10 top Australian scientists predict major medical advances

Further advances in understanding how 'blank' or 'uncoded' cells in their very early stages of development switch on to become specific types of cells, like liver, skin and nerve cells, mean cures for diseases like Parkinson's, Diabetes and Multiple Sclerosis will be entirely possible. With the right prompts these 'stem cells' – which everybody has – can develop into organs and tissue to replaced damaged areas.

As a result of DNA technology 'smart drugs' will increasingly be used to target cancer at the source. Current chemotherapy attacks all cells in the body with healthy ones recovering first. One of the first smart drugs, Herceptin, binds to the surface of specific breast cancer cells and slows their ability to reproduce. With further research, more smart drugs with increasing power will be available for all manner of cancers, reducing the trauma of treatment and dramatically improving outcomes.

The world-first cervical cancer vaccine is only the first of its kind. Scientists predict viruses will be found to play a role in many other cancers and in the course of the next few decades we can expect a raft of new vaccines to prevent their onset.

Therapeutic vaccines are also well advanced in development and involve re-educating the immune system to recognise cancer cells as intruders and attack them.

And over the next few decades we are likely see vaccines for many viral infections like HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C, and for major diseases like diabetes. In fact Melbourne's Diabetes Vaccine Development Centre is about to start clinical trials for a new vaccine for Type 1 Diabetes.

Australian-invented bionic ears, or Cochlear implants, that allow deaf children to hear will be further advanced to deliver high-fidelity hearing, with a carbon tube built molecule by molecule carrying the electricity needed to stimulate nerve cells.

This technology will also be applied to other disabilities. We will be able to reconnect electrical wiring in damaged spinal columns, stimulate nerve growth and allow messages to be relayed to the brain. Further into the future, this could ultimately allow quadriplegics and paraplegics to walk again. Other applications are likely to include correcting the faulty circuits that create epileptic episodes and creating transport systems for slow release of insulin to diabetics.

Advances in microsurgery and the capacity of ultrasound to monitor development will soon see unborn babies undergoing complex surgery to correct abnormalities like holes in the heart and facial malformations, strengthening their chances of survival and improving their quality of life.