The Next Ten Years

Think you're digitally connected today? You haven't seen anything yet.

Forget carrying a smartphone in your pocket. In about 10 years, we're likely to have digitally connected cars, smart homes, and refrigerators and dishwashers that can think for themselves.

On top of that, towns, cities and even continents may be digitally connected and responsive.

That's all according to a new study from the science unit of Thomson Reuters. The New York-based media and information company's report, The World in 2025: 10 Predictions of Innovation, looks at what scientific breakthroughs are likely to make the biggest impact on society over the next decade or so.

After poring over news articles, scientific papers, academic research and commercial research, analysts at Thomas Reuters culled what they believe will be game-changing technologies and science.

For example, breakthroughs in genetics are expected to greatly improve the prevention and treatment of diseases like dementia and Type I diabetes. Solar energy is expected to become the primary source of energy, food shortages should come to an end and cancer treatments will likely have fewer side effects.

In the tech field, one of the expected breakthroughs is that the world will be increasingly digital.