosthesis linked to the nerves of his arm. Lately, prosthesis and high-tech implants have multiplied, replacing failing organs and limbs. Swift technological advances let us consider the advent of "machine-bodies" that we could change the pieces of, to fight against disease, accident or ageing. In the future, will medicine be able to fix men regardless of their pathology? Is tomorrow's man going to be half human, half robot?

Fumes, factory smokes, pesticides, heavy metals, toxic wastes... Today, water, air and soils of our planet suffocate. Almost everywhere, polluting products wipe out biodiversity and threaten our health. How can we cope with this mass pollution? In the world, specialists try to elaborate innovative processes to decontaminate the Earth.

Featherless chickens which better resist to heat, less water-consuming vegetables, vegetarian trouts, scanning weeds with robots, examining cows thanks to 3D cameras or even mapping zones which require fertilizer with drones... Soon, technology will interfere in farms and could revolutionize agriculture. All these projects aim at solving a major ambition: producing more while consuming less, to be able to answer the continuously growing demand of populations.