Health-conscious types of the future may prefer to take a precautionary bite of tomatoes modified to hold a vaccine. You may not even have to see the doctor. Matsushita Electric is ready to deliver this version of information infrastructure for the home by 2003. As organ engineering comes to the fore, autograft could be routine. Tissue rejection won't be a problem since replacements will be grown from patients' own cells.
Bionic parts can enable the blind to see and the deaf to hear.
There will be artificial wombs, tanks circulating with artificial amniotic fluid, to nurture the baby until full term. Prof. Kuwabara Yoshinori of Juntendo University has had several goats born this way. In 10 years' time, he reckons he will be delivering babies. The discovery of telomerase, an enzyme that lengthens the life span of cells, may turn the clock back for aging body parts. Insurance companies may use genetic screening to set higher premiums.